In most of the islands of the Maldives, where half the island is considered your neighbor and the other half are friendly faces you might see on your walk to the local grocery store, it is alarming to see the increased crime rates.
The Maldives might be a small island nation that is perceived by the world in an extremely positive light due to the mesmerising tourism industry of the country that offers guests from all around the globe an exotic haven to lay-back and enjoy their summer and winter vacations at.
While the small island nations do offer a peaceful lifestyle in terms of the nature that is also slowly slipping away due to the ever increasing tourism industry as well as the climate crisis, the residents of the island nation have another looming fear that many visitors might be unaware of during their stay: the increasing crime rates. Though it might seem hard for a lot of people to believe that such a peaceful and picturesque island destination could have major crime issues, over the past decade or so, the crime rate in the Maldives has been worsening.
Next to the increasing drug problem in the country, it now appears that one of the most commonly reported issue in the Maldives is theft and burglary. According to crime statistics by the police, just within the first three months of 2023, the Maldivian police have received a total of 5,805 cases. This is an alarming number of reported cases for such a small nation where almost everyone is a familiar face, especially in smaller islands.
In most of the islands of the Maldives, where half the island is considered your neighbor and the other half are friendly faces you might see on your walk to the local grocery store, it is alarming to see the increased crime rates. Out of the 5,805 cases that were reported, 1,034 cases were from these same islands where everyone most likely knows everyone. With that, 2,520 cases were from the Greater Male’ Area, out of which 136 cases were sent for prosecution so far.
This safe haven which a great number of visitors consider their island getaway appears to be worsening by the day as residential houses were the most commonly targeted when it comes to thefts as the statistics showed that there were 159 cases of break-ins reported within those three months. And anyone who puts their mobilephone in their back pocket or hangs on to their phone lightly while they are walking outside knows the loomin fear of getting mugged. Or anyone who own a motorcycle also knows the feeling of having to double check whether they locked their bike properly or not, as stealing a bike in broad day light, regardless of whether it was locked or not is also becoming more frequent as of late.
With this, it is less than shocking that the figures show that 105 cases of mobile phone thefts were reported and 103 cases of motorcycle thefts were filed during the first three months as well.
