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The Balearics is gripped by a crime wave. Last month police data showed that penal crime has risen in the Balearics by 50 per cent since the start of the year and the latest report issued yesterday states that, last year, the number of car thefts in the region rose by 28.2 per cent. The increase in the Balearics was the second highest in Spain, only in Valencia was the rise in the number of car thefts slightly higher, 29 per cent. One of the general public's greatest concerns is safety in the Balearics and the mayor of Palma is under pressure from residents to boost policing. Despite the council's community policing campaign crime is still on the rise with residents in the city centre wondering where all the bobbies on the beat are outside of office hours. Over the past year there has been a sharp rise in the number of juvenile delinquencies, part of which has fuelled the car thefts. Teenagers are using stolen vehicles for joy riding, illegal car races and robberies and the police are faced with a growing problem of juvenile crime. While in the UK the teenage crime wave has been rife for years, in the Balearics it is becoming increasingly more common with the most popular target being mobile telephones and most of the victims, fellow teenagers and the authorities are becoming increasingly concerned.