JEDDAH: The number of murders dropped slightly in the Kingdom while shooting crimes increased by 4 percent in the past year, according to the Ministry of Interior.

Giving details, spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said the number of stabbings dropped by 60 percent and kidnapping attempts also saw a drop last year.

He said thefts dropped by 5.5 percent to 46,073 crimes with a rate of 149.6 crimes for each 100,000 of population.

On crimes related to bodily assaults, he said the 25-30 year age group represented 26.72 percent of those involved in such crimes followed by the 19-24 year age group by 21.57 percent.

Most of those who are involved in bodily assaults are below 30 years and that foreign workers had the highest rates followed by students, he said.

He said drivers and female domestic workers had the lowest rates of crimes related to bodily assaults. Foreign workers, however, had the highest rates at 22.28 percent of assault crimes in the Kingdom, followed by students with 18.18 percent, he said.

Makkah Region witnessed the highest rates of crimes of assault with 35.82 percent at the rate of 209.8 crimes for each 100,000 of its population, followed by Riyadh at 17.95 percent, or 107.5 crimes for each 100,000 of its population, he pointed out.