Crime up by a quarter in eight years

Crime has gone up by 25 per cent in the eight years between 1998 and 2005, figures released yesterday by the National Statistics Office show.

The figures, published in the demographic review for 2005, show an almost constant increase, from 14,793 crimes committed in 1998 to 18,500 in 2005.

In the period between 2004 and 2005, cases of drug trafficking went up from 78 to 113, a 45 per cent rise. Domestic robbery increased by 42 per cent, from 782 in 2004 to 1,113 in 2005. The number of domestic robberies rose from 618 to 784 between 1999 and 2004.

On the other hand crimes involving motor vehicles dropped by 42 per cent between 1998 and 2005. A total of 1,166 were recorded in 1998 as opposed to 672 in 2005, which was the year in which there were the least such crimes recorded. There were 40 homicides in the eight years between 1998 and 2005, four of which took place in 2005. Figures for violent crimes were only available for 2004 and 2005 (406 crimes in 2004 and 403 in 2005).

The number of police officers went up slightly in the eight years reviewed, from 1,756 in 1998 to 1,789 in 2005.

The prison population went up from 260 to 294.