Police arrested 644,025 people, including 43,008 women and 23,764 minors, this year, according to DGSN’s annual data for 2019.
Rabat – The General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) has shared its annual crime statistics before the end of the year, revealing security achievements, the criminal rate, drug arrest statistics, and control of irregular migration in Morocco.
Police handled 639,116 criminal cases in 2019 and arrested 644,025 people, including 43,008 women and 23,746 minors.
The DGSN said that it noticed a “relative stability in the percentage of [resolved] criminal cases of around 90.4%,” a result of “the systematic pillars of scientific and technical police.”
The general directorate announced its particular focus on finding wanted people and its success in arresting 130,680 wanted people.
Police arrested approximately 12% more people in 2019 than 2018, arrested 5% more minors, and heard 3% more complaints from victims of crimes.
Violent crimes, such as serious robberies and sexual assaults, represent 8% of the general crime rate.
Violent crimes saw a significant decrease of 8.6% compared to last year.
Fatal assault decreased by 11.2%, indecent assault by 10.2%, theft by 3.4%, armed robbery by 21%, and vehicle theft by 7.8%, DGSN noted.
26% arrested irregular migrants are Moroccan
Morocco has been increasing its efforts to combat criminal networks, including those involved in irregular migration and forgery.
Police arrested this year 990 individuals suspected of being linked to 509 criminal theft networks on public highways. They also arrested 505 organizers of undocumented migration involved in 62 criminal networks that traffick people.
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Operations against irregular migration resulted in the arrest of 27,317 would-be migrants, including 20,141 of foreign nationality. Moroccans represented 26% of those arrested trying to migrate without documents.
The DGSN also seized 3,021 false travel and ID documents.
Morocco seized nearly 180,000 tons of cannabis
The DGSN arrested 38% more people for drug-related offenses in 2019 than in 2018, with 12,049 cases.
Operations led by both DGSN and other security units, such as the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), enabled the police to seize 179,657 tons of cannabis and its derivatives.
The number represents an increase of 127 tons compared to the previous year.
Police also seized harder drugs, including 542,455 kilograms of cocaine, 7,196 kilograms of heroin, and 1,407,451 psychotropic tablets, including 974,983 ecstasy tablets imported from Europe.
79 arrested for extremism, terrorism
The national police also help in investigations and arrests of terror-related criminals. Judicial police referred 79 people suspected of being involved in terrorism and extremism to the courts.
Police also arrested 908 people involved in cybercrimes and 353 in extortion cases.
Police also arrested 168 in cases of corruption and abuse of power, 234 people in cases of embezzlement and waste of public funds, 96 people in cases of counterfeiting of the national currency, and 59 individuals involved in fraud and counterfeiting of payment cards—including 38 Moroccan citizens and 21 of European and sub-Saharan African nationalities.
