"According to the IEP Global Peace Index, Croatia ranked 14th in 2023, up from 15th in 2022, and the World of Statistics declared it the safest country for night walks in the world," Božinović said.
He noted that the number of illegal migration cases continued to rise in 2023, with 69,726 police actions, a 37.7% increase compared to 2022. However, this year to date there has been a 47.36% decrease compared to the same period last year.
The report states that most illegal migrants came from Afghanistan (22,100), Turkey (13,480), and Morocco (6,248).
The police forcibly removed 6,103 foreigners, including 3,756 removed based on readmission agreements.
Homicides continue to decrease, all solved
Last year, there was an 11.6% increase in road traffic, with 6.3% more traffic accidents, 6.6% more severely and 6.6% more lightly injured individuals compared to the previous year, with one fewer fatality.
"The crime resolution rate is 71.6%, marking the fourth consecutive year it has been above 70%," the minister told the cabinet, adding that the long-term trend of declining homicides continued. Last year, there were 23 homicides, all of which were solved, he said.
Of all the homicides last year, 14 were committed against family members or close persons, with victims equally being women and men.
Radicalisation in society increasing
Last year, the police recorded 38 criminal offenses related to terrorism and extreme violence, compared to 26 in 2022, representing a 46.2% increase in reported criminal offenses.
"A trend of increasing radicalisation in society has been noted in Croatia, which can lead to the emergence of isolated radicalised individuals. However, our operational capacities are dedicated to monitoring such phenomena," the report says.
The number of hate-motivated criminal offenses is also rising - 85 in 2023 compared to 51 in 2022. In the area of cybercrime, 2,032 criminal offenses were reported, a 9% increase.
According to police calculations, the crime rate in Croatia last year was 1,537 criminal offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, including traffic-related criminal offenses.