Monday 09 / June / 2025
Muscat: Musandam Governorate reported the least number of crimes in the Sultanate, while Buraimi and Al Wusta recorded the highest crime rate in 2017, according to figures issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
Musandam recorded just 1.4 per cent of crimes and 1.7 per cent of the total perpetrators in the country.
Buraimi and Al Wusta Governorates witnessed six crimes per 1,000 total population and also recorded the highest rate of offenders, which stood at 13 and nine offenders per 1,000 of the population, respectively.
Overall, 56.1 per cent of the crimes and 55.4 per cent of the offenders were recorded in the governorates of Muscat, Dhofar and North Batinah.
The number of crimes in the Sultanate increased by 4.9 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016, and the number of perpetrators rose to 20,797 compared with 20,777 in 2016, according to NCSI. Statistics also showed that the number of Omani culprits was 9,792 compared to 11,005 expatriates. The crime rate in Oman was three crimes per 1,000 of the population, and among every 1,000 people, there were five offenders.
The highest percentage of offenders included those who violated laws and regulations, which constituted 23.4 per cent of the total number of offenders. This included entering the country illegally, committed by 57 per cent of the offenders.
Some 41.2 per cent of the offenders violated the Residence and Labour Laws, according to figures, and 1.7 per cent of them committed other crimes, including the violation of fishing laws.
Issuing bounced cheques topped the list of the 10 most reported crimes in Oman in 2017, followed by drug- and theft-related crimes, Oman’s Public Prosecution announced at their annual press conference.
While 4,716 cheque-bouncing cases were recorded, the number of drug-related crimes was 2,497. This was followed by 2,272 cases of theft, 1,993 “insult to dignity” cases, 1,808 cases of labour laws being violated, and 1,350 cases of traffic violations. Cases violating consumer protection laws reached 1,298, while there was a spike in crimes of abuse against minors, as the number rose to 1,111. Illegally entering the country was another crime that was on the rise, with 1,049 cases being recorded.
The lowest percentage of offenders was found in crimes of violations of the Weapons and Ammunition Law, with 0.6 per cent.
The age group (9 to 17 years) accounted for only 3.6 per cent of the perpetrators and the majority of them were crimes related to money at 52.3 per cent.
The youth (18 to 29 years old) accounted for 38.9 per cent of the offenders, the largest proportion among adults, and the most common crimes among them were the violation of laws.
Most of the perpetrators were male, accounting for 94 per cent of the Omani culprits and 87 per cent of the foreign offenders.
