Crime is the world’s largest global venture. In 2003, more than half a million crime victims were officially registered in France alone (these figures do not include cases of domestic violence, which frequently remain unreported).
After briefly outlining the history of crime, the author aims to demonstrate the complexity of criminal activities. He draws on statistics provided by the police and the gendarmerie to analyse types of criminal activity, as well as where and when crimes occurred.
The author’s original approach allows him to construct a precise analysis of crime and its geography, and to provide a general overview of crime in France.
The book is illustrated with more than 500 maps based on previously unpublished official information from the archives of the Ministry of the Interior.


Alain Bauer, a criminologist and consultant, teaches at the University of Paris, the Centre d’Etudes Supérieure de la Gendarmerie Nationale, the Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature and the Centre National de Formation de Police Judiciaire. He is the President of the consulting committee of the Observatioire National de la Déliquance.
He is the author of Le Crépuscule des frères (2005) and Violences et insécurité urbaines (with Xavier Raufer, 2005).