Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Long plagued by high crime rates, Jeddah's Al-Harazat neighborhood has in recent months become home to a major burglary ring that has terrorized residents and left many families fearing for the safety of their loved ones. Highly organized, members of the ring monitor homes and make their move when occupants are away. Residents have said dozens of reports have been filed at Al-Muntazahat police station and detectives have taken fingerprints and collected other evidence from crime scenes but no arrests have ever been made. They have called on police to intensify efforts to nab the ring members and establish a police station in the neighborhood, Al-Madinah newspaper reported. Resident Fahd Attia Al-Zahrani said his house was almost broken into during the last ten days of Ramadan while he was performing voluntary night prayers. “Several people attacked the house and tried to force open the front door using a crowbar. My family was inside and when my wife and children started screaming, they left. I don't think they were aware that people were inside but what if they had managed to break in?” asked Al-Zahrani. He appealed to Jeddah police to intensify security patrols inside the neighborhood and arrest members of the gang. Mutaib Al-Khudairi, another resident of the neighborhood, wasn't as lucky as Al-Zahrani and said his house has been robbed twice in the past few months. “Me and my family were away both times they broke into the house. I filed a report at Al-Muntazahat police station. Officers photographed the crime scene and took fingerprints but no one was ever arrested and the case remains open till today. The gang has eyes everywhere and they attack as soon as they know a house is empty,” said Al-Khudairi. Resident Saeed Muhammed Salem Al-Ghamdi said part of the problem is that the densely populated neighborhood doesn't have its own police station, which in turn makes it an ideal place for illegal aliens and criminals to reside in. “We have over 20,000 people living here and yet we don't have a police station. Criminals, illegal workers both from inside and outside the neighborhood come here because they know security here is lax. There are dozens of illegal, single men living next to homes where families live; is this acceptable?” he asked. Fellow resident Yassir Al-Zahrani echoed Al-Ghamdi's words and called upon the rulers and police officials to fix the neighborhood's security problem and arrest the gang, which he said “has terrorized residents, women and children.” He also called on the Passport Department to increase patrols of the neighborhood and arrest undocumented workers. “Things get really bad at night. There should be checkpoints everywhere so these criminals are caught. They roam around freely without any fear of getting caught. We thankfully live in a country of safety and security and I am astonished that these thefts occur. Thugs who do not fear Allah steal from people in broad daylight,” said Al-Zahrani. Misfer Al-Juaid, Jeddah police spokesman, played down the problem and described the burglaries in the neighborhood as “isolated cases and often the result of negligence on the part of homeowners who leave doors unlocked and car engines running.” “All crime scenes have been fully investigated and a team of detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department is working around the clock inside the neighborhood. We have also increased security patrols,” he added. Meanwhile, a source at the Jeddah Passport Department said raids to net undocumented workers do not exclude any single neighborhood. “Al-Harazat neighborhood is subject to intense campaigns with the participation of several security and government agencies that support Passport Department teams when they carry out raids and arrest undocumented workers. All illegal aliens caught in the neighborhood are investigated and eventually deported,” said the source on condition of anonymity.
