Morocco’s crime indicator (number of cases and files registered) decreased by 10% compared to 2022, registering 738,748 cases with the arrest of 723,874 individuals summoned to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to the National Police (DGSN) annual report.
Violent crime indicators have also seen a decline such as homicides, manslaughter, and conjugal violence, all falling by 25%, while sexual abuse dipped by 4%, automobile thefts declined by about 19%, overall robberies decreased by 9%, and armed robberies fell by 6%.
Morocco’s Security Strategy for Combating Crime between 2022-2026 announced the positive news, which was attributed largely to strengthening the mechanisms already in place for combating crime, the development of scientific and technical police laboratories and criminal investigation units/technical support in various criminal research; and to the consolidation of civil rights codes, as well as improved coordination with the National Territory Surveillance (DGST) on various complex issues.
In parallel with the fall in crime indicators in 2023, the repression rate (i.e., the rate of solving crimes committed), continued to yield record levels for the seventh year running, standing at 95% of total recorded cases and around 92% of violent crimes.
With regard to drug cases, the DGSN registered 99,513 cases, and arrested 130,212 individuals–of whom 305 were foreigners–and seized 81.175 tons of cannabis resin (a decline of 17% y-o-y), 1,922.6 tons of cocaine, 6,880 kg of heroin, and 1,223,774 psychotropic parcels.
As for the the “poor man’s coke” (bouffa) issue, the DGSN arrested 575 dealers, and seized 5.175 kg of this narcotic substance.
The annual tally of cybercrimes increased by 6% to 5,969 cases, of which 4,070 involved extortion. Sextortion registered 508 cases, with an increase of 18%–resulting in the arrest of 182 individuals involved in such criminal acts–which targeted 515 victims, including 109 foreign nationals.
Regarding illegal immigration issues, the DGSN foiled 23,863 attempts and stymied 18,820 would-be migrants of various nationalities, thereby dismantling 121 criminal networks and arresting 594 immigration mediators.
As for financial and economic crimes, 529 cases of bribery, abuse of influence, embezzlement and waste of public funds and extortion were dealt with, recording an increase of almost 14% over the previous year. In this arena alone, 693 suspects have been investigated–322 of whom were investigated for bribery and abuse of power–while 259 were suspected of embezzlement/waste of public funds, and 112 involved cases of extortion and abuse of power.
With regard to currency counterfeiting and related smuggling operations, the DGSN handled 38 cases in this area during the year, 57,980 cases of intentional check-bouncing–albeit declining by approximately 1.5%–and 153 cases of fraud in performance bonds in addition to 151 cases of money/currency forgery.
These incidents resulted in the seizure of 481 fraudulent bills and 1,489 counterfeit foreign currencies totaling 95,800 U.S. dollars; 74,820 euros, and 340 pounds, as well as the dismantling of 19 criminal networks active in counterfeiting in performance and credit cards.
Twenty nine individuals were brought to Public Prosecutor’s office on suspicion of involvement in terrorist and extremist activities, not including terrorist cells already dismantled by DGST and BCIJ.