The EU Crime and Safety survey for 2006 showed that the crime rate in Istanbul was just 18 percent last year. This compared with 32 percent in London, 27 percent in Amsterdam, 26 percent in Belfast and Dublin, 24 percent in Copenhagen, 23 percent in New York and Stockholm, 20 percent in Brussels, and 19 percent in Rome.
However, discussing the figures at a press conference on Tuesday, Istanbul provincial governor Muammer Guler acknowledged that crimes committed against individuals and property rose 11 percent in Istanbul last year to 2005.