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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 AUGUST 2014 8 News TIM DIACONO EVERY week seems to bring along with it a new robbery from a resi- dence in Sliema. A MaltaToday vox pop earlier this week only reinforced the signifi- cant level of concern among Sliema residents over a perception of rising theft and property crime. Recent statistics show, perhaps un- surprisingly, that St Julian's is Mal- ta's crime capital, with neighbour- ing Sliema coming in second place. Between 2009 and 2013, 47 thefts from vacant Sliema residences were reported, more than from any other locality in Malta. In the same time period, Sliema reported 217 burgla- ries from occupied residences and 613 pickpocketing incidents. No crime statistics for 2014 have been released as yet, but Sliema councillor Marianne Aquilina (PL) says that the number of theft-related complaints sent to the Sliema local council was indeed "rising". "Many Sliema residents, particu- larly the elderly, are now scared of leaving their homes, even if just to go to church," she said. But another Sliema councillor Michael Briguglio (AD) saw room for a sense of perspective. "In some European cities, walking through the streets at night is dangerous. And in comparison, Sliema remains very safe." Police have said that a professional gang of about five 'East European' – Bulgarian and Romanian – men have targeted Sliema apartments. With- out pointing a finger at a particular nationality, Aquilina said that many Sliema robberies she's heard about involved 'foreign' thieves. Police have said that the gang makes use of a 'bump key', a modi- fied key that is able to pick target locks. The bump key allegedly used by this gang fits the keyholes of indi- vidual apartment units. Briguglio also pointed out that "ar- eas with a high concentration of for- eign students tend to report a higher crime rate". The Sliema Local Council has pres- sured the police to improve their presence in the district. "While police frequently patrol Sliema's promenade, they do not pay enough attention to the residential areas," Briguglio told MaltaToday. On their part, the police told this newspaper that they had informed Sliema's mayor Anthony Chircop that they have increased patrols through the town, by both uniformed and plain-clothed policemen. They have also informed the council that some arrests have been made. The local council will meet up with the Superintendent in charge of the Sliema district and other high-rank- ing police officials next week. Mayor Anthony Chircop told Mal- taToday he hopes that they will pro- vide the council with further details on the police measures that are in place to combat crime, which they will then be able to pass on to Slie- ma's residents. tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt Sliema council to meet police over growing theft problem JAMES DEBONO A high 30% of patients having an appointment in surgical outpatient clinics at Mater Dei Hospital failed to turn up, according to a study recently published in the Malta Medical Jour- nal. Of the 266 appointments followed up in the study, 80 patients failed to make a show, representing a 30% non-attendance rate. Non-attendees were contacted via telephone call and asked to explain their non-attendance, with the main reasons for non-attendance being forgetfulness (53%), and unawareness of the appointment (26%). 6% and 5% of respondents men- tioned transport problems and ill- ness. Only 1% mentioned anxiety as a reason for not turning up. 90% of those who failed to make a show thought that a text-messaging reminder would have helped them to keep their appointment. Moreover 97% think that text-mes- saging reminders would be beneficial to patients. The aims of the study, conducted by Nathan Edwards, David Cini and Gordon Caruana Dingli from the De- 30% do not turn up for Mater WATCH OUR VOX POP http://bit.ly/1qRDKsi or scan this code to watch it on your smartphone