Fighting crime: Police struggle to combat crime

Yet claim crime has come down despite high incidence of heinous crimes

ISLAMABAD: Despite launching massive crackdowns against criminals this year, police have been unable to adequately control crime in the capital with 85 murders taking place there so far this year.

In a statement released on Thursday, SSP Operations Sajid Kiani detailed that they had arrested 1,866 suspects this year for their alleged involvement in various crimes while illicit weapons, narcotics and stolen valuables worth Rs417 million had been recovered from those arrested. Further, the police also claimed to have nabbed 3,700 proclaimed offenders in crackdowns.

The officer, however, claimed that there had been a 23 per cent fall in the crime rate during 2016 as compared to 2015. This, SSP Kiani said, was due to the massive crackdown and search operations against absconders, criminal elements and other suspects.

He said that so far this year, 85 people had been killed, down from 105 last year. The number of dacoities had fallen from 30 last year to just 17 this year. The SSP added that only one case of kidnapping had been reported in the capital this year, down from eight in 2015.

“Similarly, 240 cases of car theft were reported in 2016 as compared to 346 in 2016; 259 street crime cases in 2016 from the 305 in 2015; 243 burglaries in 2016 and 254 in 2015. Furthermore, 91 criminal gangs were busted with 709 criminals were arrested this year while 115 burglars, 43 auto-thieves, 57 suspected murders were held.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2016.