Reported crimes in the Maltese Islands reached a low of 14,933 crimes in 2022 against a population of 533,286 persons, decreasing by 5.4% over the year 2021.

Introduction :The figures render the Islands very safe where crimes declined from 45

crimes per 1000 persons in 2004 to 37 crimes per 1000 persons in 2012 to

28 crimes per 1000 persons in 2022, the lowest on record. As the population

increased, the expected crime figures based on the 2004 and 2012 data

were those of 23,988 and 19,718 respectively, the reported figure of 14,933

crimes stands in stark contrast to forecasts. Notably, homicide, as the most

serious of violent crimes, were solved in rapid turnarounds, such that all

homicides that occurred from 2018 to 2022 were all solved within a few days.

This category has remained constant at 1.7 per 100,000 persons for 2004,

2012 and 2022. Violent crimes in 2022 were less that those registered in 2012

where 391 cases were registered comprising 25 cases per 1000 persons to

one where 361 cases were registered in 2022 down to 24 cases per 1000

persons. Theft has been halved to 30.9%. As society diversifies, so does crime

as experienced through changes in such reports on domestic violence

that keeps increasing year on year, as well as changes in computer-related

crime, fraud, pretended rights, drugs and money laundering. For the second

since 1998, the RISC model depicts a situation where there a no localities

that exhibited more that 5 times the national rate, whilst only four localities

Floriana, Valletta, Bormla and Zejtun fall within the 2x to 5x category. This

means that most localities now fall within the national rate and 20 localities

fall within a slightly higher (1x to 2x) category.

This points towards a homogenisation of strategic, operational and tactical

implementation to tackle crime. Community policing also served its

purpose to morph this change. In terms of societal reaction, moral panic

still played a part in rendering a perception that crime is increasing, often

pushed by erroneous political and kneejerk rhetoric based on a single crime

that is depicted extensively in the media, when the facts depict a stabilised

scenario

The annual report covers a factual crime review of Malta’s interactive spatial

technologies and spatial statistics such as published in this year’s annual

report for 2022.

This report covers the 2022 annual statistics as elicited from an analysis of

reported crime, incarceration statistics and spatial analysis. The outputs

below pertain to the closed ‘accounts’ for 2022 crime.

This year the statistics cover comparisons between 2021-2022, 2012-22 and

2004-2022 as it is pertinent to enhance the analysis based on a single year

gap, a decadal gap and a two-decade gap. This allows for an analysis of

crime as Malta experienced a veritable population jump against which to

analyse the generational difference in population and crime structure. The

background against which this report is published posits a narrative where

the Maltese Islands registered 18,388 crimes in 2004 against a population

of 408,798 persons towards one registering 15,622 crimes in 2012 where

the population was that of 422,509 persons to one where the number

of crimes registered a low of 14,933 crimes in 2022 against a population of

533,286 persons.

Whilst the expected crime rates based on the 2004 and 2012 data were

those of 23,988 and 19,718 respectively, the reported figure of 14,933 crimes

stands in stark contrast to forecasts. This decrease in crimes, coupled by

an increase in population points towards various push factors that caused

both a mitigation and in turn a decrease in crime reported. Interesting,

these figures come to the fore when crimes not previously entered into

the Reporting System, were included in the system, which included Money

laundering, Immigration Offences and Drugs.

In summary, at 14,933 reported offences, the lowest figure in the past

decade (bar the anomalous COVID 2020 figures), crime analysis shows

a significant reduction over the recent years’ crime offences, evidenced

through a decrease in crime reports over the 2021-2022 period comprising a

significant decrease of 852 crimes or 5.4%. Comparing same from 2012 and

2004 the 2022 figures show that crime was reduced by 4% from 2012 to 2022

and by 19% from 2004.

In effect this means that Malta is a safer place as crimes per 1000 persons

(the rate employed to analyse total crimes) went down from 45 crimes per

1000 persons in 2004 to 37 crimes per 1000 persons in 2012 to 28 crimes per

1000 persons in 2022.

It is to be noted that as police efficiency, technology and societal awareness

on safety and security increases, crimes, particularly those that pertained

to theft diminish and such pushes the envelope for more serious crimes

6 and new opportunities such as online offences, to become relatively more

prominent. The need for awareness in real and virtual worlds is imperative

and the need to avoid moral panic instances is even more vital: as crimes

of a serious nature occur, the prominence given by society, social and

established media could cause the perceived fear of crime to increase.

