Number of crimes in China 2017-2023, by type

In 2023, there were around 1.7 million fraud crimes recorded in China. This made fraud the most common crime committed. The number of fraud crimes showed constant fluctuations in recent years, while theft crimes decreased considerably. 

Crime situation in China

According to governmental statistics, the total number of crimes committed in China has decreased over the past years, amounting to 4.42 million cases in 2022, the lowest number in the last ten years. However, the number of arrests of criminal suspects in China reached a high in 2019 with over 1.09 million arrests, receding only recently due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fraud, theft, and assault were the top three types of crimes in China. The country has a lower murder rate compared to many other countries in the world.

City safety in China

Generally speaking, the crime rate is associated with population density. In regions with higher population densities, there are also more theft and robbery crimes committed. Even though some Chinese cities have the highest population densities in the world, the crime rate of these regions are still low when compared to global rates. Cities in China are also widely covered with closed-circuit television cameras, which have contributed positively to the reduction of crimes as well as to the crime detection rate.