GRAND
ANGLE
21
n°
Statistics report from the French National supervisory body on crime and punishment
June 2010
ISSN : 1777-3296
Publishing editor: André-Michel VENTRE – Editor in chief: Christophe SOULLEZ
CRIME PHENOMENA RECORDED
AT ROISSY CHARLES-DE-GAULLE AIRPORT IN 2008
A multi-source statistical approach using data about offences recorded by the police
and the Gendarmerie 1, data about goods seized by customs
and theft sustained by businesses
Valérie Bonvoisin, researcher for the ONDRP 2
F
rom the 1st January 2010, the French National supervisory body on crime and punishment (hereafter called the ONDRP)
replaced the French National supervisory body on crime 3 (hereafter called the OND) On a short term basis, this
development within the field of competence of the so-called OND did not have visible consequences, as
statistical studies take several months or even more than six months, to produce results.
This is what happened with this article dedicated to crime recorded at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport. It is the result
of a project launched in 2009 which was the subject of a recommendation from the OND board of advisers
at the time of the annual report in November 2009. It stipulated that “after a first point of contact with the authorities
in charge of security in the Roissy platform area, the board of advisers from the OND suggests proceeding, in
collaboration with the administration or businesses affected, with a statistical study on crime observed in the Roissy
airport platform area.”
As it stands with statistics tools recording crime, the ONDRP tends to do analysis in fields limited to general issues
related to crime recorded in airports. There is a lack of national data on this issue. However, the ONDRP offers
answers about one French airport in particular, Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle, the leading airport in France, with over 40%
flow of passengers in 2008 (see «developments…»).
The ONDRP is also working on the « Grand Angle 4 » a series of themed articles to follow the previous issue
dealing with violations of Labour law. The 18th Edition dealt with incidents in amateur football and the 15th Edition
dealt with incidents on public transport by rail in the Île-de-France region and had already focussed on transport areas.
These themed articles are an addition to studies that the ONDRP publishes regularly for its two principle statistical
sources, the « État 4001 » a tool for recording crime and offences commonly encountered by the police and the
gendarmerie and the study about victimization at a national level by the ONDRP and the INSEE 5 called Cadre de vie
et sécurité (a security study.)
These are the fruit of a principle which is applied to all statistical analysis of crime, in particular bringing together
sources different in nature in order to be able to understand crime problems. This multi-source approach aims to
••••(1) The gendarmerie is the police barracks for the « Gendarmes » the second police force in France in addition to the National
Police. Gendarmes are similar to military police, and usually operate outside cities. Hereafter the French term will be used.
(2) The ONDRP is the French National supervisory body on crime and punishment.
(3) The OND is the French National supervisory body on crime.
(4) « Grand Angle » is the French title of an article which is part of a series of themed articles of the same name focussing on a
range of issues relating to crime. « Focal Point » would be a similar equivalent title.
(5) INSEE is the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic studies.
Institut national
des
hautes études
de la
sécurité
et de la
justice
Département de l’Observatoire national de la délinquance et des réponses pénales
École Militaire – 1 place Joffre – Case 39 – 75700 PARIS 07 SP – Tél. : 01 76 64 89 00 – Fax. : 01 76 64 89 31
CRIME PHENOMENA RECORDED AT ROISSY CHARLES-DE-GAULLE AIRPORT IN 2008
allow us to go beyond the limits of each individual statistical source. At this stage, we must remind ourselves
that the instances of crime recorded, are by definition restricted to what victims have reported via complaints
or which the relevant services have revealed within the framework of their action initiatives.
This is why, given that for Roissy Charles de Gaulle we only have information on crime that has been recorded.
We cannot assume that we can count all cases of theft or violent offences committed. We know how many
crimes have been committed on site. However, this does not include incidents that have not been reported
or those that were reported elsewhere.
On the other hand, we can compare Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport CDG to other places, from the point of
view of crimes recorded, in order to try to establish specific characteristics. It is sometimes considered a
“small region” within its own right, because of the number of people, passengers or employees there at any
one time.
