Police Department New Year Address

© - Direction de la Communication - Charly Gallo

Police Commissioner, Richard Marangoni gave his New Year address in the presence of H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, H.E. Mr Serge Telle, the Minister of State, Mr Patrice Cellario, Minister of the Interior, and numerous other figures during the traditional event which, this year, was held in the conference room at the Oceanographic Museum.

In his speech, the Sovereign Prince noted that: “Security has always been one of the advantages offered by our country. It is up to us, then, to work together to maintain it. Each of us must play our part: the men and women whose noble calling it is to guarantee our security, of course, but also the rest of us, through our discipline and our understanding with regard to the measures put in place to improve vigilance.”

After talking about the security situation in 2017 and the implementation of the Police 2020 plan, which includes an increase in staffing, Richard Marangoni reminded his audience that overall crime had fallen by 28% between 2012 and 2016, and street crime by 43%. While the situation might have been expected to stabilise to some extent, this trend has continued in 2017 with a reduction of 1.04% in overall crime and 16.58% in street crime. Burglaries fell by 17.14%.

In addition to Police 2020, Richard Marangoni also discussed “Monaco, A Safe City”, a prevention-based initiative which seeks to strengthen the Principality’s security architecture.

At the end of the ceremony, the Sovereign Prince awarded the Exceptional Service Medal for acts of courage and dedication to 19 police officers who particularly distinguished themselves during 2016 and 2017.