St Julian’s… capital of crime?

If violence against public officers can be taken as an indication of general unruliness, Qormi, Valletta and Birzebbugia are only surpassed by Malta’s two main entertainment centres, St Julians and St Paul’s Bay.

A total of 697 cases of violence against public officers were reported between 2011 and 2013. 17% of all cases of violence against members of the police force and other public officers were reported in St Julians, which includes Paceville.

St Julian’s is followed by Malta’s other entertainment hub, St Paul’s Bay, where 74 cases were reported followed by Qormi, Valletta, Birzebbugia, Attard and Floriana.

Surprisingly a relatively large number of violence against public officers was reported in Attard, a tranquil, bourgeois residential area. But this can be explained by the fact that the Ta’ Qali football ground is located in Attard.

Only nine cases of violence against public officers were reported in Marsaskala, the southern entertainment centre.

Moreover despite its proximity to Paceville, only one case of violence against public officers was reported in Swieqi, which however has seen a steady increase in reports of damage to property, going up from just 21 in 2011 to 62 in 2012 and 107 in 2013.

Crime statistics presented in parliament show that a total of 8,374 crimes were reported in St Julians between 2011 and 2013. 6,486 of these cases were related to theft.

Apart from the highest incidence of violence against public officers, the locality also boasts the highest number of reports of bodily harm (663), damage to property (673), drugs (56), fraud (64) and sexual offences (50).

But while one case of human trafficking was reported, no cases of prostitution were reported in St Julians in the past three years.

The statistics indicate Marsa as Malta’s red light capital.

The highest number of reports related to prostitution was reported in Marsa (139), Gzira (75), Ta’ Xbiex (59), Msida (3), Poala (2) and St Paul’s Bay (1).

St Paul’s Bay registered the second highest crime rate (3,341) of which 1,765 cases were related to theft. The northern locality also registered the highest number of cases of abandonment of children (13) and the only case of a reported abortion.

Sliema registered the second highest crime rate.

Of the 3,052 cases reported between 2011 and 2013, 2,251 were related to theft and 333 were related to damage to property. 64 cases of fraud were also reported.

1,528 cases of crime, 899 of which related to theft, were reported in Valletta.

The safest locality is the small locality of Fontana, where only 22 offences were reported in three years.

When the size of a locality is taken into account, the safest locality is Dingli, where only 124 crimes were reported in three years.