Crimes at holy sites has considerably come down over the last few years, said an official recently.

According to Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Iraini, assistant commander for investigations at the holy sites, there have been fewer instances of crimes, mainly related to theft and fraud, because of a better police administration.

Besides a greater number of officers being deployed to check criminal activities, pilgrims’s becoming more vigilant is also the reason behind the downward trend in crime graph, he said.

The government’s security agencies have arrested 10,800 people for fraud and theft in the last 20 years at the country’s holy sites, according to another official.

Capt. Saud Al-Otaibi, commander of criminal registrations at the holy sites, said the program was automated in 1998. Officers registered around 12,000 incidents of theft and sexual harassment over the period. He said theft made up 90 percent of the crimes and sexual harassment 10 percent. These crimes occurred over the past 20 years.

Security personnels identified several criminals by distinguishing marks on their bodies and faces.

“After arresting them, their identities were determined by their fingerprints or distinguishing marks. Officers also determined whether they were involved in other crimes,” he said.

There is greater vigilance in crowded areas, especially where women gather. The department’s operations room deploys more officers to these hotspots if needed.

He said wherever possible, victims are sent SMSs if their stolen items are recovered. It is kept for an entire day before being sent to the Ministry of Haj. Stolen cash found is sent to the Muslim Monetary House. He said that 47 missing items were recently returned to their rightful owners.

Capt. Hamid Al-Qahtani, director of the call center, said all cases of theft and missing items are recorded. The center received 60 calls over two days after Arafat. He said there were only five calls to report cases of theft.