MoI’s security measures work, Qatar sees massive drop in crime rate

Successful implementation of safety and security measures drawn up by the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has significantly brought down the crime rate in Qatar, reports Qatar Tribune.

The ministry's efforts helped reduce burglaries from vehicles by 10.3%, forgery cases by 48.3% and cases of cheque bouncing due to insufficient funds by 3.1% in 2015.

MoI's strategies also helped Qatar achieve the lowest rate of major crimes that affect national security registered till the end of 2015, which is 95.8% lower than the international average set by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and 67.9% lower than the rate registered in the country in 2007.

Another of the Ministry's important achievements was the reduction of the average police response time down to seven minutes.

Compared to 2014, the MoI's safety and security strategies successfully improved a number of key performance indicators (KPIs) in 2015.

While murder cases decreased by 45.5%, cases of forced robbery dropped by 75%. There was also a 20.4% decrease in robberies.

The country also reported murder rate of 0.2 per 100,000 population in 2015, which is 97.5% less than the global rate of eight crimes per 100,000 population.

Besides, Qatar has also the lowest rate of rape worldwide, which is 98.4% less than the international average.

Moreover, the MoI attained kidnap and forced robbery rates that are 99.6% lower than the global rate, as well as a robbery crime rate that is 97.8% less than the international rate set by UNODC.

The remarkably low crime rates and improved safety and security KPIs resulted in Qatar ranking first in the Arab world, for the seventh consecutive year, in the Global Safety Index, according to a report in the Police Magazine.

As for the improvements in traffic conditions and road accidents, statistics indicate a reduction in the severity of traffic accidents in 2015 by 5.5% compared to 2014 and by 32.8% over the past 10 years.

The report also states that fatal traffic accidents, as measured ‘per 100,000 population', decreased by 76.9% over the last 10 years.

Serious injuries resulting from traffic accidents decreased by 34.9% during the same period.

Between 2005 and 2015, major injuries per 1,000 accidents also fell by 38.1%, while major injuries per 1,000 registered vehicles decreased by 36%.

By the same token, road fatalities per 1,000 accidents decreased by 50% over the 10-year span and road fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles decreased by 43.2 % during the same period.

According to figures, the total work hours of traffic patrols around the country in 2015 amounted to 2,207,720 hours. The report stated that majority of traffic accidents that occurred in 2015 (97.9%) were minor accidents without injuries, while major accidents that resulted in injuries were only 2.2%.

Courtesy: Qatar-tribune.com