Increase in violent crime reports in Phuket

PHUKET: There has been a sharp increase in violent crime over the past 12 months, recently-released statistics by the Phuket Provincial Police reveal.

The figures compare the numbers of reported crime cases for fiscal year 2009 and fiscal year 2010, which ended on September 30.

The statistics show a 72.9% increase in reported cases of “heinous crimes”: group muggings, armed robbery, premeditated murder, kidnapping and arson. There were a total of 102 such cases reported in the past fiscal year.

Premeditated murders rose by 18.4% year-on-year, with 28 people arrested in 45 reported cases in fiscal 2010.

Despite large percentage increases in the number of reported armed robberies and muggings (+133%) and “group muggings” (+366.7%), general theft cases were down 21% year-on-year, with 494 cases reported in 2010.

There were 42 reports of armed robbery and muggings, with 41 arrests, in fiscal 2010.

Over the same period there were 14 cases of “group robbery”, with 12 people arrested.
Group robbery is defined as theft carried out by three or more people using violence, weapons or other forms of intimidation.

There was a sharp drop in firearm cases, with 184 cases of illegal firearm possession reported in 2010, a decrease of 38.9%.

Gambling cases were up 5.3% year-on-year, with 751 cases reported in fiscal 2010.

There were also 324 cases related to involvement in the underground lottery, an increase of 7.3% year-on-year. These figures are tabulated separately from other gambling cases.

Drug cases rose 52.4%, with 3,189 reported cases in fiscal 2010.

There was also a 25.2% rises in the number of prostitution cases reported, with 1,692 cases in fiscal 2010.

— News editor