122,170 French people were the target of theft and violence in public transport in 2021, i.e. more than 334 victims per day, figures up 4% in 2021, according to the latest report from the Ministry of the Interior published on September 15. The Ministerial Statistical Service for Internal Security (SSMSI), attached to the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police, reports a high proportion of minors accused (36%), often linked to the phenomenon of unaccompanied minors, and a majority of foreigners (56%).
334 victims per day and 56% foreigners implicated
According to this study published on September 15, last year, the police and gendarmerie services counted nearly 122,170 victims of theft and various types of violence in the different types of public transport. An average of more than 334 victims per day for the offenses listed in the document (theft without violence, violent theft, intentional assault and battery, sexual violence and violence against public authority). A level that remains “still lower than the number of victims before the Covid-19 pandemic “, specifies the SMSSI.
The study highlights in particular two “phenomena specific to public transport”. Among the accused, there is a high proportion (36%) of individuals “identified” as minors, as well as a majority (56%) of individuals “registered” as foreigners, a large part of whom come from Africa and, in particular, from the Maghreb, we can read.
Sexual violence on the rise
Regarding sexual violence in public transport, foreigners represent 61% of perpetrators in Ile-de-France against 31% outside the Ile-de-France region. It is this type of violence that has recorded the highest statistical increase: 32% in one year. The data is all the more worrying as this increase recorded in public transport roughly corresponds to that recorded for the rest of France all places combined (+33%).
“In Ile-de-France, 76% of victims of recorded sexual violence are women under 30 and 26% are minors. In the rest of the territory, 84% of the victims of recorded sexual violence are women under the age of 30 and 50% are minors”further details the report.
The issue of minors linked to the phenomenon of unaccompanied minors… not always minors
“The over-representation of minors and foreigners among those implicated in public transport is particularly significant among those for non-violent theft, in connection with the existence of organized crime networks exploiting unaccompanied minors in particular”specifies the study, which adds: “This over-representation of minors among those involved in public transport is partly indicative of the phenomenon of unaccompanied minors”.
However, according to Le Figaro, the local security department of the Paris conurbation (DSPAP) quickly realized that a large portion of the unaccompanied minors were in reality… quite adults. Indeed, the daily reports that it is common to observe lies about age or nationality, which prevents the identification of offenders, thus allowing them to be protected by the ordinance of February 2, 1945 relating to delinquent childhood.
To counter this phenomenon, the police headquarters has set up a system by which it sends the fingerprints of those arrested directly to the authorities of the various Maghreb countries from which they generally come. Through this procedure, the Local Security Department of the Paris conurbation (DSPAP) had discovered, on a return of identification, that no less than 96% of the so-called minors were in fact adults. According to information from Le Figaro, the number of unaccompanied minors implicated in cases of violent crime exploded by 407% between 2016 and 2020.