Phuket Crime Statistics: September 2010

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Phuket crime statistics: September 2010

PHUKET: -- According to the latest crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police, crime in September fell year-on-year.

The number of crimes reported in most categories last month dropped compared with the number announced for September 2009.

The only major increases were in the number of gambling cases reported.

Gambling: 160 people arrested in 59 reported cases, a 47.5% increase year-on-year.

Underground lottery: 44 arrests in 44 cases, up 193.3% year-on-year.

Firearms: 11 people arrested in 11 cases, down 45.0% year-on-year.

Prostitution: 83 arrests in 83 reported cases, down 13.5% year-on-year.

Drugs: 241 arrests in 222 cases, down 3.5% year-on-year.

Seizures in drug cases included 13,365 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and three bags of ya Ice (crystal methamphetamine) weighing a total of 47.5 grams.

Of the 241 people arrested on drug charges, 24 were charged with selling drugs; 47 for possession with intent to sell; 88 with possession; and 82 for drug consumption.

There was a 20% drop in Category 1 (“heinous”) crimes, including premeditated murder, muggings, gang muggings, kidnapping and arson. Two murders were reported in September 2010, with no one arrested in either case.

There was also a 24% decrease in Category 2 (“physical abuse”) crimes, which include premeditated murder as well as murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, assault, rape and sexual assault. The number of assault cases reported remained the same, at 13. There were also two rapes reported.

Category 3 crimes, which include theft and most other crimes involving private property, were down 3.7% overall. There were 41 general theft cases reported for the period with 22 arrests, a 14.6% decrease in the number of thefts reported overall.

There was a decrease in car theft, with just four cases reported in September 2010 vs 11 in September 2009.

Eighteen cases of embezzlement accounted for a 12.5% increase year-on-year.

There were four cases of fraud reported, with no arrests.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-10-09

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These were published in August.........don't seem to tally????

Violent crime up in Phuket. End of July report 2010

PHUKET: Forty murders in Phuket since the beginning of the current fiscal year have led a 95% year-on-year increase in the number of violent crime cases on the island, according to official police statistics.

Figures released by Phuket Provincial Police for this year show eight cases of premeditated murder in July alone, with arrests in five cases.

Figures for the period from October 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010 show that 40 murders were committed in Phuket, up 33% compared to the same period in fiscal year 2009.

There were 45 murders reported in Phuket in all of 2009.

Police group together murder, muggings, gang muggings, kidnapping and arson in a category for particularly violent crimes.

There was a 60% increase in this category in July 2010 compared to July 2009, and a 95% increase in the first ten months of fiscal 2010 compared to the same period in fiscal 2010.

There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of drug arrests, with 438 people arrested in 418 cases in July 2010. This represents a 277% increase in cases compared to July 2009.

For comments by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong on the increase in drug crime, see our earlier report here.

Once again, the majority of drug cases involved ya bah (methamphetamine), with 330 people arrested and 17,155 pills seized.

Forty-one people were also arrested for possession of the purer form of the drug known as ya Ice (crystal methamphetamine), with 356 grams seized.