RIYADH — The Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) last year investigated 177,450 cases, an increase of 23 percent from the previous year, involving 218,300 accused, registering a rise of 18 percent. The BIP also investigated the conditions of 307,170 detainees in various prisons and police stations last year. The Shoura Council will discuss the BIP's annual report for the fiscal year 2014-2015 today (Monday). The bureau attributed the rise in the cases and the accused to the expansion of its authority rather than an increase in crime rate. The report said Makkah, with 441,138 cases registering a rise of 24.87 percent, topped all other regions while Riyadh came first in the number of the accused who numbered 53,832 registering an increase of 24.67 percent over the previous year. The report said Baha, with 2,176 cases and 2,679 accused, had the lowest number of cases and defendants. The BIP said it had conducted 36,429 tours to general prisons, women prisons, reformatories, social observation homes, girl protection homes, police stations, deportation centers and other facilities. The BIP said it had for the first time investigated 414 financial crimes. It also investigated 2,196 cases of international and regional cooperation to repatriate criminals which have gone up by about seven percent.
