Security in the old Medina of Essaouira is currently one of the concerns of the inhabitants. Incidents occurring in the main arteries as well as in the neighborhoods and alleys of the old Medina have pushed inhabitants, merchants and tourists to sound the alarm, requesting urgent security measures to deal with the crime that threatens the peaceful character of the city.

On Monday, November 11, three women were assaulted in the Sidi Ali Ben Abdellah district, considered one of the black spots in terms of security in the old Medina.

"It is impossible for us to circulate in the Sidi Ali Ben Abdellah district after 10 p.m. We are threatened, intimidated and attacked by out-of-control delinquents. Yet, we have never stopped demanding the intervention of security services in order to restore order and secure the inhabitants who currently feel abandoned to their fate," an inhabitant of the old Medina told us.

However, the competent services must deploy more efforts when it comes to security in the Medina, which is considered the main tourist and heritage circuit.

Observers explain the regression of security in the old Medina by the reduction in staff after the relocation of the judicial police to the new premises in the El Borj district. Since that date, the police have been content with a small post guarded by two or three elements.

"It is better to show force than to use it. Before, patrol cars and police officers were present in large numbers and permanently in the heart of the old Medina. As a result, the security services enjoyed good intervention timing for every incident or problem. Currently, we cannot ask more of the reduced staff deployed on site, which reflects the shortage of human resources from which the security services in Essaouira suffer. The inhabitants must benefit from the right to security and freedom of movement by day and by night. The competent services are called upon to strengthen the city's security system and deploy it in a rational way," comments an associative actor.