This article was created thanks to the participation, in the form of transmission of data and methodological
information, of departments at the sub prefect for security and safety of the Roissy CDG airport and Bourget
areas, from the border police, to the gendarmerie for air transport and the interrogation of customs at the
airport, as well as the company Air France. The ONDRP would like to thank them; in particular, warrant Officer
Misiano Pascal, from the division of the gendarmerie for air transport, and Mr Philippe JOEL, from the direction
Logistique Produit Vol for Air France.
Alain BAUER
André-Michel VENTRE
Criminology professor at the CNAM 6
Director of the INHESJ 7
President of the ONDRP national crime council.
MA IN L ES S ON S
L EA R NE D
With up to 140 000 people employed
and a flow of traffic of 61 million
passengers, Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle
(CDG) is one of the main international
airports in terms of passengers and
merchandise.
The ONDRP has gathered statistical
data relating to crime recorded in 2008
in the Roissy CDG airport area through
interaction with the police, the gendarmerie, customs as well as the airline
Air France.
According to statistics available on
crime, it appears that Roissy CDG
airport is exposed to specific forms of
attack linked to the economic and
social activity carried out there on a
daily basis.
According to the incidents observed
at the airport itself, in the form of
complaints reported to the border
police or the gendarmerie for air transport, simple theft appears to be the
most widespread problem, with theft of
cars following closely behind violence
against the authorities.
In 2008, 2 368 simple cases of theft of
public belongings were observed at
Roissy Charles de Gaulle, that is to say
accounting for 65% of the theft of goods
recorded. This amount of cases of theft,
made up of 348 cases of snatch theft
(that is being robbed by a pickpocket) is
undoubtedly strongly linked to the
high amount of people carrying luggage
in the airport station areas throughout
the day.
According to an analogy suggested
by the ONDRP, 2 638 cases of simple
theft recorded corresponds to that
equivalent for a population of around
250 000 inhabitants. In comparison, the
40 cases of violent theft recorded at
Roissy CDG in 2008 is the equivalent
for a population of fewer than 25 000
inhabitants and the 337 cases of vandalism and damage, the equivalent for a
town of 48 000 inhabitants.
•••• (6) CNAM is the National conservatory for arts and trades.
(7) INHESJ is the French National institute of advanced security and justice studies.
Grand Angle n°21 © INHESJ 2010
2
In terms of offences with intent to
cause physical harm, for which 326
cases were observed in 2008, the
amount corresponds to an average
population size of fewer than 50 000
inhabitants. One type of violence
stands out according to this criteria;
that targeting people from the authorities: the 57 cases recorded in 2008
would be the equivalent for a large
population, that is to say 135 000 inhabitants. We might assume that the
higher incidence of this kind of violence
is linked to one of the main activities of
the security checking staff at the airport:
searching passengers before boarding.
Thus, the hypothetical population
sizes demonstrate the frequency with
which these offences occur. The amount
of car theft-282 thefts recorded at
Roissy CDG, is equivalent to the average amount recorded for a population
of 135 000 inhabitants, with significantly
more thefts of belongings from within a
car or thefts of car accessories, for
which the numbers recorded in 2008,
164 and 90 respectively, which would
CRIME PHENOMENA RECORDED AT ROISSY CHARLES-DE-GAULLE AIRPORT IN 2008
be the equivalent expected for populations of about 40 000 people.
However, it is not the general public
that are the main victims of car theft
recorded at Roissy CDG but car rental
businesses with vehicles based on site.
Their vehicles were allegedly stolen
from “rental” car parks (119 incidents
recorded in 2008) or from outside the
airport (118 thefts “outwith the area” of
which the majority are at the expense of rental
companies) that is to say for the equivalent
of around 75% of incidents recorded.
This kind of theft of rental cars recorded at Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport
would also explain the increase of 103
incidents recorded that we observed
between 2007 and 2008, that is to say
+ 57,3% for theft of motor vehicles.
Overall, the number of property
crimes recorded by the border police
and the gendarmerie for air transport
has decreased by 5% over a period of
a year in 2008 (192 fewer incidents
were reported) particularly due to the
decrease of 19,1% (-362 fewer incidents
reported) of «simple cases of theft against
members of the public in public
places».
