A parked vehicle in Floriana, St Julian’s, Ta’ Xbiex and Malta International Airport could be more at risk to car-related crimes, an annual report has concluded.

Floriana, which hosts the park-and-ride facilities and other public car parks, was the most prone for car theft, break-ins and vandalism, with a rate nearly five times (4.8) the national average, the data on reported offences in 2014 revealed.

Gudja placed second with a rate of 3.7, followed by the entertainment hub of St Julian’s (2.5) and Ta’ Xbiex (2.3), which also hosts a parking facility by the seafront.

According to the study, one explanation could be that the major targets host the largest parking and transport-related facilities. Consequently the high volume and relatively less monitored zones would attract potential offenders.

At the other end of the scale, the Gozitan villages of Munxar, Qala, Għasri and Fontana reported no vehicle-related offences last year.

The report also focuses on thefts from homes with St Julian’s, St Paul’s Bay, Msida and Swieqi being the perennial top graders with a risk factor between twice and five times the national average.

St Julian’s topped the list with more than three times the national average, followed by St Paul’s Bay with a rate of 2.5. Sliema placed fourth and the village of Għasri placed third overall.

No offences were reported from residences in San Lawrenz and Mdina. An analysis of the overall crime risk reveals that St Julian’s maintained its hold at the top, with an offence rate over five times the national rate. Next on the list were Floriana, Mdina, Valletta, Sliema and Marsa with a rate between twice and five times the national average.

The highest number of crimes are committed between April and August.

Report author Saviour Formosa, a criminologist at the Department of Criminology, explained that the workings are based on the Risc model, an established methodology widely used in criminology.

The risk level is not based exclusively on the number of reported crimes but on a statistical formula which gives weight to other factors such as population and the number of households.

This provides a like-with-like comparison between small and big localities.

A case in point could be the weight given to a single theft from a residence in Mdina where there are only about 100 residences against 10 such cases in Birkirkara where the number of households is about 10,000.

A typical example of this was the case of Għasri where three cases of theft from residences in an entire year spiked the risk level upwards.

Another important factor is the number of visitors in a locality as every one of them could be treated as a potential offender.

“A resident’s vehicle in a recreation zone has a higher risk than one on a rural town due to such changes in population structures,” Prof. Formosa said.

Who’s most at risk?

Source: crimemalta.com