The Justice Ministry finally released crime figures (see related story). They aren’t exactly current, as 2019 is not yet available, but nevertheless provide a useful picture of the period 2011-2018.
When people believe crime is either up or down, it usually depends on what they are talking about. Murders and armed assaults probably leave a bigger impression than some of the other categories and it’s often a matter of perception.
That robberies have declined by 62 per cent since 2016 from 129 to 49 is in any case encouraging. The same goes for burglaries that dropped by 43 per cent from 146 to 83 over this three-year period.
Justice Minister Egbert Doran’s recent comment about an alarming spike in car thefts was again confirmed, as the Prosecutor’s Office had already done earlier. These increased by 39.7 per cent to from 150 in 2016 to 204 in 2018.
Hopefully recent controls by police, including a check of the vehicle identification number (VIN) and other measures to curb this disturbing trend, can have a positive effect. The fact that many visitors drive around the island in rentals is even more reason to tackle the issue with some urgency.
While the number of traffic accidents with injuries decreased from 385 to 310 over three years, road fatalities rose slightly from three in 2016 to four in 2017 and five 2018. This may indicate more speeding, making collisions generally more violent.
Of great concern is that more than half the accidents regard cases of hit and run. This implies far too many motorists do the wrong thing by leaving the scene of an accident, with all possible consequences.
Authorities need to come down hard on those involved, also because they are setting a completely undesirable example. Such irresponsible and frankly uncivilised behaviour is not to go unpunished.
