REUTERS REPORT:
09:42 29Sep2010 Rising crime worries Cypriots
By Sarah Ktisti
NICOSIA, Sept 29 (Reuters Life!) - Once a haven, the Mediterranean island of Cyprus is battling an unprecedented spike in crime as it struggles to emerge from its first recession in three decades.
Barely a day goes by now without a serious crime being reported, mostly robberies.
"There has been a sharp rise in thefts and robberies due to the global financial crisis," Justice Minister Loucas Louca told Reuters.
Serious reported crime rose 17.5 percent in the first eight months of the year compared with the year-ago period while the clear-up rate dropped 5.4 percent.
"Gone are the days when we could leave our cars unlocked," said Stefanos Koursaris, head of the shopkeepers' association.
An angry crowd foiled a bank heist in the coastal city of Limassol last week, overpowering two armed men while they waited for police to arrive.
Tellingly, security companies are reporting good business.
"We have seen a significant increase in demand for electronic and physical security for homes and businesses, such as CCTV and alarm systems, which was unheard of a year or two ago," said Yiannos Arghyrou, managing director of G4S Security Services Cyprus Ltd.
Today's reality is a far cry from the Cyprus of even 10 years ago, where people would sleep on their balconies during sweltering summer evenings, and doors were very rarely shut, let alone locked.
"People are scared now," said Demetris Harpas, 47, a chef in the eastern coastal town of Protaras.
"The old age pensioners are targets for muggers wanting to steal their pensions. But, I think the rise in crime is only natural as unemployment rises and prices rocket sky high."
(Editing by Steve Addison)
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Keywords: CYPRUS CRIME/
Wednesday, 29 September 2010 09:42:25RTRS [nLDE68J0PS] {C}ENDS
Shall we unify?..........Naaaaahhhhhhhhhh....I don't think so Mr Rum Arkadaslar!
Or will the Greek Cypriots blame this Crime wave on the European Union members moving into the south?
"Yes, it's those Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian migrants in our land" a Greek Cypriot says while I was waiting for my plane at Larnaca airport this summer.
