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🇫🇷 France /Crime & Justice

Burglary, extortion, harassment: The French departments where fear is greatest

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data Context piece
  • The Cher department has the highest share of residents who fear being burgled, at 58.3%, compared with a national average of 50.3%, according to an Interior Ministry analysis.
  • The finding contrasts with reported victimization rates: 2% in Cher, below the national average of 3.3%.
  • The analysis compares public fears and reported experiences involving property crimes, threats and harassment across French departments.

In Cher, nearly six in 10 residents fear that someone will break into their home. That is the highest proportion recorded in a new analysis by the Interior Ministry’s statistical service, even though the department’s reported burglary rate is below the national average.

The Service statistique ministériel de la sécurité intérieure, known as SSMSI, found that 58.3% of Cher residents said they were worried about being burgled. The national figure is 50.3%. Fear in the department exceeds levels recorded around Marseille, Nantes and Grenoble.

Regarding property offenses, the department where the largest share of the population fears being the victim of a burglary is Cher, with 58.3% of the population saying they are worried, compared with 50.3% on average in France.

· SSMSI statisticiansThe Interior Ministry statistical service identified Cher as the French department with the highest level of burglary fear.

Yet only 2% of Cher residents reported being victims of burglary, compared with 3.3% across France. The statisticians highlighted the gap between perceived risk and reported experience, writing that Cher had the largest share of residents afraid of burglary despite its victimization rate being 1.3 percentage points below the national average.

The analysis, linked to the national police directorate, examines what people fear and what they say they have suffered, from burglaries to threats. Its findings raise the question of why fear is particularly strong in Cher, whose main city is Bourges and whose native son is Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

Although the rate of reported burglary victims there is 1.3 points lower than the national average, 2% compared with 3.3%.

· SSMSI statisticiansThe statisticians emphasized the contrast between fear and reported burglary victimization in Cher.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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