As crime surges in Bali, locals are wondering: ‘Are the tourists coming here getting worse?’

What a silly article.

First the guy says shootings happen all the time in Melbourne and never in Bali, but the statistics show that it’s 0.9 vs 0.4 per 100,000, as if it’s barely any difference.

Secondly they keep alluding to Australians but they quote a person actually in the know who says

“We’ve seen meth labs, villa robberies, crypto scams, property fraud, and ATM theft – often involving Russian or eastern European groups,” he said.

So sad. I remember a friend talking about it 20 years ago. It really sounded as peaceful as the article describes it, but:

Bali politician Agung Bagus Pratiksa Linggih said he had seen an increase in long-term visitors with low budgets in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic

“Shootings in Bali are unheard of. In Melbourne, they happen all the time, but not here,” he said. “People are asking how they even got the guns. Is there an underworld market forming?”

According to Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency, in 2023, only three firearm-related crimes were recorded in Bali.

“We’ve seen meth labs, villa robberies, crypto scams, property fraud, and ATM theft – often involving Russian or eastern European groups,” he said.

He blamed Bali’s open-door tourism model and post-pandemic economic desperation.

edit: the article can't decide if it focuses on Autralians or all tourists, but that doesn't make it less true.