The half-year 2020 statistics from the police, regarding reported crime, show Macao remained a safe city.

Cases of suspected crime that were reported in Macao during the first six months of 2020 saw a 32.2-percent decrease year-on-year to 4,691 instances, according to the police-enforcement statistics published today.

Forms of major crime in the first half of 2020 – including assault; crimes against property; crime against life and society; and crime against the territory – as well as crimes outside those categories, recorded a year-on-year decline in volume.

From January to June, the number of reported violent crimes saw a significant decrease of 59.8 percent year-on-year, to 130 instances.

The security authorities would nonetheless remain vigilant regarding any negative impact on public security that might arise from the city having a greater number of visitors following the easing of inbound travel arrangements.

Police data for January to June had shown a decrease in visitor flow judged year-on-year. This had coincided with travel protocols relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first half of 2020, a correlation typically seen in Macao – between volume of gaming-related crime and volume of visitors – had not been relevant, and had been statistically insignificant. The security authorities had therefore not issued in the latest enforcement statistics any evaluation regarding the impact of gaming-related crimes on Macao’s security.

In addition, the citywide electronic surveillance system, known as “sky eye”, has had a positive effect in terms of assisting the police in solving crimes more quickly. There was a total of 1,005 cases in the first half of 2020 that involved the use of the surveillance system for investigation purposes.

More statistic information can be found from the website of the Office of the Secretary for Security (https://www.gss.gov.mo/cht/statistic.aspx).