There has surprisingly been only one case of loitering for the purposes of prostitution in St Julian’s since 2017, police crime records have shown. The sole incident occurred in 2021.

St Julian’s might be regarded as notorious for crime, being a hub for entertainment and very often, substances and alcohol. The Malta Independent acquired crime records of St Julian’s from the police, dating from 1 January 2017 to 30 September of this year.

The crimes were divided into categories ranging from arson to homicide, bodily harm, prostitution, domestic violence, drug-related crimes, violence against officials, human trafficking, sexual offences and theft.

There was a total of 5,521 criminal offences from 2017 to 2022 in St Julian’s only. This is significantly higher than the total reported for the same period in Valletta, which was 2,236.

A figure which was unexpected, and certainly the most notable, was the one loitering case reported under prostitution. With St Julian’s being an entertainment mecca and with several gentlemen’s clubs present, this statistic was a surprise. Why has there only been one case reported to the police? It could be that people have grown used to this scene, despite the soliciting of prostitution being illegal in the country.

There have also been 1,336 cases of pickpocketing recorded in St Julian’s, crime records show, continuing the trend of pickpocketing being the most common crime in localities. The trend did decline, however, from 466 cases reported in 2017, to 88 cases reported thus far in 2022.

Theft from customers in bars and restaurants followed with the second highest recorded crime since 2017, with a total of 978 cases reported. There were also 254 total reported cases of theft from beaches in St Julian’s.

Theft from customers at hotels also proved high, with 213 cases reported. Theft from the interior of a vehicle amounted to 201 cases over almost six years.

Damages from a hit and run amounted to a total of 552 cases, slowly declining from 2017 to 2022. The decline in crime cases could be due to increased police presence in the prime areas, which government has said that it has imposed.

Slight bodily harm amounted to 393 cases over the years, with 161 cases reported for grievous bodily harm.

Domestic violence numbers remained fairly constant over the years, with figures staying in the 20s, amounting to a total of 149 cases since 2017. There was a slight increase however, in 2022, where 29 cases where reported, an increase from the 23 cases reported in the previous year.

There was a total of seven cases of arson in St Julian’s since 2017. Arson incidents were higher in Valletta, where 20 total cases were reported in the same period.

According to the crime records, drug trends in St Julian’s have decreased significantly over the years. Drug possession amounted to a total of 118 cases, with only nine cases reported in 2022. Twenty-one cases were reported in 2021. Possession with intent to supply amounted to a total of 21 cases, with drug trafficking recording 15 total cases and four cases for drug importation.

There was only one homicide reported in St Julian’s over these years, which happened in 2018.

Thirty-four total cases of violent indecent assault within the sexual offences category were reported in these years. Thirty cases of rape were recorded, with six in 2022 thus far. Indecent exposure compiled 13 cases over the years and a total of nine cases were recorded in relation to the defilement and sexual activity with minors.

Crime records have shown that there was one case of forced labour, within the trafficking of persons category, which occurred in 2017.

St Julian’s saw quite a number of cases of violence against a public officer, with 81 cases recorded since 2017. There were 35 cases of resistance against a public officer and 27 cases recorded for the vilification of a public officer. Fifteen cases were recorded with regards to reviling and threatening a public officer. The cases reported have decreased over the years.