Editorial

One of the great, unsung attributes about Malta is that we live in a safe and, compared to other places, almost crime-free society. We inhabit an environment where children, the elderly and the infirm - people in general - can go about their daily lives protected from the kind of violence that has so scarred the quality of life of so many other cities and countries in the developed world. There are no areas in Malta where one would hesitate to let one's children go alone. Paceville and other similar places may be seedy, but they are not threatening, violent or seriously crime-ridden. The overall impression of Malta is peaceable.

"Serious crime", as Police Commissioner John Rizzo put it, "is not high". These sentiments are borne out by the crime figures for 2006, which have just been published. Compared to 2005 - an all-time high for crime - reported crime has dropped by almost 11 per cent, reaching a level below that of five years ago. This follows a period of growth between 1998 and 2005, when crime increased by 25 per cent.

"General theft", which accounts for the largest proportion of crime, is also down nearly 11 per cent - standing at 27 cases a day. Homicide figures dropped from three to zero. Other crimes have remained at roughly the same levels as the previous year, except for "violence against public officers" and "sexual offences", which saw an increase.

Clearly, there is no acceptable level of crime. In an ideal world there would be none. But that ideal can never be attained.

What society looks for is a rigorous control of crime to ensure its citizens are secure and the stability of daily life is maintained in freedom. The latest crime figures are encouraging, even if an online poll by The Times indicates most people still do not feel "safe".

We would all wish to see the fight against crime continue to succeed. There is no room for complacency: 27 cases of theft a day are still too high. For the 27 individuals or families affected, it amounts to a traumatic violation of one's home or person, the loss of property or valuables one can ill afford. None of this is acceptable. Over 16,000 crimes a year are still 16,000 too many.

While the Malta Police Force is our guardian against crime, we too, as individual citizens, have a role to play in helping to reduce it. It is our duty to take simple precautions to prevent crime. We need to exercise vigilance by ensuring that crimes against the home or the person are prevented. Handbags should be carefully guarded in public places. Homes and cars should not be left unlocked and unattended.

Ultimately, we look to the police for efficiency and effectiveness in the conduct of their duties. The Police Commissioner recognises this. Better performance does lead to better results. He was right to emphasise the need for better police training. The reorganisation of the force has obviously helped. More needs to be done. Police numbers are still over-stretched. There are some areas of the Police Force - most notably the administrative law enforcement unit, dealing with such matters as hunting, trapping, litter and dumping, and the immigration section, which finds itself unable to cope with the responsibilities placed upon it both by illegal immigration and the new demands of EU membership - that desperately need reinforcement if our trust in the Police Force is to be maintained and the encouraging statistics that have just been unveiled are to continue to improve.