Posted: 14 August 2012 1535 hrs
SINGAPORE: Singapore's overall crime rate in the
first six months of the year fell by 2.3 per cent, compared to the
same period last year.
Figures released by the Singapore police on Tuesday showed that
there were 15,576 cases from January to June in 2012, compared to
15,944 in the same period last year.
Theft and theft-related crimes were the only offences which went
up, increasing by 3.3 per cent, mainly due to a rise in cases of
theft of bicycles and theft-in-dwelling.
Improvements were seen in the area of unlicensed moneylending, one
of the areas of concern the police had highlighted in 2011.
The number of such cases fell more than 21.3 per cent, with 5,228
cases reported in the first half of the year, compared to 6,642
cases last year.
There was a 21.8 per cent increase in the number of people arrested
for unlicensed moneylending activity because of continued
enforcement efforts. 848 persons were arrested in the first half of
2011 compared to 1,033 arrested in first half of 2012.
Police expressed continuing concern over a 15 per cent jump in
youths arrested for loanshark-related activities, from 95 youths
arrested in the first half of last year to 109 youths arrested over
the same period this year.
Slightly more than half of those arrested, a total of 57 youths,
were recruited by loansharks to commit acts of harassment. The
remainder had assisted loanshark syndicates by providing bank
accounts to facilitate unlicensed moneylending activities and
distributing flyers to advertise on behalf of loansharks.
Another area which saw improvement was phone scams in cases where
money was cheated.
The number of cases fell from 116 cases reported in the first half
of 2011 to 98 cases over the same period this year. The amount of
money involved also decreased from S$3 million in the first half of
2011 to S$2.37 million for the same period this year.
Although the situation involving phone scams improved, the amount
of money cheated remains significant.
- CNA/wm
