The influence of the city's environment on crime rates

Abstract

“...And Valletta is a capital city in decline.” (Malta Today, 19th August 2007, page 7)

This was part of the abstract found in the Malta Today (local newspaper), while discussing the recently pulbished results of the Census for the Maltese Islands in 2005. All the figures published in this Census confirm the conclusions arrived at by the author, since the population of Valletta is in constant decline and the capital city is to be considered an ageing city, as nearly a third of its population is over 60. Together with this negative trend in its demography, Valletta has other problems, which continue to confim the statement published by the Malta Today. These problems are mostly related to the housing and social aspects of Valletta. All of these factors create the human and the physical environement of the city of Valletta. Another characteristic of Valletta is the high number of reported crime in the city, when compared with the other localities in the Maltese islands. The aims of this thesis are : 1. To find out the possible factors influencing the high number of reported crime in Valletta 2. To identify the areas, where crime in Valletta mostly occurs ; and 3. To propose and discuss crime prevention methods in Valletta.