Accuracy and reliability

Overall accuracy

The data come from a single administrative register system storing information on all reported crimes. The statistics are made based on the data recorded at the time the extract is made. There is also produced an annual statistics for this area, which is more complete because it includes reviews that are registered too late to be included in the individual quarters. Comparisons between the quarterly statistics and the annual statistics reveal that the quarterly statistics under-estimate the number of reported criminal offences with approximately 8 percentages.

A general problem in respect of the statistics on reported criminal offences is hidden criminality, which concerns crimes which do not come to the knowledge of the police. It is difficult to give an exact figure for the level of hidden criminality, because it depends among other things on the nature of the crime and the inclination to report crimes.

The Ministry of Justice and others regularly conduct victimization surveys, where the respondents are asked whether an experienced criminal offence was reported to the police or not. From these surveys it appears that e.g. 51 percentage of violence incidents in 2021 were not reported to the police.

The victimization surveys can be found here (in Danish): Udsathed for vold og andre former for kriminalitet

There is, from quarter to quarter, a shift in the data; part of the registered reported crimes in a given quarter may refer to a previous quarter. In the last 8 quarters 17-23 per cent. of registered reported crimes in one quarter, concerned a previous quarter.

Sampling error

Not relevant to this statistics.

Non-sampling error

There is no other sampling error.

Quality management

Statistics Denmark follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF). A Working Group on Quality and a central quality assurance function have been established to continuously carry through control of products and processes.

Quality assurance

Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.

Quality assessment

The data come from a single administrative register system storing information on all reported crimes. The statistics are made based on the data recorded at the time the extract is made. There is also produced an annual statistics for this area, which is more complete because it includes reviews that are registered too late to be included in the individual quarters. Comparisons between the quarterly statistics and the annual statistics reveal that the quarterly statistics under-estimate the number of reported criminal offences with approximately 8 percentages.

A general problem in respect of the statistics on reported criminal offences is hidden criminality, which concerns crimes which do not come to the knowledge of the police. It is difficult to give an exact figure for the level of hidden criminality, because it depends among other things on the nature of the crime and the inclination to report crimes.

The Ministry of Justice and others regularly conduct victimization surveys, where the respondents are asked whether an experienced criminal offence was reported to the police or not. From these surveys it appears that e.g. 51 percentage of violence incidents in 2021 were not reported to the police.

The victimization surveys can be found here (in Danish): Udsathed for vold og andre former for kriminalitet

Data revision - policy

Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.

Data revision practice

The figures are not revised.