costa del sol
The figures reflect the trend in the rest of the province of Malaga where burglaries and robberies in homes and businesses have fallen
24.12.11 - 14:58 -
Arrest. Employees thwarted attempts to rob a jeweller’s in Puerto Banús in November. Josele -Lanza
If the security of a town can be measured by the number of offences and the perception of protection among residents and visitors, then Marbella passes the test on both counts. For the fourth year running the crime rate has fallen in Marbella as well as in the province of Malaga as a whole. While the final figures for the complete year are not yet known, results so far point to a similar fall in crime in Marbella and in the city of Malaga which, at 12 per cent, is greater than the provincial average reduction of four cent.
The positive results have a lot to do with the police fight against theft and break-ins on private property, crimes that have been reduced by as much as 18 per cent in Marbella since 2009. This year police operations have broken up two important organised gangs responsible for burglaries on the Costa del Sol. The first of these operations resulted in the arrest of seven people last February. At the end of November, four people of Romanian and Albanian nationality were remanded in custody after being linked to around 30 break-ins on private property.
Figures indicate that Marbella is safer than ever. Since 2008 the crime rate has fallen by between eight and 17 per cent, according to local and central government figures. Last year crime was down 14 per cent.
Figures for 2011 so far confirm this downward trend, although with the exception of the month of August when crime went up 15 per cent, mainly due to the considerable increase in population in the town during the summer.
In the province as a whole the crime rate this year has fallen by four per cent while the reduction for the city of Malaga is as high as 12 per cent, a similar figure to that of Marbella.
There is one offence that has been reduced by as much as 30 per cent in the province: violent robberies in business premises. Burglaries on private property are also down 11 per cent in the province this year.
False reports
On the other hand mugging and bag snatching has increased, although the authorities point out that these figures tend to be swollen by ‘victims’ reporting false cases of theft with violence in order to claim on the insurance. The police are, however, attempting to crack down on this practice and they arrested 147 people for making false crime reports between January and November.
The authorities maintain that the reduction in the crime rate can be put down in part to the increase in policing with an extra 339 officers joining the province’s national police forces. This has been reflected in a three per cent increase in police effectiveness (rate of crimes solved) as well as the number of arrests, up 12 per cent.
