ADULT PERPETRATORS OF CRIMINAL OFFENCES, BY TYPE OF DECISION, 2025

In 2025, public prosecutor’s offices in the Republic of Croatia decided upon crime reports for 48 746 adult perpetrators of criminal offences, which was by 1.7% less than in 2024. The number of accused persons increased by 9.5% and the number of convicted persons by 6.7%, as compared to the previous year.

The share of persons reported for criminal offences against property, which was the most frequent type of offence in 2025, was 46.9%, the share of accused persons was 26.8% and of convicted persons 27.3%. They were followed by criminal offences against personal freedom, with 10.2% of reported, 17.2% of accused and 16.0% of convicted perpetrators.

By type of pronounced criminal penalties or other measures, the most frequent one was suspended imprisonment (79.4%), followed by unsuspended imprisonment (18.7%), unsuspended fine (1.1%) and suspended fine (0.3%).

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

Source and methods of data collection

On the basis of the Official Statistics Act (NN, Nos 25/20, 155/23 and 124/25 – corr.), data on criminal offences of adult reported, accused and convicted persons are collected by regular statistical surveys conducted using the following statistical reports: the Statistical Report for an Adult against Whom Criminal Proceedings Based on Crime Report and the Interlocutory Proceedings Have Been Concluded (SK-1 form) and the Statistical Report for an Accused Adult against Whom Criminal Proceedings Have Been Validly Concluded (SK-2 form).

Statistical reports are filled in by competent public prosecutor’s offices after the final decision has been reached, and by county and municipal courts of first instance that act after the criminal proceedings have been validly concluded. Observation units are adult perpetrators of criminal offences, who can be either direct perpetrators, accomplices, instigators or assistants.

On 1 January 2013, the new Penal Code (NN, Nos 125/11, 144/12, 56/15, 61/15 – correction, 101/17, 118/18, 126/19, 84/21, 114/22, 114/23, 36/24 and 136/25) entered into force. This code, besides implementing new and modifying the existing general institutes of material criminal law, prescribes a new catalogue of criminal offences.

Coverage

Statistical surveys cover all adult perpetrators of criminal offences, whether reported, accused or convicted, in order to examine the volume and spread of crime for the whole territory of the Republic of Croatia.

Definitions

Crime, in terms of statistical surveys, ranges from reporting a criminal offence to the valid conclusion of legal proceedings by a public prosecutor’s office, that is, to pronouncing a valid court decision.

Adult perpetrators of criminal offences are persons who turned 18 at the time of committing the criminal offence and against whom proceedings based on a crime report and interlocutory proceedings have been concluded, and accused persons (including those who were charged on the basis of a private lawsuit) against whom criminal proceedings have been validly concluded.

Person reported as a known perpetrator is an adult perpetrator of a criminal offence against whom proceedings based on a crime report and interlocutory proceedings have been concluded with a decision by which either the crime report is rejected, or the investigation was discontinued, or the investigation was terminated, or an indictment was submitted.

Person reported as an unknown perpetrator is, starting with the 2015 reference year, an unknown person who was reported for a criminal offence to a public prosecutor’s office. Until the end of 2014 reference year, an unknown perpetrator was defined as an unknown person who was reported for a criminal offence to a public prosecutor’s office and who remains unknown even after one year from the day of the submission of the crime report. This change is expected to have a limited influence on data on total reported perpetrators as well as on reported unknown perpetrators, as it can be expected that a certain number of initially unknown perpetrators’ identities will be revealed during the same year, consequently resulting in double counting.

Accused person is an adult person against whom an indictment, accusatory motion or private lawsuit is filed before the court, against whom criminal proceedings have been concluded with a valid court decision by which the proceedings are terminated, the indictment is dropped, the person is acquitted, the accusation is rejected, a mentally incompetent person is assigned to a coercive accommodation or outward treatment or a perpetrator is convicted.

Younger adult person is a person who turned 18 but not yet 21 years of age at the time of committing a criminal offence to whom the court may pronounce educational measures consisting of special obligations, increased supervision and juvenile imprisonment. In case a perpetrator did not turn 21 years of age, the court may also pronounce an educational measure of assignment to a centre for disciplinary development and a correctional institution measure. To a perpetrator who turns 21 years of age during the trial, a court may pronounce imprisonment instead of juvenile imprisonment sentence, within the boundaries that apply for the duration of the juvenile imprisonment.

Convicted person is a convicted adult person against whom the following criminal penalties or other measures have been pronounced: imprisonment, fine or educational measures, or the person is found guilty, but no sentence has been imposed.

Published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, Ilica 3, P. O. B. 80
Phone: (+385 1) 48 06 111
Press corner: press@dzs.hr

Persons responsible:
Mario Vlajčević, Director of Demographic and Social Statistics Directorate
Lidija Brković, Acting Director General

Prepared by:
Gordana Finzir and Dubravka Rogić-Hadžalić

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