Most sightings of migrant boats this year have been reported to occur between 30 and 60 nautical miles south of Malta in areas mostly frequented by fishing vessels, according to a new interactive map on the CrimeMalta website.

The map reveals patterns of illegal immigrants arriving in Malta and allows the public to click on points to obtain information about individual boat sightings and landings.

The map, compiled by criminologist Saviour Formosa using Googlemap technology, shows the locations of 31 boat sightings.

Dr Formosa pointed out when contacted that the vast majority of cases were reported by fishing vessels. Only two boats were reported to have been assisted by the EU Frontex agency.

The immigrants' mapping is a recent addition to the CrimeMalta website - www.crimemalta.com - created by Dr Formosa who has a PhD in spatio-temporal environmental criminology and lectures at the University of Malta.

Dr Formosa explained that, once immigration was such an important topic, he thought to map it out scientifically. He started by mapping sightings this year based on information released by the police and information he obtained through new bulletins and other sources.

The new addition to the site, which Dr Formosa has labelled FrontexWatch Malta, includes information on the date and time of arrival of immigrant boats, the coordinates where the boats were seen and where they landed as well as information regarding the number of people on board, their gender, the number of children and deaths that reportedly occurred.

The site, updated regularly, is the fruit of 10 years research during which Dr Formosa analysed Malta's crime data dating back to 1950.

The data provide an understanding of crime trends in the Maltese islands.

The updated website's Risc (Relative Risk of Spatial Crime) figures track the pattern of reported crime for last year. Figures show that, like last year, the area where crime was reported most was St Julians.

Floriana and Valletta moved up to second and third place (from fifth and fourth, respectively, in 2006) followed by Mdina and St Paul's Bay. The localities where crime was reported least were Mtarfa followed by Mqabba, Ikin, Xagħra and Xewkija.