Cases of minor offences bog down cops

Heinous crimes cited in 31% FIRs registered in Punjab in 2022

LAHORE:

Over 30 per cent of the incidents of crime registered in Punjab during last year were of a heinous nature.

According to official data, a total of 760,371 FIRs were registered in the province in 2022. Of the registered cases, 9% (69,953) were of crimes against person, 41% (313,969) against property and 23% (177,691) registered under local and special laws.

According to a police official, the focus on fighting hardcore crime and criminals is compromised due to the pressure of dealing with a large number of minor offences. About 7% of the FIRs pertained to heinous crimes against person, including 4,628 cases of murder, attempted murder 7,826, hurt 16,744, kidnapping 21,773, rape 3,642 and gang rape 309.

Nearly 20% (14,969) cases of crime against person fell under minor offences.

Heinous crimes against property accounted for 21% of the cases (159,600), including 1,035 of dacoity, 50,407 of robbery, 18,835 of burglary, 2,517 of theft, 75,044 of motor vehicle theft, 10,234 of motor vehicle snatching and 11,762 of cattle theft.

The data showed that convictions in only 84,367 (11%) of the registered cases were reported. The statistics reveal that most of the energy of Punjab Police is consumed in dealing with issues of minor nature.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, an official said the number of cases registered of minor offences was high because the police had to show their performance before the government and their bosses through the numbers.

He said arresting hardcore criminals was a challenging task while compiling data of registration of cases over minor offences and arrest of suspects was easy.

The results are obvious from the figure of 11% conviction rate during the year.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2023.