Nearly 70 per cent of serious crimes solved, police say

Police said on Wednesday they had cleared close to 70 per cent of serious crime cases recorded in the first six months of the year.

According to figures published by the force, out of 2,481 cases between January and June, 1,530, or 61.67 per cent, had been cleared.

Serious crime includes murder, attempted murder, rape, attempted rape, arson, robberies, extortion, drugs, bombings and burglary and theft.

Limassol held the lead in serious crime with 727 cases in the first six months – 445 have been cleared, a rate of 61.21 per cent.

Nicosia came in second with 567 cases and a clearance rate of 54.85 per cent, or 311; Paphos saw 472 and the local force resolved 291, or 61.65 per cent, Larnaca, 425 cases, 295 cleared, or 69.41 per cent, Famagusta chalked up 219 cases with 158 cleared or 72.15 per cent, and Morphou, 71, 30 cleared or 42.25 per cent.

As concerns petty crime, police said 2,882 cases were filed and 2,624, or 93 per cent, were considered cleared.

Petty crime includes disturbing the peace, offences against property and malicious damage.

According to police, 290 foreign nationals were deported in the first half of the year while an additional 67 were asked to leave the island. Authorities also refused allow entry to a further 626.

It also said the number of irregular migrants reached 1,755, out of whom, 52 had been arrested, 700 were residing without permission, 959 were asylum seekers and 44 departed the island on their own volition.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.