Official sources indicate that the number of murders has been very low in Damascus recently, and what is at the forefront of the court’s discussion today are theft crimes, of which one day is rarely devoid of 70 crimes on a daily basis.

According to the Public Prosecutor in Damascus, Muhammad Kharboutli, between 50 and 70 officers are brought to the Justice Department every day for various crimes, whether forgery, theft, drugs, or other crimes.

  Kharbutli confirmed that the most widespread crimes currently in Damascus are thefts and pickpockets, with approximately 15 to 20 arrests of these crimes daily, with the exception of cell phone thefts, which have their own referrals.

Kharbutli added that murders are very few in Damascus, estimating that one murder could be recorded every two months, noting that each stage had a specific nature of the crimes.

  For example, at the beginning of the war on Syria, murders and kidnappings increased between 2011 and 2013. Then, in 2014 and 2015, economic crimes and the exchange of foreign currency without a license and dealing in anything other than the Syrian pound increased.

According to the Public Prosecutor, smuggling crimes increased in 2016 and thereafter, noting that currently theft crimes have increased, especially the exterior parts of cars and their internal contents, motorcycles, as well as the pickpocketing of mobile phones.