Latest armed robbery highlights rising crime

ARMED robbers stole €2,500 from a 63-year-old Larnaca resident in the early hours of yesterday morning after breaking into his home.

According to the victim, who had been sleeping the sofa, more than two people wearing hoods entered his apartment, woke him up 2am and, holding a knife to his throat, demanded his money.

When the victim resisted, he said, two of the strangers beat him in various parts of his body.

The thieves left with the money, and the victim was transferred to Larnaca General Hospital, where he was treated for lacerations to his right arm and chest and abrasions to the face.

The incident has once highlighted a rise in serious crime across the island, especially robberies and burglaries.

According to police statistics, these types of violent crime rose significantly between 2009 and 2010.

For example 4,145 cases of offences relating to property were reported in 2009. In 2010, this rose to 5,349.

Similarly, reported robberies have been on the rise. In 2008 there were 71 reported cases. This doubled to 142 in 2009, and rose further to 156 in 2010.

There was also a substantial increase in burglaries between 2009 and 2010, rising from 2,504 to 3,232. Thefts rose from 1,285 to 1,670 in this period.

Overall, the number of serious crimes reported island-wide – including murder, rape, assaults, drug offences and others, rose from 7,094 to 8,387 between 2009 and 2010.

Nicosia and Famagusta saw the sharpest increase in reported serious crime, rising from 1,965 to 2,681, and 629 to 958 in this period respectively.

After Nicosia, the largest number of reported serious crimes was in Limassol, rising from 2,016 to 2,356.

The only area where reported serious crimes actually fell between 2009 and 2010 was in Paphos, falling from 1,381 to 1,254.

The 2011 data is not yet available.

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