Pickpocketing in Malta shoots up in 2015; 'serious' thefts down

Pickpocketing incidents in Malta increased by a third in 2015, though there was a decline in "serious" thefts, figures released today show.  There were a total of 2,030 cases of pickpocketing reported last year, a quadruple increase since 2009. Pickpocketing in 2015 accounted to 12 per cent of all crimes. Trends in reported crime in Malta in 2015 were divulged this afternoon, by criminologist Saviour Formosa who unveiled the main conclusions of his annual Crime Malta review. The findings were communicated in the presence of Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela and top police officers. Last year there was a marginal increase of 490 in the overall number of reported crimes to reach 17,138. Prof. Formosa noted that in spite of this slight rise, the overall picture shows that crime was still on the decline, with the peak reached in 2013. The report shows that the majority of cases (51 per cent) consisted of thefts, of which pickpocketing and common thefts were the only two categories which registered a rise. Asked specifically on pickpocketing incidents, assistant police commissioner Neville Aquilina confirmed that the spike was correlated to a string of cases involving a gang from...