Criminal records for some, family albums for others

KARACHI: Criminal records of the city detail a history of violence, but for some they also act as family albums.

According to the Criminal Record Office (CRO), these records include profiles of those suspects who were arrested when they were young and continued their ‘criminal career’ as they grew older. As a result, the data shows an age-wise collection of photographs and other information about these individuals.

The CRO has managed to preserve records of more than 100,000 criminals involved in murder, kidnapping for ransom, robbery, adultery, fraud and other crimes. This system of recording data in registers has been going on since 1972. However, arrests made on political grounds or of political workers and leaders are not included in this collection.

All this data is written in journals yellowed and tattered with age but a two-year record, from 2008 to 2010 has been digitised with the help of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee.

The data does not include the record of suspects arrested by the FIA and the customs authority.

These compiled records involve all kinds of crimes and contain names, pictures, fingerprints, physical attributes, birth dates and other information about the arrested suspects.

According to the criminal record office, 5,202 people were arrested on charges of terrorism, 4,108 were arrested for murder, 3,900 for kidnapping and adultery, 23,077 people were apprehended for violating the arms ordinance while 5,720 were detained for dacoities, 1,166 for attempted murder, 4,001 in fraud cases, 18906 for robberies, 4,883 for snatching motorcycles, 3,045 for car snatching. Moreover, 396 pickpockets were caught and 4,106 persons were arrested on charges of drug possession in the last 38 years.

ADIG Investigation Gul Hamid Samo told Daily Express that the data for political criminals lies with the Special Branch. He explained that it is compulsory for all police stations in the city to report all crimes registered to the CRO.

But since the CRO is located too far from most police stations it is difficult to do so. Higher officials have requested that the CRO should be shifted to either the TPO’s office or the SSP Investigation’s office for the convenience of other police officials.

The CRO is also obligated to document if the criminal has been acquitted by a court.

“However, this practice is not followed,” said Samo, “and as a result, scores of people who have been acquitted are still recorded as criminals by the CRO.”

The CRO was made so that the law enforcement agencies could investigate any arrested person’s background and the number of times he has been arrested, added the ADIG.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2010.