Monaco’s reputation as one of the safest places to live in the world is justified, but that doesn’t mean crime is non-existent in the Principality.
According to “délinquance générale” figures published by the Monaco Matin, 834 incidents ranging from thefts and burglaries to drink driving and drug possession were recorded by the Principality’s Police Department in 2023, up 0.9% on those reported in 2022.
The 606 officer-strong police force, which is backed up by a massive network of 1,087 security cameras to make it the world’s largest per-capita and per-area force, attended 9,400 callouts and emergency interventions last year and conducted 44,750 identity and 57,000 vehicles checks over the course of 2023.
Just one incident of car theft was noted, down from four the year before, but the number of two-wheeled vehicles rose to 11 from nine.
143 people were found to have been driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, an increase of nearly 24% on 2022’s statistics, while 118 cases of drug possession were registered by officers, up almost 50% in 12 months.
Richard Marangoni, the head of the Police Department, confirmed to the newspaper that the force was keeping a close eye on telephone and email scams and those behind them. 18 crimes of this category were recorded in 2023, compared to 27 the previous year. Marangoni added that one perpetrator had very recently been arrested.
See more: Authorities warn of new email scam doing rounds
For the first time ever, statistics on crimes against members of the police force have been made public: seven officers were the subject of verbal assaults while 10 came up against resistance while attempting to perform their duties and seven were violently attacked. Marangoni told local reporters that he hoped communicating these figures would help demonstrate the reality faced day-to-day by his officers.
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Photo source: Jakub Zerdzicki, Unsplash