A strategy to reduce high-incidence crime in the Maltese Islands

Abstract

Residential analysis show a preference for the harbour region where offenders live in areas characterised by poverty that have disproportionate offender concentrations when compared to their shrinking population concentration. Offences committed by convicted offenders fall within high dwelling concentrations, vacant dwelling concentrations, apartment zones and low population density areas. Offender-offence findings show that Maltese offenders commit crime close to their residence mostly travelling less than 5 km. Reported offence analysis results in high summer rates, with specific weekend to weekday differences, concentrated in a relatively small area within the conurbation with unique hotspots in fringe recreational localities. An analysis of landuse categories identified that residential areas host the highest offence counts, particularly serious crimes, whilst retail-related crime activities directly effect neighbourhoods through distance travelled from the retail entity.