Just like any other city, Valletta has experienced various types of crime.
There were 639 cases of pickpocketing in Valletta in the period between 2017 and the end of last month, police crime records have revealed.
Just last month, nine people were arrested by the police in drug raids in Valletta, with another individual being arrested in Marsa.
Substances believed to be cocaine, cash and other items related to drug trafficking were elevated from locations at Old Hospital Street. A seven-year-old boy was even found by police during the drug raid, who had been allegedly trying to destroy evidence by throwing away sachets full of drugs.
A man was also reported to have allegedly threatened to blow up a Valletta bar after a fight.
The Malta Independent obtained crime records in Valletta from the police with the police providing detailed statistics on these last years.
In total, there have been 2,236 criminal offences from 2017 to 2022 in Valletta only. The crimes were divided into categories ranging from arson to attempted offences, bodily harm, crimes against public peace, domestic violence, drug-related crimes, gender-based violence, pornography, sexual offences and theft.
The highest recorded offence was that of pickpocketing, with 639 cases since 2017. This has, however, been on the decrease over the years, declining from 336 in 2017 to 14 cases this year.
In an interview with Valletta mayor Alfred Zammit had said that crime in Valletta has decreased due to the work and patrol of the police.
“There still needs to be more enforcement and I always insist with the police for more patrolling around Valletta, so that crimes are reduced,” Zammit had said.
He had also said that pickpocketing specifically has decreased, amounting to only around two cases a year. The crime records obtained by the police show 14 cases just this year.
Domestic violence followed as the second highest number recorded in nearly six years, with a total of 177 cases reported. The subdivision with the most cases of domestic violence reported to the police was that of psychological harm, with a total of 116 reported cases. Nineteen reports have been made just this year.
Serious bodily harm with physical force within the domestic violence statistics saw a drop from the previous year, with 13 cases reported in 2021 and four cases in 2022 thus far.
On the other hand, serious bodily harm by physical force in general recorded around the same average of incidents these past years – 23 cases were reported in 2017 and 19 incidents were reported this year.
Twenty total cases of arson in Valletta were reported over these years. There were no reported arson incidents in 2021 and 2022 thus far. The last recorded number of cases of arson was in 2020, with 10 reported cases.
Drug-related crimes reportedly amounted to 49 cases in total in the years under review. Possession of drugs recorded the highest number of cases, which saw shifting numbers over the years.
In 2017 and 2018, 12 and eight cases of possession of drugs were reported respectively. This however dropped to two cases in 2019, climbing back to 10 cases over the next two years. In 2022, only three cases of drug possession were recorded.
Twenty-five cases of sexual offences were recorded since 2017 while three cases of defilement of minors were reported this year. Two cases of rape were reported thus far in Valletta.
A total of 1,710 cases of different types of theft were reported to the police over the past years, which has, however, seen a decline from 2017 data. The total for 2017 was that of 577 cases, while this year there has been 137 cases thus far.
There were 176 total cases of theft from the interior of vehicles over the course of nearly six years. This also saw a decrease compared to 2017 data, where 51 cases were recorded. Only 12 reports of vehicle theft were made thus far this year in Valletta.
Shoplifting numbers stayed at similar numbers, with 120 cases reported in total, 21 of which were recorded this year.
Theft in residences was divided into the exterior of residences and whether the residence was occupied or vacant. Occupied residences were the most targeted, with 10 cases having been reported thus far this year.