The recently updated ranking is not about actual crime rates: residents and visitors to large European cities are asked about their “perceived crime”, ie their sense of safety. It’s As Much About Health During Night Walks As It Is About Fear Of Serious Crimes: Worry About
Questions are raised about specific crimes such as robbery, car theft, physical assault by strangers, harassment in public places and discrimination on the basis of factors such as skin colour, ethnic origin, gender or religion. but also an assessment of the extent of property crimes, such as theft, burglary, vandalism or
Violent crimes such as bodily harm, murder or sexual offences.
Scores are on a scale of 20 to 60. An overall score below 20 is considered very mild violence. A rating between 20 and 40 is still considered low. From age 40 and onwards, there is perceived to be a high level of crime. The situation is opposite in the case of security index.
Impressive: The metropolises of neighboring Switzerland perform particularly well. The capital Bern is the leader, Zurich is third and Basel is considered one of the safest cities in Europe. Somewhat surprisingly, Munich, the capital of the Bavarian state, ranks second between the two federal cities. In the “world’s largest village” (1.5 million inhabitants), residents and visitors alike feel safe.
Vienna is slightly behind, ranking only 26th in the safety index. European capitals such as Prague, Warsaw and Copenhagen or Reykjavik are in better shape. Even Timișoara (250,000 inhabitants) in Romania is ahead of Vienna. It remains to be seen whether it’s actually safe, but people there clearly feel so – they probably don’t have to deal with unsolved stabbing murders in their town, in which victims’ legs and arms are chopped off .
By the way: The most dangerous city in Europe is Catania in Sicily, while Marseille and Coventry are slightly less risky.
How do you view this ranking? Do you still feel safe in Vienna? Discuss with us!