Inversely as trust in the Police Force increases, cases of moral panic would

be mitigated through an increased sense of safety and security. This is

evidenced as serious crimes are solved in rapid turnarounds, such as the

homicides that occurred from 2018 to 2022 were all solved within a few

days. Whilst homicides is a crime that cannot be predicted, the crime rate

for this category has remained constant at 1.7 per 100,000 persons (rate at

which this offence is calculated) for 2004, 2012 and 2022.

With regards to violent crimes that include the Grievous Bodily Harm

component across the various crime categories, armed robberies, homicides

and violence against public officers were less that those registered in 2012

where 391 cases were registered comprising 25 cases per 1000 persons to one

where 361 cases were registered in 2022 down to 24 cases per 1000 persons.

The rapid decrease in Total crimes is due to the fact that in past decades the

entire crime scenario had been absorbed by a single phenomenon that is

the Theft category, which phenomenon had registered 62.4% of all crimes

in 2004 down to 55.6% in 2012 down to 30.9% in 2022, shedding 6,853 crimes

since 2004 or 4.078 since 2012.

The Theft dynamic has experienced a relative re-establishment as related

to opportunities offered as recreation, entertainment and tourism increased

post-COVID, countered by decreases in theft from residences. Theft from

occupied residences, which averaged 560 crimes over the past two decades,

dropped for the lowest time since 2008, having experienced a drop from

696 offences in 2012 to 309 in 2022 (-56%), also dropping from 390 in 2021.

A review of how society changed over the decades in comparison to 2022,

the figures show decreases from 2004, depicted in decreasing rates by

arson, attempted offences, prostitution, immigration, thefts, bodily harm

and damages. From 2012, the decreases were mainly prostitution, arson,

theft, attempted offences, forgery and bodily harm.

In contrast, increase in crimes were experienced from 2004 to 2022,

depicted in increasing rates, through drugs, sexual offences, threats

and private violence, perjury, fraud and computer misuse, the latter two

increasing by 876% and 4164% respectively. From 2012 to 2022, the increases

were registered through drugs, perjury, damages, sexual offences, domestic

violence, computer misuse, immigration, treats and public violence, fraud,

pornography and abuse of public authority.

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As in the previous reports, the new societal dynamic resulted in a shift

across the main categories of crime, which can be distinctly separated into

two phenomena: those reflecting actual public-reports and those were the

Malta Police were highly effective in their output. The latter includes drugs,

forgery, fraud, immigration, money laundering, perjury and false swearing,

pornography, prostitution and trafficking of persons.

Note that in 2020, Gender-based violence was introduced as a new

category (no reports made in 2021), whilst 3 cases were reported in 2022.

Theft comprises 30.9% of all offences reported to the Police, slightly

increasing from 28.4 in 2021 as bars, retail, hotel and restaurants opened as

local and international tourists increased their custom. It is imperative that

the lessons learnt during the pre-COVID period are not lost as awareness

and mitigation is highly critical as custom increases to pre-covid numbers.

The second highest reported offence, Damages, has again seen a slight 1%

increase between 2021 and 2022 to 24% of all offences in 2021, up from 16.7%

in 2012 and 20% in 2020. Despite the long-term increase over the decades

in rate terms, the figure is slightly less than 2004 and lower than the figures

reported since 2103.

Irrespective of socio-economic and pandemic scenarios, in third place,

Domestic Violence at 12.3% become the third highest rating crime, again

increased by 5% over the 2021-2022 period from 1,741 in 2021 to 1830 cases

in 2022. This decadal massive 78% (802 cases) increase over the 2012-

2022 period reflects the vulnerability of victims’ situations exacerbated by a

pandemic that served to doubly victims vulnerable persons but also points

towards the opening up of victims to the morphed Malta Police approach

to reception of victims in the relative stations, the setting up of a Victim

Support Agency and a no tolerance Malta Police Force attitude towards

such cases. It is to be noted that from the increase, 130 cases (11%) related

to Psychological Harm. Increases occurred in psychological harm, grievous

bodily harm with physical force, whilst slight bodily harm with physical force

experienced a further 50% decline.

At the fourth ranking, Fraud experienced 1562 cases, specifically pushed by

fraudulent gains through mobile, messaging and online payment scams

impersonating service, delivery and ancillary services. Though down from

the 2021 2376 cases in 2021, this category still registers 10.5% of all crimes

reported in 2022), up from 160 cases in 2004 and 359 in 2012.

