Spatio-temporal approaches to crime in Malta : a European and Islands perspective for the period 1998-2000

Abstract

Crime in small states is generally viewed as being very low and non-serious, particularly due to the inherently small size and the high thresholds required to attain perceivable levels of crime that pertain to metropolis and large states. However, little evidence is given to such assertions, mainly due to lack of comparative data at international level. Prior to attempting any understanding of the spatial and territorial implications of offences within the different spatial levels of a small a country such as Malta, one needs to establish the international patterns within which that country operates. The corner stones for spatio-temporal analysis of crime in the Maltese Islands have been effected through a study that identified the Maltese hotspots based on a socio-economic and urban landuse approach and the relationships between crime-landuse-territory and space-time (Formosa, 2007). This paper takes a higher-level analytical approach and establishes Malta’s ‘position in the world of crime’ through a league-table review of Malta’s crime against those of other countries, taking a dual level perspective: the macro (European) and micro (small islands) perspectives. This approach elicits Malta’s ranking in an international construct and through clustering identifies the Islands’ position, laying out the foundation for further detailed studies. Based on this statistical analysis, a relative-safety model is created placing Malta’s position on that scale.