Athens crime rates steady
As more Athenians say they feel unsafe in the city, new data show that almost half of the thefts and burglaries in Athens take place in the inner city and that crime rates in the Attica region are fairly stable. Kathimerini examined data from Attica’s police headquarters for the January-August period this year, showing that thefts and break-ins had risen 2.2 percent since 2004 while 43 percent of crimes took place in the city center. The relatively stable crime rates may assuage fears among Athenians, about 70 percent of whom feel unsafe walking alone in their neighborhoods after dark, according to a recent survey. Fully half said they have little or no faith in the city’s police force. Authorities have said that fewer police are patrolling the streets because more officers are being used for crime investigations. But these crime-fighting efforts appear to have fallen short: Police have solved only 12 percent of cases involving theft and burglaries in the nine-month period, well short of the 22 percent goal set.
