Police admit 7% rise in street crimes

Odho expresses hope city would stay safe and peaceful in 2023


Our Correspondent January 01, 2023
In a surprising development, street crime has dropped in the port city in Ramazan. PHOTO: AFP

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KARACHI:

The Karachi Police Chief Javed Alam Odho has admitted that the number of street crimes increased in the year 2022 as compared to the previous year. “Due to the increase in street crimes, we are witnessing a greater loss of human lives,” he said. He added that 109 people died in street crimes-related incidents during the outgoing year, whereas in 2021, only 75 people were killed by robbers.

Talking to the media at Sea View Beach, Karachi police chief claimed that from 2021 to 2022, the overall crime rate has decreased by 15.4 per cent. He expressed his hope that the city would stay safe and peaceful in the coming year. “In the year 2022, street crime has increased by 7 per cent, however, the city has the least number of murders compared to other cities,” he said.

Odho said that 8,866 suspects were arrested in the incidents of street crimes, 110 suspects were arrested for extortion and 5,420 held in carjacking and theft cases. Odhu said that 129 suspects were killed in 889 police encounters during 2022, while a total of 38,286 accused were arrested. Additionally, Karachi police arrested 8,632 drug dealers during the year.

He said that drugs and illegal weapons have always been a big problem for the police. The accountability of the police officers is necessary, and encouragement for good performance could also be done through that. In the year 2022, 58 cases were registered against police personnel and officers involved in crimes. Moreover, 10 police personnel were martyred and 70 injured in the battle against criminals.

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