The French Institut national des hautes études de sécurité (INHES) (National Institute of Advanced Security Studies), under the Ministry of the Interior, was established in July 2004. INHES is an administrative public institution which  focuses on research, information exchange, education and training.  It is an interministerial and a multi-disciplinary institution concerned with security issues in the global sense of the term. On November 4, 2003, the Minister of the Interior established the Observatoire national de la délinquance (ONFD) as a `core department of INHES`.  The mission of OND, defined by its Director, Mr Régis GUYOT, is to:

'Gather, analyze, compare and disseminate the most accurate statistical data on crime issues in France. This innovative institution will enable data to be gathered not only from existing sources such as policing directorates and national police forces under the « l’état 4001» , the central department of the judiciary police, in order to build up an in-depth knowledge of the reality of crime'.

To ensure objectivity throughout the organisation, l’Observatoire has established an independent Orientation Board (Conseil d’orientation indépendant), chaired by Mr. Alain BAUER, comprising 17 members from different fields. In the first report of the OND, Mr Bauer noted that it  "is just one of the stages leading to a dynamic process which will identify and provide access to information sources, to elected members, journalists, and administrative officials, so that they can understand crime trends and developments more thoroughly. Statistical data, in spite of its limitations, will be utilized rather than general indicators which do not provide accurate information, as well as peer-reviewed in depth articles, public opinion polls, and reports of the main police services, judicial authorities, and other administrative institutions, and related professions, to help to determine the state of criminal activity in France".

The first report of the OND was published in March 2005, and focuses on the following areas:

-  Crime statistics: the need for, and the implications of an approach based on multiple sources.

- Statistical tools used by police services and departments (état 4001): general facts and initiatives.

-  How to understand l’état 4001?

-  Monthly statistical data pertaining to crime issues mentioned in l’état 4001.

- Presentation of previous surveys and 2005 survey.

-  Violent offences against the person 1996/2004.

-  Property damage 1996/2004.

-  Breaches reported by the services 1996/2004.

- Organized crime.

 

 

-  Personal victimization and the levels of insecurity measured in

PCV surveys from 2000 to 2004

-  Robberies and vehicle thefts reported in PCV surveys from 1998 to 2004

 

 

-  Crime committed against professions.

-  Crime reported by other administrative institutions.

-  Judicial crime.

-  Disorder in public housing areas.

-  Breaches of road safety 1994/2003).

-  Crime in Paris (1996/2003).

In the light of the available information, the Orientation Board of OND has made the following recommendations:

 

1.     Fully record all complaints.

2.     Prepare a large-scale national victimization survey on an annual basis targeting about 20,000 individuals.

3.     Prepare a special edition to record all complaints, in order to ensure their traceability, and establish linkage between criminal acts observed by the policing services and departments, and the responses provided by the Department of the Public Prosecutor.

4.     Maintain a monthly record of events recorded by police services and departments to ensure their comparability.

5.     Establish a detailed and ongoing mechanism to follow-up urban violence.

6.     Improve the follow-up of school violence.

7.     Extend the SIGNA inquiry to the contract-based private sector.

8.     Improve knowledge of violence against women, using multiple sources.

9.     Improve the identification of victims’ profiles in l’état 4001 by adding four columns on the sex and age of victims.

10. Create an information system on breaches to allow the relevant services to determine their exact number on an annual basis.

 

To view the complete version of the report, see: