Pickpocketing surge sees Malta’s crime report figures rise

Number of pickpocketing crime reports shoots up by 32% last year, but residence theft declines by 24%  

A surge in pickpocketing saw Malta’s reported crime rate continue its upward trend last year. Figures compiled by renowned criminologist Saviour Formosa shows that 17,138 offences were reported to the police last year, an increase of 490 cases when compared to the previous year.

This was chiefly down to pickpocketing, that increased by 492 offences in 2015, up by 32% over the previous year. Indeed, Formosa described pickpocketing as a “tsunami surge” in Maltese report – shooting up from 450 reports in 2009 to 2,030 cases last year.

Conversely, police reports on residence theft dropped dramatically – from 932 reports in 2014 to 712 in 2015.

Domestic violence continued its steady rise, reaching 1,205 reports in 2015 - up from 1,046 reports in 2014. Sexual offence reports increased by 22% to 124 cases.

Elsewhere, police received 192 drug reports, a decline of 21% over the previous year. Prostitution decreased by 41% to 123 cases.

St. Julian’s retained its notorious spot as Malta’s crime capital, followed by fellow tourist destinations Mdina, Valletta, Floriana and Sliema in terms of crimes per capita.

Formosa told a press conference at the home affairs ministry that crime in Malta has become more targeted, and urged the public to adopt a sense of collective social responsibility in preventing crimes.

“It is high time that the focus on crime move away from the perception that the police are solely responsible for the mitigation of crime,” he said. “The essential aspects that will pivot towards offence mitigation lies in the enhancement of social cohesion through awareness raising, values redefinition, sel-respect and the will to report and stop offences.

“Such a process requires a sea change in both the police force and relative enforcement agencies remit as well as civil society through NGOs and self-help groups.” 

Home affairs minister Carmelo Abela urged the Opposition not to try and milk political capital out of the rise in crime reports.

“Crime should not be turned into a political football,” he said, while singling out the decline in residence robberies.