MADINA: Prince Abdulaziz Bin Majed, Emir of Madina, has rejected a report which concluded that 50 percent of juveniles in Madina are involved in criminal activity, apart from traffic offenses. The report also stated that as many as six people sleep in one room in Al-Talah District, one of the most crowded districts in the Prophet's City. A source at the Regional Development Administration at the Mayoralty told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that Prince Abdulaziz was not convinced of the content and conclusions of the report compiled by the Urban Observatory. The Emir said the report was not based on official statistics issued by the ministries of finance and economy and planning. Prince Abdulaziz added that the report lacks transparency and objectivity which has to be used to reflect the reality of social and service conditions. The report obtained by Okaz/Saudi Gazette showed that the rate of crime in Madina is 2.21 percent for every 1,000 people, and that crimes committed by Saudis represent 2.17 percent for every 1,000 people. The source of this information is a report compiled by the Statistics Administration at a branch of the Ministry of Justice in Madina based on the number of cases seen at the courts. The report did not refer to other sources, particularly the police which are also responsible for fighting crime. The Urban Observatory also stated that a total of 85.2 percent of Saudi students between the ages of 18 and 22 enrolled at institutions of higher education in Madina. This information was provided by a representative from Taiba University. The report ignored other sources including the Islamic University in Madina. The report calculated the rate of corruption was 13.46 percent per 1,000 people in Madina, on the basis of a report from the Bureau of Control and Investigation and Public Security on military and security staff cases. The report stated that one person sleeps in a room even in the well-off districts, such as the Central Hadiqa District. The average number of people living in one room in such districts is 2.1 persons; and 6.1 people in one room in one of the most crowded districts in the city, such as Al-Talah District.
