Crime in a Changing Society: Evidence from Romania

The study examines five sub-periods to analyze the characteristics of criminality in the decades following the fall of communism. It considers literature-identified risks associated with criminal activity (low level of employment, high-income inequalities), and significant changes of various nature during this time (accession to the EU, financial, political, or migrant crisis, the COVID pandemic). By using official statistics on crime and the socio-economic context, the study finds an overall decline in criminality and relative stability in recent years. However, the dynamics vary across different types of crime. Violent crime was on the decline, as was theft after 2000, while drug use and car accidents were on the rise. Other types of crime, such as economic and organized crime, showed inconsistent trends. This shift in criminal behavior highlights the thesis of the continuous transformation of crime and underscores its dependence on context, having relevant implications for social sciences.