Bodily Harm, which had registered a year on year decrease initiated in 2009

dropping to 4.7% of all offences in 2021, registered a return to pre-COVID

figures 847 cases in 2022, as this crime is related to the invasion of social

8 and personal spaces, highly invasive in recreation zones that experience

crowding behaviour. This stated the figures are less than the 2004 and

2012 figures that registered 1065 and 1032 cases respectively. Mitigation in

leisure and recreation zones is required and such is the domain of all parties

as against simply expecting the Police Force and enforcing agencies to

partake to intervention at all times as against a] combined societal-industry

combination that ensures safety and security delivered by all parties. As

detailed in the 2021 report, t is imperative that as tourism and normality

returns, the entities are prepared for the eventual surge and its mitigation.

As detailed in previous reports, such a dynamic society needs to focus

further on this phenomenon and change accordingly, even in terms of

educational campaigns that target both citizens and visitors. This is achieved

through an understanding and affective action towards building awareness

scales on the measurement of such offences, the relative offender-victim

dynamics, the flow of goods and the offence displacement when action is

taken by the state and its operational arms.

These 5 categories of crimes comprise 83.1% of all crime reports.

The Societal Construct

As described in previous reports, the foundations that comprise social

structures known as PREFE (Politics, Religion, Economy, Family and

Education) have experienced rapid change such that the impact of values

and norms becomes less tangible. Whilst the Political or legal measures

have evolved and security implementation has increased in the social

arenas resulting in the reduction of such offences as theft from residences,

damages, bodily harm and prostitution, the strongest pillar pertaining to the

family or household has become increasingly fragile such that the incidence

of the personal-security incidents has grown dramatically. This is reflected

through domestic violence, irrespective of form or method, whether

psychological or physical. The inclusion of Technology as a new foundational

element is essential as it posits scenarios where crime has migrated to the

digital domains, both in commissioning and investigation: PREFET.

Domestic Violence, threats and private violence, pornography increased

not only in ratio terms but in actual cases, indicating a drastic increase in

personal violence. As Economic measures increasingly offer most offenders

an opportunity to partake to crime when the rewards far exceed the sanctions,

offences such as theft emanating from the invasion of person-spaces increase

as they offer a quick intake of funds. The fact that the recreation and leisure

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activities offer ripe ground for offending particularly where the recreational

zones are crowded and person space is not possible, the opportunity for

dexterous hands offers a high rate of return. This time round, the loss of

economic activity, unheard of in recent decades, has in turn rendered the main

crime attractor null: as tourism receded, crimes took an ominous turn and

personal crime took precedence.

The Social Areas, previously dominated by crime committed in the public zone,

have in turn become safer. This is where the entity responsible for safety and

security: the Malta Police Force, emerged resurgent and came through for

society, both in its strategic preparedness and its implementation of its covid-19

and post-covid measures that rendered the country safe during and after

the difficult period of closure. In addition, the Strategy to increase Public

Trust has been awarded through national and international surveys such as the

European Trust Barometer.

Again, the change was impacted by implementation of a Transformation

Strategy, a continuous shakeup in senior management and the effort to bring

on board all officers, whilst affecting a move towards ownership by all officers

within a citizen-officer dynamic. On an international scale, the Police affected

changes that rendered deliverables to such initiatives as GRECO, Venice

Commission, MONEYVAL and FATF. The changes affected rendered returns in

crime reporting and activities in such offences as Money Laundering

and Fraud.

The changes in crime construct, the reduction in serious and long-standing

high-ranking offences is resultant also of a three-pronged approach: increased

police proactivity, enhanced enforcement and better recording of reports.

Policing and Community intervention was efficiently rendered safer by the

Malta Police through its Community Policing initiative, expanding the

localities’ intervention and a Crime Prevention Strategy. The setting up of

specialised services such as the MPF establishment of a Gender-Based &

Domestic Violence Unit in 2020. The Victim Support Agency is rendering a

service on the realities of spiraling domestic violence.

In terms of the loss of relative offence volume that San Giljan experienced over

the past years, going up from 12.5% in 2004 to 19.5% in 2012 to 9.1% in 2019 to

5.7 in 2021, and again a slight increase in 2022 to 6.8% these figures still register

the lowest in the last decades. San Giljan is however, no longer top of the list,

as San Pawl il-Bahar has overtaken it since 2020 registering 9.2% of all offences

in 2022 up from 7% in 2004 and 7.4% in 2012. The town requires mitigation as

both the residential component and the touristic/recreational component has

increased such that the potential for opportunities for crime increases.