Dear Friends,

I wanted to share a different topic with you today. 

This week, I received a report of an investigation shared recently by the Istanbul Police Department in their talks with tourism representatives. I would like to comment  specificly on information about motor vehicles given by this report comparing crime rates committed throughout the year in Istanbul and other major cities abroad.

In addition to Istanbul, the report covers the results of certain major cities such as NewYork, London, Berlin, Sydney, Stockholm, Vienna, Brussels, Athens. Since the population of Istanbul is far above all these cities, there has also been a base analysis in the form of the crime rate, which is based on every hundred thousand people. 

Data pertaining to above cities were obtained from their official websites. Web addresses are clearly specified in the report. 

The number of auto theft crimes is about 19 thousand per year in Istanbul, 29 thousand in Berlin, 66 thousand in London,15 thousand in Athens. For every 100 thousand people, 117 crimes are committed during the year in Istanbul, 812 in London and 813 in Berlin. On the same basis, the numbers of Brussels, Stockholm and Vienna are well above Istanbul.   

In the theft of motor vehicles other than motorcycles, 3,453 vehicles were stolen in Istanbul annually. This number was 30,767 units in London,5,699 units in Berlin, 5,428 units in New York, and 14,753 units in Athens. At the rate of crime per population of 100 thousand people, Istanbul is far below all of these cities, with the exception of Sydney, with 22 theft of motor vehicles. 

In the theft of a bicycle, which is also a means of transportation, there were 6,300 annual criminal records in Istanbul, 19,500 in London, 30 thousand in Berlin and 8 thousand in Vienna.  Per 100 thousand people per population, Istanbul is at the bottom with 38 records. 

In fact, this report also classifies other criminal records other than road vehicles.
In almost all of them, istanbul and Sydney stand out as the least crime-ridden metropolises.

On the other hand, 376 citizens exist per police officer in Istanbul, while 473 in Sydney , 218 in London, 158 in New York and 292 in Vienna. 

Details of this report can be reached through www.istanbul.pol.tr/etkinlikler

As a citizen of this city, I am really glad to see that important cities of the world that we perceived as quite safe are in fact less safer than Istanbul.. Honestly I didn’t know it was like that. I congratulate our Provincial Police Chief, Mr.Mustafa Çalışkan and his service staff for their effort to secure our life. Undoubtedly , all of us living in Istanbul must continue to contribute the sustainable results for better future.

Wishing joyful bayram to all of you with the hope to share more glorious news in coming days.

PS. You may also follow my articles on motor1.com and otomobilhaber.com.tr