The number of crimes in Gibraltar during the 2022/3 financial year rose 9% year-on-year to 3488, though the increase was driven in part by changes in the way the Royal Gibraltar Police records statistics.
The overall detection rate – meaning where a suspect was charged, summonsed, cautioned, warned or handed a penalty notice – was 26%, lower than in previous years. In the preceding year, for example, it was 41%.
Even so, for specific crimes including drug-related offences, the detection rate was far higher.
The statistical data is laid out in the latest annual report of the Gibraltar Police Authority for 2022/23, which was recently tabled in Parliament.
It comes at a time when the RGP faces pressure on resources and manpower arising from changes implemented following inspections by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services [HMICFRS], alongside the impact of the McGrail Inquiry due to commence in April.
In a foreword to the 36-page report, Dr Joseph Britto, the chair of the GPA, commended police Commissioner Richard Ullger and RGP personnel, who he said had “soldiered on tirelessly” during the year under review ending March 31, 2023.
Dr Britto said “…although they continue to face challenges – many of them quite unprecedented - the Royal Gibraltar Police still manages to continue with the day-to-day task of keeping Gibraltar safe.”
“The ‘blue line’, thin as it may be, continues to protect and serve our community and the Authority will continue to ensure that this purpose is fulfilled to the best of their capabilities.”
“The Authority also wishes to note that the RGP has continued to work in protecting Gibraltar from harm despite the massive increase in workload plus all the related challenges created as a result of the Public Inquiry into the early retirement of the former Commissioner of Police.”
“Although the effects of the Public Inquiry are, without a doubt, also taking their toll on the overall morale within the Service, I am confident that the Royal Gibraltar Police can only emerge from this stronger than ever in resolve, purpose and resiliency.”
In his own foreword to the report, Mr Ullger said the 2022/3 policing year had been “no different to others” in terms of the RGP’s response to crime and keeping Gibraltar safe.
“This has been done against the backdrop of resilience challenges and the need to continue to train our people in different skill areas,” he said.
“Recorded crime statistics have risen another 9%, but I continue to remain cautious about this figure, particularly as we continue to improve how we record crime in line with the inspection undertaken by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services.”
“Detection is a solid 26%, with good results being reaped for those more serious offences.”
“I am also extremely pleased that our efforts to fight the illegal importation of drugs with our partners is reaping the benefits of enhanced patrols.”
“This also appears to be the case for our Spanish partners, and intelligence suggests that we have pushed the illegal trade east and west of the Strait of Gibraltar.”
The Commissioner also highlighted work in areas such as tackling domestic abuse, with a number of convictions in court following investigations and arrests.
“It would be remiss of me not to highlight the impact our resourcing gap has had on policing over the year, but we have strategically planned to address this and we are hopeful that we will resolve this in the short to medium term,” Mr Ullger added.
“Equally, preparing for the Public Inquiry has presented us with challenges, particularly as we provide commitment over other policing strategic demands.”
“We are conscious of this and I am grateful for all the hard work we have done to deliver on both fronts.”
The GPA report offers insight into the broad range of policing duties handled by the RGP, which range from specialist areas such as counter terrorism and financial crime, to community policing and traffic.
The report sets out the RGP’s policing priorities as agreed with the GPA after assessing key risks and challenges and drawing on input from the public and victims of crime.
They range from unseen work with international law enforcement agencies crucial to keeping Gibraltar safe, to community policing and safeguarding strategies in partnership with other agencies, tackling drugs and financial crime, and continuing work on organisational change.
GPA chairman Dr Britto said much of this work happens away from the public eye and as such is “invisible”, but “although perhaps unsensational and unglamorous, [it] is still vital to maintaining our safety and security.”
The 26% detection rate and the 9% increase in crime is in part a reflection of the more detailed collection of statistical data by the RGP following the recommendations of the UK inspectors, and follows a similar pattern to the preceding report.
When the changes first kicked in during the 2021/22 reporting year, the jump in reported crimes was 81% year-on-year, reflecting the fact that some types of activity – for example, noise complaints – that were previously not recorded are now included in the statistics.
That trend continued in this latest reporting period.
And while some crimes are logged and included in the data, they may not ultimately be proceeded with for a variety of reasons yet will still show up as ‘undetected’.
A closer look at the data, particularly for serious crime, shows far higher detection rates in specific categories, even if in some areas there is clear room for improvement.
The detection rate for non-residential burglaries, for example, is 35%, but the rate for residential burglaries is just 10%.
Likewise the detection rate for theft – which increased year-on-year from 437 reports to 568 - and criminal damage is just 13% in both cases.
The situation is different for drug crimes though, with a 64% detection rate for cases of possession and 71% when it involved supply.
For anti-social behaviour offences, the detection rate was 52%.
In most areas, the number of offences was largely in line with the preceding year, although there were some notable exceptions.
Reports of stalking or harassment rose from 54 to 84, with a 14% detection rate.
Likewise, the number of sexual offences increased from 81 to 113, with a detection rate of just 3%.
In all these circumstances though, some cases may still be live and may yet lead to a charge that has not been reflected in this annual report.
There was jump too in the number of reports of “acquisitive cybercrime”, up from 13 to 66 and a reflection of the growing role of technology across all areas of society.
Traffic offences were down overall from 3516 in 2021/2 to 2479 in 2022/3, though the number of collisions rose sharply within that figure, and more people were arrested for drink driving.
MONEY MATTERS
The total income generated by the RGP in 2022/23 – including through fines for fixed penalty notices – was £484,177.90, of which £95,977.90 was through the provision of special policing services such as escorts for large vehicles and the policing of planned events such as football matches.
Unlike with UK forces, any funds received by the RGP for policing services are credited back to the Gibraltar Government’s central fund, something which both the force and the GPA believe should be reassessed.
“Whilst the RGP derives no direct benefit from providing these additional policing services, requests for additional funding are submitted to HMGoG for consideration as required,” the report said.
“In line with the HMICFRS recommendations published in 2020, the GPA and RGP are open to more modern funding arrangements, in line with UK practice, whereby a proportion of savings and revenue generated can be linked back to the RGP's funding mechanism, to promote better financial responsibility.”
“No benefit is accrued by the RGP for issuing fines. Fixed Penalty Notices are paid directly to Gibraltar Car Parks and fines imposed by the courts are paid directly to the Gibraltar Courts Service.”
In the year under review, the RGP spent just over £1m on overtime, up from the preceding financial year (£868,842.74) but below the 2020/21 overtime spend of nearly £1.4m.