Most respondents in the 60-69 age group are of the
opinion that the crime rate has greatly increased
(58.7%), in contrast to 2011 where mainly people
in the 40-49 age group held this belief.
The other diverging finding is that 41.6% of
people over the age of 70 were concerned that
crime rate has increased when the previous
survey found that people belonging to this group
were least concerned about the crime rate.
Reaffirming the previous report’s findings, most
respondents believe that substance abuse is the
main cause fuelling the increase in crime rate
(19.2%). It is also noteworthy that respondents
believe gangs (11.2%) to be the second most
influential factor, while in 2011 the second most
influencing factor believed to increase crime rate
was reported as neglect in parents’ responsibility.
In 2019 ’parent’s responsibility’ ranked as the
third factor most commonly believed to affect
increase in crime as opposed to unemployment
or lack of work in 2011.
parents responsible for the increase in crime.
Table 13: Responsible party for the increased crime rate, by gender
Responsible party
The Parliament
Male
Female
Total
7.34%
4.44%
5.39%
The Government
20.65%
19.39%
19.71%
The Police
17.93%
15.65%
16.33%
The Courts
4.89%
4.91%
4.99%
The Atoll Council
3.53%
3.50%
3.62%
The Island Council
5.98%
5.02%
5.39%
Parents
8.42%
11.68%
10.70%
Human Rights Commission
3.53%
2.80%
3.06%
25.27%
30.02%
28.24%
Other
1.36%
1.29%
1.29%
RF
0.27%
0.12%
0.24%
DK/NA
0.82%
1.17%
1.05%
Society (all)
Table 12: Reasons believed for the increase in the crime rate, by gender
Reason
Male
Female
Total
Economic Reasons
6.01%
4.46%
4.86%
Lack of Work
9.62%
8.33%
8.74%
Absence from school without approval from parents and schools
2.88%
2.48%
2.64%
Neglecting parents’ responsibility
10.82%
10.71%
10.76%
Drugs
17.79%
19.84%
19.15%
Gangs
9.86%
11.90%
11.17%
Release of criminals from jail/ detention by Police
9.38%
8.13%
8.47%
Release of criminals from jail/ detention by Courts
3.85%
4.66%
4.58%
Political Issues
6.01%
5.46%
5.69%
Housing Issues
2.88%
3.67%
3.47%
Lack of Law enforcement
8.41%
6.75%
7.22%
Lack of government attention to
crime
3.61%
5.16%
4.79%
Other
6.25%
5.06%
5.34%
RF
0.00%
0.20%
0.14%
DK/NA
2.64%
3.17%
2.98%
Interestingly 28.2% of the respondents said that
everyone, including the executive, parliament,
judiciary, other state institutions, oversight
bodies such as HRCM and parents along with
the public, is responsible for the increase in
crime. Subsequently, the government as a whole
(19.7%) and police (16.3%) were identified as
institutions that should be held accountable for
the inability to prevent crimes. While in the 2011
survey respondents held the government and
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