Incidents with intent to cause physical
harm have increased by 7,6% (more than
24 incidents were reported) The variation of
violent acts or threats reported relate
to small numbers (more than 19 incidences of threats and blackmail
(+45,2%), more than 16 incidences of
gratuitous physical violence (7,7%)
whereas cases of villainous physical
violence (violent theft) decreased by
15 incidents recorded (- 26,3%).
***
To avoid confusion between its main
remit and this investigation, Air France
does not use the French term «vol» to
describe goods that were stolen, as this
word can mean both «flight » and
«theft» in French. Planes which take off
from Roissy CDG are stocked with
foodstuffs and articles of all kinds
intended for passengers. Air France has
led enquiries into the consumption
and use of these items in order to
calculate the frequency and amount of
theft that the company suffers from.
For the ONDRP, these calculations
allow them to demonstrate the problem
of victimisation suffered by Air France
in this field. It is the leading airline
operating on the Roissy Charles-deGaulle site. As in the enquiries of the
same name, it is a question of exploiting everything the victim reports, even
minor theft that has not been reported.
However, this must not be confused
with the data of crime statistics recorded and obtained following a complaint
about more serious crime.
In 2008, in terms of air transport from
the 1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009,
Air France calculates that out of the
items intended for consumption, for
the service or comfort of travellers, a
total value of about 10 million euros
were stolen. For almost two thirds, that
is the equivalent of 6,4 million euros.
These cases of theft affected products
received by the company at Roissy
Charles-de-Gaulle, taking into account
that they may have been fraudulently
removed on site or during flight.
Calculations of the amount of cases of
theft are based on rates calculated by
Air France from the amount of foodstuffs
consumed; tray-meals, drinks and articles
for single use or that of the loss of reusable items such as blankets, crockery.
According to Air France, the items
stolen most often of value equal to an
amount of 1,9 million euros, are blankets
and other linen articles, such as table
cloths and pillow cases. The company
estimates that 50% of linen which is lost
is in fact stolen. For items which can be
re-used, more fragile items such as
glasses or porcelain dishes, the rates of
theft considered the lowest, 15 and 30%
respectively and the amount considered stolen, is the equivalent of less
than 40 000 euros worth of glasses and
630 000 euros worth of porcelain.
The cost of theft of bottles of champagne is valued by Air France at more
than 1,1 million euros for the period
from the 1st April 2008 to 31st March
2009. Out of 100 bottles consumed; that
is to say from stock, Air France considers
that 10 were not consumed by passengers but stolen. For tray meals, the rate
of theft calculated by Air France does
3
not go beyond 0,4% but it relates to a
high amount of consumption, worth
more than 228 million euros, and so
theft is estimated at over 800 000 euros.
The data supplied by Air France to the
ONDRP shows that this problem with
theft is very diverse in nature and that
the company has all kinds of goods
stolen. For example in addition to
those listed so far, there is also theft of
sales on board for which the amount is
estimated at 800 000 euros; welcome
packs containing beauty products
(worth 948 000 euros) but also packaging material, trolleys, high quality
aluminium dessert packaging which
have allegedly been stolen, worth over
600 000 euros.
***
The control of people and merchandise coming into Roissy Charles-deGaulle airport allows for recording of
violations of the laws which are in force
and often, cases are revealed by police
authorities. The border police are responsible for controlling the flow of the
population when flights arrive, whereas
customs, alongside its taxing remit, seizes
any illegal merchandise it discovers.
