NEWS of three murders in less than a week have produced dramatic headlines and coverage, but “stereotypical” media treatment often conceals the real factors behind the events, Andreas Kapardis, criminologist and law professor at the University of Cyprus, said yesterday.
The shooting of Kyriacos Andreou, a 53-year-old resident of Polemidhia, outside a coffee-shop in Limassol on Monday, followed the brutal killing of a 23-year-old student last Friday in what was believed to be a dispute over a paltry €540. That incident came just a few days after Andronicos Timotheou, a 70-year-old Limassol man, was charged with premeditated murder after allegedly shooting his middle-aged daughter and killing her lover.
According to official police figures, there were 14 homicides in the government-controlled areas this year to the end of September, compared to six for the same period last year. The total so far this year now stands at 17, compared to eight in the whole of 2008.
But this 2008 figure is untypical of recent years. The most recent Eurostat figures show that between 2003 and 2005, there were 15 homicides each year in Cyprus, with 14 recorded in 2006.
Kapardis, who is also Visiting Professor in criminology at the University of Cambridge, said that the homicide rate in Cyprus per 100,000 population – the accepted international measure – is “still comparatively low” and “has been stable over the last 10 to 15 years”.
He insists that, although crime figures may show an increase in absolute terms, there is a need to look behind the headline figures in order to identify the specific factors producing them. “A number of risk factors which contribute to homicides are increasing, such as gambling, nightclubs, criminal gangs, people travelling for a specific criminal purpose, drugs – which feed the statistics for burglaries and armed robberies – and youth crime.”
But these individual factors, he argues, must be viewed as part of the wider social picture, starting with urban growth. As more of the population becomes concentrated in urban areas – 70 per cent according to government figures for 2008 – this gives rise to an increase in urban crimes such as burglaries, drugs-use and armed robberies.
Also factor in conscious criminal behaviour like protection rackets, gang “turf” rivalry and people crossing over from the north of the island specifically to commit a crime, and one can easily see how simple statistics can fail to tell the whole story.
Media treatment of crime can also be a factor. Kapardis said that homicide tends to be reported in the press in a stereotypical way, “which makes unusual things appear usual by presenting them in a certain way.”
Policing methods which reflect general attitudes among the population towards foreigners can also affect crime figures. “Without wishing to encourage xenophobia or racism, I should point out that non-Cypriots are over-represented in serious crime statistics and the prison population. There are various reasons for this – it is not because the criminal justice system discriminates against foreigners.”
“It is a question of where the focus is placed. For instance, if a foreigner attacks a foreigner, the police are more likely to get involved. But it is very difficult to estimate what exactly is happening with crime by illegal immigrants, due to a lack of information.”
Kapardis said that there is a lot less serious crime now than in the past. “Cyprus is still a very safe society. For example, there is not the same level of muggings and so on as in the UK – it’s still safe to walk the streets at night here”, Kapardis said, adding: “Homicide statistics point to what may be happening in society. Violence may be becoming more widespread, and in a few cases, this results in death.”
He added: “There is evidence that violence is increasing in state schools, reflecting changes in our society. These changes include urbanisation, mass tourism, increased standards of living, and a general weakening of social bonds, especially family bonds.”
“Social controls are weakening. Let’s not forget that we are a country under occupation. The 1974 invasion resulted in a dispersal of traditional communities, which otherwise would have been a constraint on social behaviour.”
Kapardis thinks that the way to help the population understand what is happening and why is for the government to devise a national strategy on crime, with co-ordination between relevant authorities.
He said that, statistically speaking, the homicide rate is less problematic than the traffic in Cyprus, where there is daily risk to life and limb and fatal accidents occur on a more regular basis. “The real danger in Cyprus is on the roads – or maybe sitting among smokers”, he said.
