Marrakech – Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) has introduced a new organizational framework for police training and forensic investigations, establishing a higher institute dedicated to security sciences and formally incorporating artificial intelligence into the structure of its forensic services.
The changes are outlined in two decisions, numbered 1920.26 and 1921.26, signed by the Director General of National Security, Abdellatif Hammouchi, on September 14. Published in Official Gazette No. 7553 on October 19, both decisions will take effect on January 1, 2027.
The measures reorganize the Royal Police Institute and define the structure and responsibilities of the Institute of Forensic Sciences and Evidence, with provisions covering advanced police education, scientific research, criminal identification, forensic analysis, and technological expertise.
A new higher institute for security sciences
Decision No. 1920.26 amends the June 14, 2022, decision organizing the Royal Police Institute, restructuring it around four principal components: basic training; cooperation and continuing and specialized training; general affairs; and a newly created Higher Institute for Security Sciences.
The decision also identifies the police training schools operating under the Royal Police Institute, including schools for training police cadres, security specializations, police inspectors, and security guards. Each school is granted an administrative status equivalent to a central administration service.
The most significant addition is the Higher Institute for Security Sciences, which will oversee advanced training, research, and innovation in security-related disciplines.
Its responsibilities include developing specialized higher-level training programs, conducting applied and forward-looking security studies, and preparing a general strategy for training and scientific research aligned with the DGSN’s priorities.
The strategy must be submitted to the Director General of National Security for approval. The institute will be headed by a director appointed by Hammouchi from among qualified security personnel.
Its internal structure includes services responsible for educational affairs, administrative management, internal security, protocol and internship management, and discipline.
The decision also establishes a scientific and pedagogical council tasked with improving advanced training methods and promoting cooperation with universities, academic research centers, and institutions specializing in security studies, both domestically and internationally.
Council members, including its president and vice president, will be appointed by the Director General. The council will also advise on specialized training programs and issue recommendations based on committee reports and the institute’s annual evaluation.
AI and scientific evidence in criminal investigations
Decision No. 1921.26 establishes the organizational framework of the Institute of Forensic Sciences and Evidence, headquartered in Rabat and operating under the Directorate of Judicial Police.
The institute will be responsible for preparing and implementing the DGSN’s technical and scientific policing strategy, supporting criminal investigations through forensic expertise, and providing the personnel, equipment, and logistical resources needed for crime-scene examinations.
Its director, appointed by Hammouchi, will also serve as deputy director of the Judicial Police responsible for technical and scientific policing.
The institute comprises three principal components: the Scientific Police Laboratory, the Technical and Risk Management Division, and the Central Judicial Identification Division.
The Scientific Police Laboratory will examine evidence submitted by judicial police officers and courts. Its services cover forensic chemistry, drugs and toxicology, forensic biology, DNA profiling, and other technical examinations.
The Technical and Risk Management Division will handle digital evidence, audiovisual material, firearms and ammunition, documents and currency, and cases involving prohibited nuclear, radiological, chemical, and biological materials.
Notably, the decision explicitly establishes a Forensic Audiovisual Expertise and Artificial Intelligence Service within this division, formally recognizing AI as a distinct field of expertise in the DGSN’s forensic organization.
The text does not specify particular AI applications, investigative software, or automated identification systems to be deployed under this provision.
The Central Judicial Identification Division will manage identification requests involving fingerprints, latent handprints, and facial characteristics. It will also oversee criminal-record services, the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), and the coordination of forensic identification activities across decentralized police units.
The new framework further assigns the forensic institute responsibility for specialized staff training, scientific research, quality standards, and technical support for regional and local police services.
Its director may also propose the establishment of additional judicial identification units and regional scientific police laboratories, subject to coordination with the relevant DGSN departments.
Together, the two decisions introduce a more specialized institutional structure for police education and forensic investigations, placing scientific research, professional training, digital evidence, and emerging technologies within explicitly defined administrative responsibilities.
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