There have been 301 cases of assault on police officers in Egypt in the five months following the 25 January uprising, said an Interior Ministry official on Thursday. Assistant Interior Minister for the Department of Public Security Ahmed Gamal al-Din told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the matter is "extremely serious". Gamal al-Din went on to say that officers went out on the streets to bring about security but that their presence was not accepted by some citizens. He went on to say that during the period from January to May, the police successfully solved 474 out of a total of 656 murder cases, or 72 percent of cases. He also said that suspects in 263 out of 810 robbery cases were arrested nationwide during the last five months. He added that there are 7000 escaped prisoners still at large, and that 99 police stations had been broken into during the revolution, resulting in the escape of a large number of defendants and outlaws. He said the escaped prisoners are being pursued in accordance with a security plan covering all governorates. The ministry spokesman added that the crime rate has begun to decline as security services have resumed their work. He pointed out that governorates with the most escaped prisoners include: Assiut, Minya, Alexandria, Gharbiya, Daqahlia, and Beheira. Translated from the Arabic Edition
