2022 Review: DGSN Notes Violent Crime Indicators Down, Repression Rate Up

The Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) has begun, during this year, the implementation of the periodic program of the 2022-2026 Security Strategy, which focuses on strengthening crime fighting structures, developing scientific and technical police’s laboratories and systematically using mechanisms of criminal investigation and technical support in different investigations. This strategy also aims to enshrine the dimension of human rights in the police function, including the procedures of custody and surveillance in places of detention, in addition to the consolidation of coordination and cooperation with the services of the Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) on very complex cases, stresses the DGSN in its 2022 review. The careful reading of crime trends during the year 2022 allows us to note a series of important indicators, including firstly a significant decline in the number of repressive cases recorded with less than 30.22%, for a total of 820,274 cases, allowing to identify and refer 875,879 individuals before the various prosecutors, while the statistics of violent crime did not exceed the threshold of 6.59%. The rate of repression, the rate of solving the crimes committed, continued to register record levels for the sixth consecutive year, standing at 94.43% of the total recorded cases and 85.34% of violent crimes. These are qualitative indicators resulting mainly from the development of criminal investigation mechanisms, the establishment of the primary role of the scientific and technical police in the investigations conducted, the successful coordination between the services of the DGSN and the DGST, in addition to the immediate reporting of crimes by victims and witnesses, which has greatly contributed to the decline of indicators of “shadow crimes” and the repression of those involved. Regarding the analysis of crimes by form and modus operandi, the intense security operations during the year 2022 have increased by 8% for cases related to drugs and psychotropic drugs, thanks to the intensification and coordination of field interventions conducted jointly by the judicial police and the DGST services. Indeed, these operations have allowed the processing of 92,713 cases, the arrest of 120,725 individuals, including 241 foreigners. In addition, 98,543 tons of hashish were seized, a decrease of nearly 49%, and 190,178 kg of cocaine, down 87%, and 2,821 kg of heroin, down 5%. Similarly, the quantities of psychotropic drugs seized (ecstasy, captagon, and psychotropic tablets) have recorded an increase of 85% with a total of 2,668,473 psychotropic tablets. The same upward trend was recorded at the level of cyber-extortion crimes, with an increase of 5%, and a number of cases of 5,623, against 5,366 cases reported the previous year. The number of contents used in the recorded cases reached 3,935 criminal content, with 752 warrants for the identification of defendants, while 1,617 people were arrested and brought to justice for these cases. Regarding cases of sextortion, the services of national security have recorded during this year 417 cases, with a decrease of 17% compared to the previous year, leading to the arrest of 237 people involved in this type of crime against 428 victims, including 77 foreigners. Regarding the fight against networks specializing in illegal cross-border migration, the efforts of the National Security have been crowned by the arrest of 32,733 candidates, including 28,146 foreigners of different nationalities, the dismantling of 92 criminal networks and the arrest of 566 organizers and intermediaries, an increase of more than 36% compared to 2021, and the arrest of 415 organizers of illegal immigration. In addition, a total of 832 false travel documents or identity documents, 193 boats, 156 marine engines and 61 vehicles used in the organization of migration operations were seized. Regarding financial and economic crimes, the services of the National Security have continued to strengthen and develop criminal investigation techniques in this type of crime, both at the National Brigade of Judicial Police (BNPJ), as well as its four regional brigades of the judicial police in Rabat, Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech. These brigades have dealt with 453 cases of corruption, influence peddling, fraud and misappropriation of public funds and blackmail, an increase of nearly 17% compared to last year, while 595 suspects were investigated in these cases, including 296 for corruption and influence peddling, 217 in cases of fraud and misappropriation of public funds and 82 for blackmail and abuse of power. Regarding the crimes of counterfeiting, fraudulent use of means of payment and currency trafficking, the services of the National Security have treated during the current year 27 cases related to currency trafficking (+17%), 53,449 cases involving violations of legislation governing checks, (+17%), 184 cases of fraud and fraud of means of payment and 208 others related to the forgery of currency. This type of business has allowed the seizure of 9,373 counterfeit banknotes with a total value of 1,814,370 DH and 17,701 counterfeit foreign banknotes (6,530,370 euros, 105,900 US dollars, 743. 000 Belarusian rubles and 2420 pounds sterling), in addition to the dismantling of 39 criminal networks, 28 of which were involved in counterfeiting and forgery of currencies and 11 others involved in fraud at the level of means of payment and credit cards, while 227 individuals of different nationalities were brought to justice and 59 materials and electronic media used in piracy, forgery and fraudulent payment seized. In the fight against terrorism, extremism and apology for terrorist acts, the BNPJ has referred 20 individuals to the prosecutor’s office, recording a decline of 23% compared to the previous year, not counting the terrorist cells dismantled by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) under the DGST. The current year has also been marked by the full resumption of international security cooperation operations, after the lifting of preventive measures imposed because of the health pandemic, which has allowed to regain the advanced level of operational cooperation and technical assistance. In this regard, the Pole of International Police Cooperation has processed 5,800 cases and requests for information, an increase of 24% compared to 2021 and over 40% compared to 2020. The year 2022 has also seen the effective participation of the services of the National Security in the execution of five multiparty security operations in coordination with the General Secretariat of Interpol, dealing mainly with the fight against trafficking in pharmaceuticals and their sale via communication platforms and the illegal trade of artistic and cultural works, animals and wild plants, as well as another joint operation aimed at combating the reckless, irrational or criminal management of medical waste, in addition to the deployment of two operations of controlled delivery of drugs with the assistance