Istanbul Governor Gül announced safety data for the first 9 months of 2026

Istanbul Governor Davut Gül attended the monthly safety data evaluation meeting and announced Istanbul's safety data for the first 9 months of 2026. Deputy Governor Mustafa Asım Alkan, Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Major General İdris Tataroğlu, Provincial Police Chief Selami Yıldız and Coast Guard Marmara and Straits Regional Commander Rear Admiral Serkan Tezel also attended the meeting at the Provincial Disaster and Emergency Directorate.

'OUR OPERATIONS AGAINST TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS INCREASED BY 20 PERCENT COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD OF THE LAST YEAR'

Speaking at the meeting, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül said, "We never allow any terrorist organization, no tutelage center, no shadowy structure to threaten the survival of our state, the will of our nation, and the peace of our citizens. Thanks to this determined stance, our operations against terrorist organizations increased by 20 percent in the first 9 months of 2026 compared to the same period of the previous year. 4 thousand 237 people were caught, 826 people were arrested, and judicial control measures were applied to 639 people.

Under the leadership of our President, under the leadership of our Minister, and with the support and prayers of our nation, we are determined to eliminate terrorism not only from our city but from this geography. When we look at the first 9 months of 2026, we see that crimes committed against people continue to decrease compared to the same period of 2025, and our rate of illumination continues to increase. In crimes against property, compared to the same period of the previous year; Auto theft decreased by 51 percent, purse snatching by 43 percent, auto theft by 36 percent, and pickpocketing by 25 percent. Our attitude towards unlicensed weapons is very clear. As a result of this determined stance, we see that the number of unlicensed weapons seized in the first nine months of this year decreased by approximately 12 percent compared to the same period last year. I want to remind you again here. "Possessing and carrying unlicensed weapons is also a crime," he said.

'343 OPERATIONS WERE CARRIED OUT AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME ORGANIZATIONS IN THE FIRST 9 MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, AND 130 GANGS WERE BURNED'

Governor Gül said, "In summary, 343 operations were carried out against organized crime organizations in the first 9 months of this year, 130 gangs were busted. 2,517 of the 3,998 people caught were arrested. Their financial resources were seized. 1,974 social media accounts used for propaganda and recruitment were closed. We do not see the fight against smuggling as just a tax loss or a matter of control. For us, this directly affects the economic order and the rights of our tradesmen." and the issue of protecting the health of our citizens. The issue of cutting off the financial source, which is the lifeblood of all kinds of dark structures. In the first nine months of this year, our number of operations increased by 7 percent and the number of people arrested increased by 54 percent. With the seized illegal products, more than 3 billion TL of tax loss was prevented. Again, the amount of illegal fuel put on the market increased by 32 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.” he said.

'THE REAL ISSUE IS TO PREVENT DRUGS FROM ENTERING THE STREETS'

Referring to the topic of drugs and substance addiction, Gül said, "Our primary goal is to keep our youth away from this swamp. To cut off the lifeblood of the dark networks that finance organized crime networks and terrorist structures through the poison trade. However, as we always say, we do not evaluate this issue only by the number of people caught and the amount of substances. The main issue is to prevent drugs from entering the streets. Therefore, we have more visibility in this field. Especially around schools, we carry out field inspections not only with patrols; our camera systems, cyber surveillance, Hayat 112. "We continue to work in coordination with the reports received. In addition to the security perimeter we provide with our police and gendarmerie personnel, we have assigned hand detectors to our schools. We do not want any parent to worry about the children they send to school. Another important topic is cyber crimes. The number of crimes committed in the virtual world is becoming more and more common every day. In this world, we follow the criminals step by step and prevent the victimization of our citizens before they escalate."

'WE SEE THAT MOTORCYCLES, WHICH ARE 15 PERCENT OF THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES, ARE INVOLVED IN TWO EVERY THREE ACCIDENTS'