The crime rate saw a significant increase in July, rising by 52 percent compared to the same month in 2023, and up 17 percent from June. The surge is attributed to rising incidents of theft, assault, and burglary.
Acting Commissioner of Police Juki Fong Chew reported that theft cases for July 2024 reached 635, a substantial jump from 327 cases in July 2023. Notably, three incidents involved multiple thefts from a restaurant, supermarket, and foreign exchange outlet, with total losses exceeding half a million dollars and implicating six employees from the businesses involved.
Assault cases also saw an increase, with July 2024 recording 347 incidents, up from 251 in the same month last year, a rise of 96 cases. Alarmingly, 83 of these assault cases were domestic in nature.
Burglary incidents totaled 236, with an uptick in reports coming from Lautoka, Valelevu, Nadi, and Nabua Police Stations. The data indicated that while most cases occurred in urban and peri-urban areas, a significant number of reports were also filed from rural and maritime regions, including villages and settlements.