Phuket “heinous” crimes up, murders down in 2010

PHUKET: There were 40 premeditated murders reported in Phuket in 2010, down from 45 in 2009, according to crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police.

The figures compare reported crime in five categories, along with arrest rates, over the two years.

The first category, heinous crimes, saw a 36% increase overall, with 72 cases in 2009 increasing to 98 in 2010, when there was an arrest rate of 74%.

This rise was led by a sharp increase in the number of group muggings, up to 41 cases in 2010 from just 19 in 2009. There were also four arson attacks reported in 2010, but none in 2009.

In the second category, crimes against life and body, there was a 17% drop in the number of reported cases, from 310 in 2009 to 257 in 2010, with arrests in 63% of cases. In addition to the decrease in the number of murders, there were also decreases in reports of attempted murder (from 59 to 37) and assault (179 to 150) from 2009 to 2010.

Category 3 crimes, crimes against property, saw a 13% decrease overall, with 631 cases reported and 416 arrests in 2010. General theft cases were down 18%, with 485 cases reported leading to 318 arrests. The number of snatch-and-run crimes was down 29% year-on-year, with 39 reported cases in 2010 leading to 31 arrests.

Category 4 crimes, defined as “crimes of interest”, were down 19%, with a total of 351 reported cases leading to 90 arrests. The most common offenses in this category were: embezzlement (162 cases, down 16% year-on-year); fraud (70 cases, down 32% year-on-year); motorcycle theft (90 cases, down 20% year-on-year) and automobile theft (29 cases, up 16% year-on-year).

Category 5 crimes, defined as “crimes against the state,” were by far the most common offenses. Overall, there was a 16% year-on-year rise in the number of cases (5,826), which led to the arrests of 7,247 suspects.

Drug offenses were the most common, with 3,232 cases reported, an increase of 33% year-on-year.

Cases of “general gambling” were up 13% year-on-year, with 1,916 people arrested in 767 cases.

Cases involving the underground lotteries, which are tabulated separately, were up 12%, with 325 arrested in 2010.

There were 1,311 people arrested for prostitution in Phuket in 2010, ten fewer than the previous year.