Crime during the Corona lockdown. Empirical findings based on a victim survey in the canton of Zurich

Abstract

The corona pandemic and the measures taken to contain it are expected to have an impact on crime trends. Initial empirical studies on registered crime, mainly from Anglo-Saxon countries, have led to contradictory findings regarding different types of crime, with declines at least for theft and burglary offences during the lockdown period. Based on a survey conducted in the canton of Zurich in May and June 2020, this paper examines how victimization rates changed during the Lockdown (from mid March to the end of April). The analyses are based on data from 1 236 people who were randomly selected for the survey and interviewed online. The results show that cybercrime increased significantly during the lockdown. Increases can also be found for other offences (property damage and theft). Bicycle theft on the other hand has declined. For burglaries and assault there were no changes during the lockdown. For domestic violence, findings were contradictory.