The Police have a serious problem with arsons, mainly with vehicles and establishments, and are trying to find ways to deal with them.
By the end of October, there were 139 cases compared with 141 during the whole last year. Almost every two days there is one arson attack. Just in the Race Truck, there have recently been seven cases.
Generally, the picture of organized crime this year is better than last year. Murder cases are reduced and there is no murder attributed to organized crime.
Officials at the Police headquarters are concerned and there has recently been a meeting during which ways of reacting and of anticipating such cases were discussed, Police spokesman Christos Andreou said.
As he noted the key in such cases is the complainant because if he/she does not cooperate with the Police then the Authorities cannot do much. The reason is that in such cases, culprits do not leave much behind and most cases remain unresolved.
This year, however, the Police have managed to increase the percentage of resolved cases to 30%, mainly due to the fact that in some cases the complaints agreed to testify.
According to Police data, by 31 October there were 139 arson cases, 41 of which (30%) have been resolved, compared to 141 cases in the whole of 2021, during which just 29 have been resolved (20.6%).
In the first six months of 2022, there were 81 cases of arson, 24 of which have been resolved (29.5%).
Arsonists mainly aim at vehicles and establishments thus resolving personal or professional differences.
According to data, most arson cases are recorded in Limassol, then in Nicosia, and thirdly in Paphos.
Bombs constitute the second problem of the Police since very few cases are resolved. Bomb explosions are dangerous since lives can be endangered if someone is found near the spot at the time of the explosion.
According to data, 21 cases of bomb explosions were recorded in 2021, of which just three (14.3%) have been resolved. In 2020, the Authorities were asked to deal with 33 cases and resolved only five (15.2%), while in 2019, there were 15 cases all unresolved.
In the case of murders, thefts, rapes, and attempted rapes, the Police have the means and experienced investigators who can solve the cases. It is indicative that during the first six months of 2022 there were four murder cases and eight attempts. All attempts have been resolved as well as 75% of the murders.
At the same time, there is a small reduction compared to previous years regarding murder attempts, since there were 13 cases, 12 of which were investigated (92.3%).
Regarding rapes, the Police have managed to present impressive results since from the 29 cases reported, 28 of them have been resolved.
