Morocco Sees Alarming Rise in Knife Crime as Over 5,000 Cases Reported in Early 2025

During the first two months of 2025, the competent services of the Ministry of Interior handled 5,138 cases of knife attacks, which led to the arrest of 5,332 people, including 561 minors, and the seizure of 2,363 bladed weapons, declared Abdelouafi Laftit, the Minister of Interior, in his response to a written question from the socialist group in the House of Representatives.

Concerned by the scale of the phenomenon, the government is taking measures to strengthen the security of Moroccans, assured the minister, specifying that his department is working to reinforce police presence in public spaces. In this regard, mobile and foot teams have been deployed in main streets, popular neighborhoods, and around schools to prevent attacks and reassure citizens, especially students and young people.

The official also indicated that security services are conducting, under the supervision of competent prosecutors, investigations into videos published on social media showing attacks or inciting their commission. Similarly, anti-gang brigades have been installed in the kingdom’s major prefectures and provinces, and the intervention units of the National Judicial Police Brigade (BNPJ) at the level of decentralized services have been reinforced, added Laftit.

Furthermore, authorities are conducting awareness campaigns within schools to encourage students to report any suspicious behavior or anyone carrying a bladed weapon. All these actions aim to guarantee the security of citizens throughout the kingdom, emphasized the Minister of Interior, assuring that these efforts will continue to put an end to this scourge.