Updated 6.30pm
Pickpocketing remains Malta’s most common crime, but pickpocketing reports fell for the first time in almost a decade last year, an annual crime report has shown.
A total of 17,136 offences were reported to the police in 2017, meaning reported crime fell by 0.9 per cent, or 162 crimes. .
Criminologist Saviour Formosa, who drew up the report, noted that pickpocketing reports fel by 303 – a 12 per cent decrease - for the first time since 2009.
“Most other categories of theft have decreased apart from theft from factories and building sites, hotels, retail outlets, religious temples, occupied residences and theft of vehicle.
“Theft from beaches experienced a 31 per cent increase following a dip the previous year. Theft comprises 48.2 per cent of all offences reported to the police, down from 51 per cent in 2016,” Prof. Formosa said during a press conference this morning.
The second highest reported offence, damages reports, saw a slight decrease to 22 per cent of all offences, while 7 per cent of last year’s reports involved domestic violence, surpassing bodily harm reports and which went down to 5 per cent.
According to Prof. Formosa, the figures point to a “steadily more tolerant and less violent society in the social realm.”
The rise in domestic violence reports, he said, did not contradict this as it was primarily a crime "ensconced in the private realm."
He noted that Malta's crime rate was lower than the EU average, and that it had marginally decreased despite an increase in Malta's population and tourist numbers.
Decrease in St Julian's crime
On the areas impacted the most, Prof. Formosa said that while St Julian’s still had the highest rate of crimes reported, the number of reports decreased, suggesting that criminal activity was spreading to other areas instead, notably Valletta.
Speaking at the press conference, Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia said that such reports were crucial as they allowed the police to better understand what they had to deal with and in turn carry out better work.
He added that in recent years, the number of police officers at certain hotspots, such as Paceville, had been increased in turn leading to a decrease in reports from 3,100 in 2012 to 1,800 reports in 2017.
The authorities, the minister went on, would now be looking at other areas that might require additional police presence to address the problems in a similar way.