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Security services in Morocco handled a total of 851,343 criminal cases in 2020, including 817,259 that police were able to solve. Meanwhile, the country’s crime rate this year is 33% higher than that of 2019.
According to Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), the increase is mainly due to security operations launched during the state of health emergency to combat lockdown violations, fake news, and the trafficking of unsafe face masks and disinfectants.
The DGSN announced the figure in its 2020 annual report on crime in Morocco, which was made public today, December 24.
Despite the overall rise in crime, some types have witnessed a decline between 2019 and 2020.
Property crime, which includes burglary, theft, and vandalism, among other offences against properties, decreased by 30% in 2020. Crimes against persons, meanwhile, recorded an annual decline of 4.72%. The number of crime victims also declined by approximately 14% between 2019 and 2020.
Moroccan police were able to solve 96% of the criminal cases recorded in 2020. According to DGSN, the rate is unprecedentedly high thanks to the development of scientific and technical tools used in crime scenes.
For organized crime, Moroccan security services were able to arrest 779 suspects allegedly linked to 469 criminal networks. The gangs mainly committed theft with violence.
On the irregular migration front, Moroccan police arrested 466 suspects allegedly linked to 123 human trafficking networks. They also prevented 9,179 candidates for irregular migration, including 6,162 of foreign nationalities, from leaving Morocco.
Read also: Numbeo Crime Index: Morocco a ‘Moderately’ Safe Country
Morocco’s fight against drugs was marked this year by a 23% decline in the number of drug-related arrests. Police in Morocco arrested 97,564 suspects in 2020 for drug-related crimes.
According to DGSN, the low number of drug busts compared to 2019 is mainly due to the decline in international drug smuggling activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of international borders for several months.
As regards Morocco’s state of health emergency, security services recorded 968,967 violations and crimes, ranging from going out in public without a special permit to the production and selling of unsafe disinfectants.
Finally, road safety indicators have slightly improved in 2020 compared to 2019. However, the improvement is likely due to the decrease in road traffic during Morocco’s strict lockdown, between March and June.
Moroccan authorities recorded 58,785 traffic accidents in the country this year. The figure is 18% lower than the number recorded in 2019. The number of injuries due to traffic accidents also witnessed an annual decline of 23%.
