15,594 crimes were reported in 2025, when the country's population was 574,250, a report presented during a Cabinet meeting on Monday shows. This is a drop of 6.4% when compared to the 16,662 crimes reported in 2024.

The 2025 number amounts to 27 crimes per 1,000 people, the report reads, which is the second lowest amount since at least 1998, with the lowest having been registered in 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic.

The data was revealed in the Annual Crime Review document for the year 2025.

Comparing the 2025 figure to 10 and 20 years ago, in 2015, 17,138 crimes were registered, at a time when the population was 445,053.  In 2005, the population was 403,834 while 18,579 crimes had been registered, the report reads.

Addressing the Cabinet meeting, held at the Civil Protection Department fire station in Hal Far, Prime Minister Robert Abela noted the drastic reduction in crime.

The expected 2025 crime rate based on the 2005 data was 26,419, but the actual figure is far lower, at 15,594 reports having been made, the report highlights.

Theft comprised 28.4% of all offences reported to the police, the document reads. The percentage dropped from 31.3% in 2024. "It is to be noted that there was a generic decrease across the theft sub-categories, particularly thefts by employees in bars, restaurants, retail outlet and hotels; other theft; theft from religious temples; theft from beaches; theft from seacraft, among others.

Increases were registered in theft from building sites, offices, hotels and factories premises; retail outlet customers and theft of vehicles; as well as shop-lifting, the report reads.

Pickpocketing decreased to 394 cases, down from 650 cases in 2024.

The second highest reported offence was damages, seeing a slight increase from 18.4% to 18.8% between 2024 and 2025.

Domestic violence was the third highest offence, comprising 13.9% of all crimes in 2025. There was a decrease from 2,225 cases in 2024, to 2,174 cases in 2025. A drop of 2%.

"The drop is significant since this offence category has been on a trend line increase ever since 2007, with an increase of 1918% over the 2005-2025 period."

The reason for the high amount of domestic violence crimes being reported was attributed by criminologist Saviour Formosa to increased awareness, and also the locations where people can go and report such crimes. Prime Minister Robert Abela added that people also have an increased faith in the system.

"In the past when someone made a domestic violence report, many a time they would end up a victim a second time," Abela said, adding that victims would opt to suffer in silence. "What we did over the past years changed things, in terms of where and how one can report, the creation of two hubs for domestic violence victims," among other things, he said. Abela said the changes made created a deterrent to domestic violence also.

The fourth highest reported crime was fraud, of which there were 1,907 cases in 2025, amounting to 12.2% of all crimes reported. This amount is lower than the 2,394 cases in 2024.

Bodily Harm was the fifth highest registered crime, amounting to 6.4% of all crimes. The number of reported crimes in this category increased by 18 crimes from the previous year, to 996 cases in 2025.

These five categories comprise 86.6% of all crimes reported.

The report notes that all homicides that occurred between 2018 and 2025 have been solved. "While homicide is a crime that cannot be predicted, the crime rate for this category which averaged 1 per 100,000 persons over the 2005-2025 period, fell to 0.9 per 100,000 in 2025.

With regards to drugs, there were 367 cases in 2025, an increase of 151 cases when compared to 2024. "This relates to the diverse levels of investigation and case closure at the strategic, operation and tactical levels."

The report also notes a shift in the locational structure, "where crime has moved indoors., which has maintained a 34% component of all crimes." It reads that "these categories of crimes are potentially out of reach of proactive visual capture through deterrence by community police, mobile units and technologies. Crimes have shifted from the physical outdoor urban construct to an indoor real and visual construct, where the victim is targeted in their 'safe havens', oftentimes playing a role in the same offence, particularly online fraud."

The report said that policing's proactivity is effective but the indoors scenario posits entirely different challenges: "it is the individual's foresight of potential victimisation and their eventual action that takes the fore. The need for awareness of potential victimisation within one's abode has reached a state that requires extensive campaigns and awareness-raising activities."

During the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Abela also announced that the Police Force has invested in a fleet of 30 new vehicles for the Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU). The new vehicles are well-equipped for law enforcement, offering a strong sense of authority and high visibility, he said. The vehicles feature reinforced glass, providing greater safety for the officers inside. This initiative reflects an investment of approximately €2 million. The new vehicles are scheduled to be on the roads next month.

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said that a prepared and safe Malta did not happen by chance, but is the result of preparation, prevention, and action. Minister Camilleri explained: "Preparation through investment in training and equipment, prevention through well-studied strategies not just to respond but to avoid incidents, have ensured that Maltese and Gozitan families today live in one of the safest countries in the world, with the lowest crime rate."