The overall crime rate in Macao in 2024 remained virtually unchanged from 2023, according to law enforcement officials, who said the city recorded 8,132 crimes last year.
The total represents a drop of less than a percent from the year prior, according to remarks from a senior police official cited by public broadcaster TDM, but is a reduction of more than 20 percent compared to pre-pandemic 2019.
The official said police conducted 148 anti-vice operations in 2024 and arrested 193 people, of whom 162 were repatriated to the Chinese mainland. Some 186 illegal guesthouses were raided.
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Theft and wounding respectively accounted for 1,772 and 1,506 of crimes reported. There were 15,510 traffic accidents recorded in 2024, representing a year-on-year rise of more than 14 percent.
Incidences of fraud remain serious, reaching 354 last year, involving a total loss of more than 150 million patacas, Macau Post Daily reports. Students are increasingly targeted, representing nearly 30 percent of victims, and collectively losing a staggering 68.1 million patacas.
There was only one case of homicide in 2024, and just three of the wounding cases reported were classed as grievous bodily harm.
