MAKKAH, 24 July 2007 — Police in Makkah are to embark on a new project entitled “Makkah Without Crime” to arrest criminals and stop crimes, which have sharply increased in the past five years.
Turki Ibrahim Al-Ganawi, head of Makkah police, revealed the news at a meeting that was attended by senior municipal officials and police officers. Al-Ganawi said that the increase is due to citizens not cooperating with the authorities in reporting crimes. He added that, expatriates are more cooperative with the police than Saudis.
“Last year, the police only arrested 78,000 overstayers. We also tried to set up a police station close to Hosh Bakr, one of Makkah’s most dangerous areas. However, we weren’t able to because the area is full of overstayers and the safety of police officers was at risk,” he said, adding that the authorities are trying to work out ways to disperse areas in which clusters of overstayers live.
Al-Ganawi also announced that the police recently arrested two gangs of thieves that were responsible for a spate of crimes in the city. He called on people, who had recently been robbed, to contact police to recover their belongings.
“We’re ready to help people and we’re open to positive criticism that helps us improve the services we provide,” said Al-Ganawi, adding that police officers are asked to implement Islamic principles when dealing with criminals or overstayers, which include being kind but tough when needed.
Meanwhile, Saad Al-Ghamdi, head of the Security Department at Makkah Municipality, recently said that they receive hundreds of telephone calls reporting crimes from members of the public on a daily basis.
The department last year received more than 45,000 calls. “The Mansour Road area is full of overstayers and a lot of crimes take place there. Last month, we received 7,935 telephone calls from people in this area. We’re hoping to increase the number of officers patrolling such crime-ridden areas,” said Al-Ghamdi.
