Qatar has further consolidated its position as one of the safest countries in the world with a 49% drop in the number of major crimes reported in 2015 compared to the previous year.

For the past five years, Qatar has stood first in terms of security among the nations of the Middle East region in the Global Peace Index.

According to the figures released by the Ministry of Interior (MoI) yesterday, there has been a significant fall of 49% in the number of lawsuits and cases of major crimes such as murder, aggravated assault, rape, kidnapping, robbery and arson last year.

The "Highlights of Security & Services Statistics Report-2015" said the number of complaints received by state security agencies in 2015 fell by 3.5 % in spite of a population growth of 9.2% compared to 2014.

However, the number of cyber crimes witnessed a rise of 52% in 2015 , due to the spread of technology and social media networks and other tools "as people used them without the precaution required in dealing with such media".

Some geographical areas witnessed a noticeable decline in crime ratios. In the Capital Security Department area, for instance, the decline in lawsuits and major crimes ranged between 69-73%. The Dukhan Security area didn’t report any lawsuit or major crime. The Al Rayyan and Al Shamal security areas also recorded a decline of 18% in crime rates.

Last year, the authorities have been able to tackle the phenomenon of begging by capturing 590 people, most of them coming from outside the country.

There has also been increased activity in the field of international security co-operation with organisations and law-enforcement agencies, particularly in the field of combating drug trafficking. The Ministry of Interior has received a number of letters of appreciation for its help in the seizure of narcotic substances and dismantling smuggling gangs by exchanging information. The most prominent of these agencies include British National Agency for the fight against organised crime-NCA (National Crime Agency), the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

The average emergency response time for fire accidents in 2015 was less with an average of eight minutes compared to 8.6 minutes in 2014, though there was an increase in the number of incidents in 2015. The total number of fire accidents in 2015 was 5,483 while it was 4925 in 2,014.

Traffic safety indicators show a 4.8% decline in 2015 in the number of road accident deaths for each 100,000 residents per year.

Traffic violations such as wrong parking , not leaving safe distance between two vehicles, not wearing seat belt also declined by 4.7%. While there were 1,720,735 violations in 2015, the number for the previous year was 1,805,072.

Ministry handles 1,686 complaints and queries concerning personal abuse

The Ministry of Interior handled 1,686 complaints and queries concerning personal abuse during the year 2015. About 8,900 persons and companies that violated human rights and labour laws were blacklisted or banned in 2015. Some 10,068 travel tickets were issued to expatriates who were unable to pay for their journey to their home countries, the Highlights of Security & Services Statistics Report-2015 issued by the ministry said yesterday.

During inspection campaigns 2,145 persons surrendered, showing their willingness to leave Qatar. A total of 30,874 persons were detained for violation of the laws of the country.

The emergency number 999 received 1,943,653 calls that included requests for help in traffic situations, diseases, injuries, fire incidents and other personal matters during 2015.

The National Command Centre issued 35,260 appreciation letters to members of the public to acknowledge their cooperation in sharing valuable information during the last year.