“Even we are surprised”: three key security figures in Monaco
Communication Department / Michael Alesi Monitoring compliance with health measures was one of the main actions carried out by the Police Department in 2021
Patrice Cellario, Minister of the Interior, and Richard Marangoni, Police Department Commissioner, presented the security figures for the Principality over the past year.
9,000 pandemic-related fines
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A major task for the Police Department in 2021 was ensuring proper compliance with health measures in the Principality, and in particular the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors. As the Government prefers dialogue to punishment, more than 59,000 observations were made by the police in the past year. 9,000 fines were also issued, “in indisputable cases, which the people who were fined can readily understand”.
The Police Department does however feel that mask-wearing is relatively well-observed, even if “we see a lot of masks under the nose or the chin”, Richard Marangoni notes. 29 official closures were also mentioned for food service establishments in 2021, for failure to comply with the prevailing health regulations (in particular, failure of staff to wear masks, or the absence of health pass checks).
At the same time, 21,000 boats coming into Monaco have been checked by the maritime police since 2020, to ensure compliance with the health pass and maritime health declarations.
Half the number of burglaries
General crime is relatively stable, with 716 crimes in 2021 compared to 712 in 2020. On the other hand, thanks to crime prevention actions, only 48 criminal acts on the public highway (bag-snatching, car thefts, burglaries, vandalism, etc.) were recorded in 2021, compared to 60 the previous year. “It’s a historic figure”, comments Richard Marangoni. “That’s less than one crime per week. Even we are surprised by such low figures.”
Among the most significant decreases are burglaries, which were halved between 2020 and 2021, thefts of two-wheel vehicles, which dropped by 71%, as well as driving under the influence of alcohol, which fell by 22% over the same period.
Richard Marangoni also reported a few noteworthy arrests in 2021, following the burglary of Monte-Carlo Antiquités, a series of thefts carried out by climbing luxury buildings, as well as burglaries committed by two young women, one of whom was wanted by Interpol.
SEE ALSO: How Monaco plans to keep crime rates down
Eleven rescue operations at sea
New resources enabled the maritime police to also improve its performance. In 2021, no fewer than eleven rescue operations were carried out at sea .
Among these new resources is the Princess Gabriella launch, inaugurated in December 2020, and designed to reinforce surveillance at sea. A new boat is also due to replace the “Libecciu”, considered a little outdated, to further bolster the Monegasque maritime fleet.
