Morocco Reports 10% Drop in Crime Rates for 2023, DGSN Data Shows

The General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) has released its annual report on crime. It appears that the number of cases resulting in detention is 738,748, and 723,874 people have been presented before various public prosecutors. Crime indicators have decreased by 10% during the year 2023, the DGSN specifies. In detail, murders, manslaughter, and assault and battery resulting in death decreased by 25% in 2023, sexual assaults by 4%, car theft by around 19%, aggravated theft by 9% and violent theft by 6%.

The DGSN attributes these results to the integrated approach it has adopted, continuing to implement the articles of the security strategy for the fight against crime for the period 2022-2026. This strategy focuses on strengthening the structures for the fight against crime, the development of forensic and technical police laboratories, and the anchoring of the human rights dimension in the police function, particularly in custody procedures and the management of surveillance in detention facilities, as well as the strengthening of coordination and cooperation with the services of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) in various complex cases.

Thanks to the development of criminal investigation mechanisms, and the consecration of the central role of forensic and technical police in the investigations carried out, but also the immediate reporting of victims and witnesses of crimes committed and the serious treatment of virtual denunciations and content published on social networks, the year 2023 was also that of the continuity of the clearance rate, i.e. the percentage of clarification of the reality of crimes committed, recording record levels for the seventh consecutive year, reaching nearly 95% in all recorded cases, and around 92% in cases of violent crimes, qualitative and exceptional rates.