of the Italian authorities as part of the opening to new partners after the cooperation in this field was limited to France and Spain during the past year. The year 2022 was also marked by the conclusion of numerous agreements and partnerships with police institutions in foreign countries, which resulted in the strengthening of the strategic security partnership with law enforcement agencies in the United States, particularly in terms of exchange of expertise, technical assistance and advanced training in various security fields, which was manifested by an exchange of visits between Moroccan and American security officials, the strengthening of training sessions and the diversification of operational cooperation, and which allowed the arrest by the services of the National Security of three foreign nationals wanted for serious crimes by the American judicial authorities. In the same context, the DGSN has concluded a “letter of intent” with the Director of the Netherlands Police to raise the level of bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the security field and a framework agreement with the German Federal Police on various areas of security. The DGSN has also worked to strengthen cooperation and coordination in security matters with sisterly and neighboring countries, especially the Kingdom of Spain, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the police of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), among others. At the operational level, the National Central Bureau (Interpol Rabat) has taken measures to execute 143 international letters rogatory and has issued 106 international arrest warrants for wanted persons. These international arrest warrants issued by the Moroccan judicial authorities have resulted in the arrest of 119 internationally wanted individuals, including 71 Moroccan citizens arrested abroad. The national central office has also issued 3362 search notices at the national level following the red notices issued by Interpol and the arrest warrants issued by the competent authorities in other countries. It has also issued 380 search notices from the police services of Arab countries and issued 2169 warrants to terminate international searches and 347 warrants to terminate search notices issued at the Arab level. Within the framework of the promotion of modern science in the service of justice and the crowning of the preservation of the quality certification (ISO / IEC 17025) by the national laboratory of the scientific and technical police under the DGSN for the 5th year, the General Directorate of National Security has continued to invest in the development of structures and mechanisms of the scientific and technical police, which allowed it to contribute to the consolidation of the fair trial based on scientific evidence, and to reach record levels in the rate of repression by helping to solve complex crimes, while providing great support to officers and agents of judicial police at the level of processing evidence at crime scenes or during criminal investigations. In terms of statistics and numerical indicators, the technical services of the Institute of Forensic Sciences of the National Security have carried out 576 forensic examinations on falsified documents, an increase of 5%, as well as 5,533 forensic examinations on the digital contents of 18,050 electronic media, an increase of 16%, and 201 ballistic examinations carried out on 94 firearms and 7,458 ammunition and projectiles, an increase of 10% compared to the previous year. As for the Forensic Laboratory of Casablanca, it received 16,762 requests for expertise during the current year and processed 13,454 requests for analysis of DNA samples, an increase of about 31% compared to the previous year. The same laboratory also received 1134 requests for expertise in the field of forensic chemistry, while the service of drugs and forensic toxicology has completed the necessary scientific expertise in 1816 cases related to narcotics and psychotropic substances … etc. The year 2022 recorded 79,044 physical traffic accidents in the urban perimeter, against 77,959 similar accidents during the same period of the year 2021, a slight increase of 1.40%. This data has had a direct impact on the total number of traffic accidents that have resulted in 818 deaths during the current year, against 836 deaths in 2021, to which are added 4,010 serious injuries and 102,705 light injuries. Regarding the traffic control measures, they have been significantly consolidated, thanks to the intensification of the traffic police patrols and the strengthening of the mobile brigades of road traffic, which allowed to establish 362,158 reports of violations of the road and traffic code, against 313,681 reports in 2021, an increase of about 16%. The number of transactional and fixed fines (ATF) imposed during the current year has recorded an increase of about 8.5%, from 1,553,994 ATF during the last year to 1,686,562 violations in 2022. With the aim of facilitating the tasks of the elements of the traffic police, so as to allow them to carry out in an optimal way their missions as regards reinforcement of the road safety, the services of the National Security completed the generalization of the data-processing applications dedicated to the numerical management of the administration and the storage of the documents of road control at the level of the whole of the decentralized services of the National Security. These applications have also been generalized at the level of the Mobile Security Group (GMS) of the city of Rabat, as the main support group for all major organizational operations on the national level. It was also implemented the program of computerized management of traffic accident reports in the cities of Kenitra, Rabat, Tetouan, Al Hoceima, Taza, Ouarzazate, El Jadida, Tangier, Meknes, Salé, Safi and Settat, as part of a short-term project aimed at the generalization of the computer infrastructure to include all documents related to road safety, as well as the computerization of their control and review procedures. In the same context, the services of the National Security have continued to strengthen their institutional partnership with the National Agency for Road Safety (NARSA), which focuses on the implementation of a set of strategic programs in the prevention and awareness of traffic accidents. This institutional partnership has allowed to provide the mobile brigades of road traffic with logistical equipment and road control, with the delivery, during the current year, of 130 motorcycles of large and medium cylinders and 13 light vehicles for road control, in addition to finalize and generalize an updated version of the Guide to Road Control for the benefit of agents and police officers, the aim being to ensure systematic training and proper implementation of provisions related to road safety. A new approach to training in behavior towards road users has also been discussed for the aim of its adoption. This includes a comprehensive list of best practices to adopt with citizens on the public highway, whether pedestrians or motorists and their companions.