Macau’s total number of crimes reported last year dropped by 5.9 percent to 13,458 from the 14,298 reported in 2024, the Office of Secretary for Security Chan Tsz King announced yesterday.
The office (GSS) announced Macau’s 2025 crime statistics on its website yesterday, when it also said in a statement that the office, from now on, will only announce Macau’s crime statistics regularly on its website, but with a press conference to be held to announce the data “whenever necessary”.
Previously, the office customarily held a press conference four times a year to announce Macau’s crime statistics, with the data also released on its website, except during the COVID-19 pandemic that affected Macau for three years from early 2020 through 2022, during which the office only announced Macau’s crime statistics regularly on its website – four times a year.
Yesterday’s GSS statement said that “with the aim of enhancing information transparency, the regular dissemination of crime statistics will henceforth be processed electronically, but the relevant information will also be presented through press conferences whenever necessary”.
The statement described the new arrangements as “the new model” for announcing Macau’s crime statistics.
According to the statistics announced on the GSS website, the police recorded 262 violent crimes last year, down 9.7 percent from 2024.
Three homicides were reported last year, up by two from 2024 when only one was recorded.
Two grievous bodily harm cases were reported in 2025, down by three from 2024 when five cases were recorded.
According to the website, 32 rape cases were reported in 2025, a 33.3 percent decrease from the 48 cases recorded in 2024, while 39 cases of child sexual abuse, i.e., involving minors under the age of 14, were reported in 2025, up 77.3 percent from 2024 when 22 cases were recorded.
The police recorded 51 robbery cases last year, up by three from 2024, while 63 drug trafficking cases were reported last year, up 23.5 percent from 2024.
The number of fraud cases recorded last year decreased by 19.5 percent to 2,255 from the 2,800 reported in 2024, according to the website.
The police investigated 2,373 gaming-related crimes last year, a 63.0 percent increase from 2024 when 1,456 cases were investigated.
The GSS website underlined that the large year-on-year increase in the number of gaming-related crimes reported in 2025 was primarily due to the implementation of the new law criminalising illegal currency exchanges on and in the vicinity of casino premises, which took effect at the end of October in 2024.
The website underlined that only a small number of cases of gaming-related serious crimes, and gaming-related organised crimes were recorded in 2025. For instance, the police last year recorded 194 cases of providing illegal gambling loans, and 28 cases of false imprisonment resulting from the illegal provision of gambling loans, down 23.0 percent and 40.4 percent respectively from 2024.
This file photo released in November last year shows police officers conducting an operation to prevent and combat crime at a local casino in October last year. – Photo: SPU
