Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela today announced that he will be holding consultation meetings with members of the Police Corps, mainly district and squad police, to discuss what strategic changes are needed within the force.

He was speaking during a presentation of the Annual Crime Malta Review Report compiled by Saviour Formosa at the Swieqi Civic Centre – the site which hosts the new police station. He said that the government is doing its utmost to protect residents of each and every locality. Mr Abela said that he noted that foot patrols in Swieqi had increased and no increase in the rate of crimes in Swieqi has been registered.

The minister vowed that the Swieqi police station's human respurces will be strengthened.

The report shows that there has been a ten-fold increase in the number of reports received by the police concerning domestic violence.

The report shows that the number of cases of domestic violence reached 1,046 in 2014.

Theft still comprises 58 per cent of all offences.

Bodily harm cases averaged 1,052 cases per year - three incidents per day, while fraud experienced a 31 per cent decrease over the previous year.

There was nine per cent decrease in computer-related crime over the previous year.

Drug cases also went down slightly from 208 in 2013 to 192 in 2014.

Prostitution cases rose from 48 to 123 in 2014 while threats and public violence tripled from 63 in 2008 to 265 in 2014, up from 185 in 2013.

Commissioner of Police Michael Cassar said that it is vital police are pro active, emphasising that police branches will be strengthened.

First time in six years decline in crime rate witnessed

Dr Formosa said that crime reporting experienced a trend reversal for the first time in five years, having fallen by more than five per cent year on year. The upward trend sustained from 2009 to 2013 has been stemmed during 2014.

As for the locality of Swieqi, he said the number of crimes did not increase at least. He said the rate of crime reached its peak levels in 2013. He said the trend had been rising from 2008 onwards.

Dr Formisa emphaissed the need for police to analyse more real-time data while highlighting that crimes are gradually becoming virtual, stressing the need for special police units to tackle virtual crimes, referring to advances in technology whuch have begun to blur the line between virtual and actual reality.