In 2008, 2506 offences uncovered by
police authorities were reported by the
border police and the gendarmerie for
air transport at Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle
airport. Over 90% of these incidents
came from police checks on foreigners:
71; 2% of them; that is 1 784 incidents
reported, are violations of laws for
foreigners (ILE) and around 20% of
violations were related to “false identity
documents” (499 incidents reported) which
can be observed and counted simultaneously with the ILEs. Between 2007
and 2008, “incidences of violations of
general entry conditions and stay of
foreigners” dropped by 5,7% (fewer
than 58 incidents reported and those
of “false ID documents” dropped by
13,6% (73 fewer cases recorded)
Overall, violations uncovered by staff
departments have not decreased
significantly, only 1,8% fewer cases, that
is fewer than 52 cases reported) partly
because the violations of Labour law
reported increased by more than 43
incidents (+41,7%)
Grand Angle n°21 © INHESJ 2010
CRIME PHENOMENA RECORDED AT ROISSY CHARLES-DE-GAULLE AIRPORT IN 2008
The 750 incidents reported as «other
offences during police checks on foreigners» at Roissy CDG are particularly
frequent: they account for 30% of
offenses uncovered by police authorities in 2008, whereas in metropolitan
France this figure stands at less than
4%. This could be because of cases in
which passengers were “refused permission to board, which then led to
legal action.”
In terms of transport of merchandise,
in 2008, customs officers conducted
15 500 operations, out of which almost
half related to commercial fraud and
indirect taxation. These offences were
for legal merchandise such as alcohol
or cereal for which transport is subject
to payment for rights and taxes. The
amount of these cases of fraud uncovered by customs officials at Roissy CDG
is estimated at 11 million euros.
seized by customs because they are
different in nature: 27,5% of them are
jewellery or time pieces, 24,4% are
medicines, 13,9 of them are technological
goods and fewer than 13% are clothing
and shoes. However, at a national level,
the figure for clothes and shoes is close
to 29% and that for medicines is not
more than 14%. Due to a lack of further
details, we cannot be sure that the time
pieces, jewellery and technological
goods are in proportion, amongst the
most numerous of the items seized at
Roissy CDG, but, according to the airport
figures, it would be legitimate to
assume so.
For other illegal products which can
pass through an airport, and considering
the total proportion of items seized by
customs, Roissy CDG can be considered
an important passageway for trafficking
protected species, an average passageway for smuggling tobacco, and a passageway of variable importance in
terms of drug trafficking (minor for
cannabis, average for cocaine.)
4 514 cases of counterfeiting were
recorded at Roissy CDG in 2008; the
equivalent of over 27% of the total
activity of customs in this field. These
findings led to the seizure of almost
1 550 000 counterfeit articles (copies of
designer labels) or counterfeiting (copies of
products) for which the value was estimated at 191 million euros. In terms of
value, seizure of items at Roissy CDG
represents over 40% of those from
customs in 2008.
In 2008, 48% of incidents recorded
carried out by customs in the framework of the fight against trafficking
animal species or plants protected by
the so-called «Washington convention»
(see definition) were at Roissy CDG. For
smuggling of tobacco, this figure stood
at 17,6% and at 5% for drugs.
The average price of counterfeit
articles seized by customs at Roissy
CDG is higher than that of any articles
Over 26 tonnes of smuggled cigarettes
and tobacco were seized at Roissy
Charles de Gaulle in 2008 that is 2,2%
***
Grand Angle n°21 © INHESJ 2010
4
more than in 2007, the year in which 12
tonnes were seized. The rise was particularly strong for roll-up tobacco for
which the quantities seized went from
2 tonnes in 2007 to over 7 tonnes in
2008.
The comparison of quantities of
drugs seized at Roissy CDG between
2007 and 2008 demonstrates how variable the statistics are for certain drugs:
the number of doses of ecstasy/LSD
seized in 2008 was less than 6 000, that
is 6 times less than in 2007; the quantity of Qat leaves seized, that is 547kg
decreased by half over a year, and for
preparatory ingredients used to make
drugs, the amount was not over 20kg in
2008, whereas more than 5 tonnes were
seized in 2007. On the other hand, for
heroine, in 2008, there were four times
as many seizures, with 26kg seized
compared to 7kg in 2007.
There were more moderate variations
in the quantities of cocaine and cannabis
seized, with amounts lowering: -14,2%
for cocaine out of which 793 kilos were
seized in 2008 and -20,6% of cannabis
(313kg). With a figure of almost 18% of
the total quantity of cocaine seized by
customs in 2008, Roissy CDG appears
to be a more frequent passageway for
this drug than for cannabis. However,
less than 1% of the 53,8 tonnes of cannabis seized by customs in 2008 overall
were at from Roissy CDG.