Once a year the Sûreté Publique, Monaco’s police service, meets the press to give an account of its work during the previous 12 months.

Each year, the figures have a tendency to show a marked decline in delinquencies in the Principality, and 2021 continued the trend, according to Commissioner Richard Marangoni.

The only figure to buck the downward spiral was ‘general delinquencies,’ which showed a very small increase, from 712 incidents in 2020 to 716 in 2021. The category of crime known as ‘delinquency in public areas,’ which includes thefts in public, fell from 60 in 2020 to 48 in 2021.

“This was less than one a week,” Mr Marangoni pointed out.

Traffic accidents during the year fell by 10 percent to 510, while public drunkenness also took a stumble, by eight percent to 132.

On the other hand, the unit for enhancing the quality of life recorded a surge in its activities, with a 51 percent increase in interventions for loud noise, to 220, littering, up from 26 to 51 cases, unnecessary noise from 106 to 139, and dog control, up by 108 percent from 12 infractions in 2020 to 25 in 2021.

Asked by NEWS.MC if there is a press department or a telephone number that journalists can contact in order to be kept informed of events during the rest of the year, he said there isn’t.

On a more general note, Mr Marangoni reminded the press that the Sûreté Publique was established 120 years ago, at the instigation of Prince Albert 1. He wished the press Best Wishes for 2022.

PHOTO: Patrice Cellario, Minister of the Interior, and Richard Marangoni, Commissioner Jeff Daniels