Crime is a widespread issue in various social strata in Egypt, deeply affecting the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Daily incidents indicate a recent rise in crime rates in Egypt. According to the 2024 crime index from Numbeo, Egypt ranked 18th among African countries with a crime rate of 47.3 on the index, 65th globally, and third in the Arab world due to the prevalence of various crimes. While its causes are complex and multifaceted, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting a strong link between crime rates and poverty levels.
However, numerous factors can contribute to the increasing crime rates in Egypt, including social, economic, and cultural factors. A study by FasterCapital, a business incubator and accelerator, identified major contributing factors: unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, social isolation, and economic pressures leading to higher poverty rates and the erosion of social classes.
According to the labor force survey results for the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2023 by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the unemployment rate reached 6.9%. The labor force was estimated at 31.101 million citizens, down from 31.956 million in the previous quarter, a decline of 2.7%. This comes at a time when the unemployment rate in Egypt has reached about 6.9% of the total labor force, with 2.159 million unemployed (1.165 million males, 994 thousand females), according to the latest CAPMAS data.
The Rise in Kidnapping Rates
Notably, the kidnapping rate in Egypt rocketed by 200.00% from 0.1 cases per 100,000 population in 2010 to 0.3 cases per 100,000 population in 2011. “Kidnapping” means unlawfully detaining a person or persons against their will (including through the use of force; threat; fraud or enticement) for the purpose of demanding for their liberation an illicit gain or any other economic gain or other material benefit; or in order to oblige someone to do or not to do something. “Kidnapping” excludes disputes over child custody.
For days now, social media users in Egypt have been discussing the latest developments revealed by the Public Prosecution regarding the Shubra El-Kheima child murder case. Based on available information, the crime has an economic dimension. The killer aimed to earn five million Egyptian pounds by filming the act and selling it on the “dark web” for a substantial profit.
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Official Narratives vs. International Indices
Despite Cairo’s ranking as the 18th in Africa and third in the Arab world for high crime rates, official narratives refute international indices. In October 2023, Interior Minister Mohamed Tawfik stated at the “Nation’s Story” conference that crime rates had significantly decreased in recent years. Tawfik added that the detection rate for crimes had risen from 57% in 2013 to 95% in 2023. Misdemeanor crimes had decreased by 58% in 2023 compared to 2013 and by 12% compared to 2010. In 2017, the Ministry of Interior reported that premeditated murder crimes had increased by 130%, armed robbery by 350%, car theft by 500%, and the number of “thugs” had risen to 92,680 individuals, with the number of “dangerous registrants” increasing by 55%, aside from those not officially registered.
Trump: Egypt's crime rates are low as they don't play games like we do
Economic Factors and Criminal Behavior
Psychologist Walid Hindi explained to “Zawia3” that the economic situation greatly impacts an individual’s self-perception, ambition, and general behavior, leading to crimes, according to Karl Marx and Engels’ theory on the economic aspects of crime. Hindi stated that inflation, privatization, recession, low wages, and rising prices in Egypt affect the nature and type of crimes due to financial pressures that generate value conflicts, pushing individuals toward criminal behavior. Poverty, deprivation, and limited opportunities are external pressures that drive some to commit crimes. Economic disruption in a country leads to phenomena like rising unemployment rates and the emergence of new social classes, resulting in new types of crimes previously unseen. Therefore, poor economic and living conditions are significant reasons for the spread of theft and fraud crimes.
Addressing Crime and Poverty
A study on the impact of economic and social changes on juvenile delinquency, published in the Scientific Journal of Business and Commercial Research, suggested various approaches to address crime and poverty rates. Effective solutions include increasing access to education, vocational training, and resources to help individuals build skills and improve economic prospects. Investment in mental health programs and substance abuse treatment can address underlying issues contributing to criminal behavior.
Heba Al-Issawy, a professor of psychiatry at Ain Shams University, told “Zawia3” about short-term plans for psychological screening of personality disorders and drug abuse in adolescents and youth during different educational stages. Al-Issawy also highlighted the importance of emphasizing the punishments for crimes, whether economically motivated or not, to warn those with criminal tendencies. Publicizing punishments plays a crucial role in deterring crimes and regulating them among different groups.
Specific Cases and Vulnerable Groups
Egypt’s Christian community faces dangers that most other Egyptians needn’t fear. Threats of violence during church services, attacks on buses filled with innocent pilgrims and their children, and assaults on successful Christian businesses happen all too frequently.
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But the truth is that Christian women in Egypt face an epidemic of kidnapping, rape, beatings and torture. Innumerable girls and women vanish forever, and even if they are somehow rescued, their stories are thought to be so shameful that they’re hidden as dark family secrets. Meanwhile, doctors quietly repair internal damage and “restore virginity” to abused teenagers and twenty-somethings. The attacks vary - some happen randomly, when a vulnerable female is spotted walking alone on a sidewalk. Other are plotted by Islamist consortiums, who pay kidnappers as much $3,000 per girl. The assailants rape the victims, hold them in captivity, then demand that the terrified young women to convert to Islam - often violently abusing them until they surrender. These crimes are particularly common in villages outside Egypt’s major cities, where radicalized thugs act with impunity, sometimes forming raging mobs and leaving behind a trail of blood, ashes and broken people.
World Watch Monitor, an international Christian publication, interviewed a man who had been once an abductor himself. He explained, “A group of kidnappers meets in a mosque to discuss potential victims. They keep a close eye on Christians’ houses and monitor everything that’s going on. Once a victim is delivered to a radical Islamist organization, he explained, her price tag, payable to the kidnappers, is big money in a cash-strapped country like Egypt. The kidnappers are happy with their share of the loot.
Other young women are abducted off the street. One Egyptian teenager - we’ll call her “Samia” - grew up in a Coptic home. Samia decided to run away, determined to leave her small village in Minya and find a new life in Alexandria. She reached her destination, but as she made her way along an unfamiliar city street, a car pulled over, two young men grasped her and dragged her into the back seat. A brutal foursome later took turns raping her while mocking the small cross tattooed on her wrist. Samia courageously escaped and made her way home. By then, she had been badly beaten. The cross on her wrist had been burned off with acid - and she was pregnant.
Political Dimensions and Human Rights
Esraa Abdelfattah was assaulted and abducted by security forces in plainclothes on 12 October. After her detention one NSA officer threatened her with torture after she refused to grant him access to her mobile phone. Several men then entered the room and began beating her on her face and body. The NSA officer then returned and repeated his request for her to unlock her phone. Esraa refused again and the officer took off her sweatshirt and strangled her with it saying: “your life in exchange for the phone”, until she gave him her password. The officer then handcuffed her hands and legs to prevent her from sitting or kneeling and kept her in that position for almost eight hours.
“Esraa Abdelfattah’s appalling treatment sends a clear message to the international community that Egyptian authorities will stop at nothing to ‘terrorize’ perceived dissidents into silence. The prosecutor ordered her detention for a further 15 days while she is investigated for “joining a terrorist group in achieving its goals”, “disseminating false news” and “misusing social media” as part of a case that also includes human rights defenders such as lawyer Mahienour el-Massry, politician Khalid Dawoud and political science professor Hassan Nefea. Like them, Esraa Abdelfattah was questioned about her previous political activism.
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