Busted: Fraud cases in Singapore surge 13% to 2,068

Blame it on the delinquent credit card holders as credit card fraud cases rose from 132 to 192 in H1 2011.

According to a release from the Singapore Police Force, Commercial Crimes, comprising mainly cheating and related offences, registered an increase of 13% (from 1,827 to 2,068 cases). This can be largely attributed to an increase in the number of credit card fraud cases, which rose from 132 cases to 192 cases (+60 cases or +45%), and cases involving the failure to deliver goods and services which increased by 124 cases (or +81%) to 278 cases.

But on a more positive note, in the first six-months of 2011, overall crime reported fell by 4.7% as compared to the same period last year. Four of the six crime classes have registered decreases, with improvements harvested in the crime classes of Housebreaking and Related Crimes, Violent Property Crimes, Theft and Related Crimes, and Crimes Against Persons.

OVERALL CRIME DOWN
The overall crime in the first half of 2011 fell by 4.7% to 15,729 cases from 16,512 cases in the same period last year.

Four of the six crime classes registered decreases in the period Jan-June 2011 as compared to the same period in 2010, with significant decreases noted for Housebreaking and Related Crimes (down by 117 cases), Violent Property Crimes (down by 78 cases), Theft and Related Crimes (down by 727 cases), and Crimes Against Persons (down by 124 cases). The elaboration is as follows:

a. Housebreaking and Related Crimes fell by 117 cases (or by 27%) to 324 cases from 441 cases. For the first six months of 2011, Police also arrested nine serial housebreakers who are believed to be responsible for more than 239 cases of housebreaking islandwide.

b. Violent Property Crimes, which refer to crimes which involve the taking of money or property by force or threat of force against the victims, decreased from 320 cases to 242 cases (or a drop of 24%). In particular, the number of robbery cases saw a noteworthy drop of 82 cases from 291 cases to 209 cases (or a drop of 28%).

c. Theft and Related Crimes decreased by 727 cases to 9,101 cases (or a drop by 7%) from 9,828 cases. Most notably, significant decreases were noted for shop theft which fell by 405 cases (or -17%) to 2,012 cases and cases of Theft from Vehicles, which fell by 151 cases (or 22%), from 699 to 548 cases.

d. Crimes Against Persons, which refers to crimes where the victim suffers bodily harm as a result of the crime, registered a decrease of 6%, from 2,106 cases to 1,982 cases (or -124 cases).The decrease in Crimes Against Persons is largely attributable to a fall in rioting cases (drop of 48 cases or -34%), from 141 cases to 93 cases.

Two of the six crime classes registered increases in the first half of 2011, compared to the same period in 2010. One of them – Miscellaneous Crimes, which comprise various offences such as vandalism, trespassing and disorderly behavior, registered a slight increase of 1%, from 1,990 cases in Jan-Jun 2010 to 2,012 cases in Jan-Jun 2011. The slight increase can be attributed to more cases recorded for disorderly behaviour (+69 cases or +25%) and affray (+42 cases or +50%).

Photo credit: StuartMatthews