In Italy, female murders (femicides) and online crime increased in 2021.
As of December 26, the authorities had recorded 116 femicides, said the Interior Ministry in Rome in an annual report on Wednesday.
In 2019 the number was 110.
100 of these women died in the family environment and 68 of them were killed by their partner.
Femicides have also been a concern of Italian politics for a long time.
At the beginning of the month, the government under Prime Minister Mario Draghi agreed on a bill that provides, among other things, tougher measures against possible perpetrators and more protection for women.
In the area of Internet crime, the police registered 30.5 percent more cases than in the same period last year, according to the report, a significant increase.
The investigators attributed this to the pandemic, among other things, as more people were working from home and therefore more online.
For example, the perpetrators would have stolen the personal data of their victims using phishing, i.e. fake websites or e-mails.
Overall, in terms of crime, 2021 was under the influence of the pandemic, as in the previous year.
"There is a slight increase in acts compared to 2020, which was influenced by the lockdown and marked by the severe restrictions, but in 2021 we are still at a generally lower level than in the period before the pandemic," said the vice-general director for public Security, Vittorio Rizzi.