Morocco Grapples with Rising Recidivism Rates, Officials Seek Solutions

Organized over two days at the local prison of Salé 2 by the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR), the 7th edition of the Autumn University sees the participation of 200 inmates. Several government institutions, judges and officials within the public administration also take part in this edition, which focuses exclusively on cases of recidivism.

The choice of the theme is not insignificant because, according to MAP, the current criminal justice system is being questioned due to the increase in cases of recidivism. The issue, according to the Minister of Human Rights, has become worrying, in the sense that most crimes are committed by people with criminal records.

Mustapha Ramid hopes that the reform of the criminal justice system and the Code of Criminal Procedure, which are in Parliament, could help lay the legal foundations capable of reducing the phenomenon of recidivism.

MAP points out that in his speech, Mounir Bensalah, Secretary General of the National Human Rights Council, declared that any approach to solutions to reduce cases of recidivism must be done in respect of the rights of each person.

To this end, he proposes to move towards new avenues of resolution in the field of repression, given the "incapacity" of the current criminal policy to find effective solutions and responses.