Police advises public to be vigilant due to increase in robberies

Police have advised the public to be vigilant following a sudden increase in petty thefts and robberies in the capital Male’.

Police Media Official Hassan Haneef told Sun today that the police received 563 cases of robberies during April alone and that the robberies were noted to be small in nature, such as the theft of handbags, mobile phones and other similar electronic devices. The official said that majority of goods were stolen from homes.

“About 8 or 9 robberies are being reported every 8 hours. Common goods include electronics, taken from homes. Even though we have been able to reduce the amount of major crimes in Male’, it has been noticed that smaller crimes are on the increase. We would like to advice the public to be alert and vigilant, due to these circumstances,” Haneef said.

Police said that the majority of these robberies were committed through easily accessible entries.

“There robberies are usually committed while the owner or the house steps outside without locking the door, through a window that had not been properly closed. We have to be more careful to close our doors properly before we go out, to keep our doors properly closed at all times,” Haneef said.

Police have increased frequency of patrols around the streets of Male’, and have commenced a special operation to counter the recent hike in robberies.