Unfettered rise: Street crime taking a toll on mental health

Residents of the port city are growing increasingly anxious when stepping out of home

KARACHI:

The plague that is street crime has the country’s economic hub in a chokehold, so much so that its populace fears for their lives when stepping out of home and yet law enforcement agencies do not seem unable to curb the menace.

Viral videos on social media are evidence of the impunity with which criminals in Karachi rob people of their valuables and escape - never to be heard of again. Therefore, residents of the port city are not only fearful but have also lost trust in the law enforcement agencies including police.

“During Ramazan I left the house to go to a nearby pharmacy. On the way, two bandits on a two-wheeler stopped me and snatched my purse at gunpoint and after the inci[1]dent I am terrified of going out,” narrated Liaquatabad resident, Nasreen Kausar.

Raheel, an accountant working for a company in the city, shares Kausar’s predicament. “Two armed robbers stopped me and my family while we were returning home after shopping at a mall during Ramazan. They constantly threatened to shoot us if we did not hand over cash and cell phones,” he recalled. Resultantly, Raheel’s mother, sister, wife, and children, who were all in the car with him during the robbery, now refuse to leave the house.

The same is the case for Hasnain, a college student. “In the last two months, my motorbike and cell phones were snatched during a street crime. Consequently, I have become increasingly anxious and dread the worst whenever I step out.”

Similarly, Zeeshan Rehman, a resident of the northern part of Karachi, said that he constantly has to look over his shoulder while walking around the city or whilst running errands like taking cash out of the ATM.

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What Rehman and other victims of street crime are experiencing is referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to Khursheed Jawed, who heads the Karachi Psychiatric Hospital. “It is only natural that victims of a robbery are triggered by certain cues like leaving the house because they fear they might come in harm’s way again,” said Jawed.

Adding on to Jawed’s assessment, Dr Karim Khawaja, Chairman of the Sindh Mental Health Authority, opined that victims of street crime should consider taking help from certified professionals.

“Otherwise, they run the risk of being anxious and emotionally distressed every time they remember the incident.”

Given the fact that street crime is now contributing to deteriorating mental health, The Express Tribune quizzed Additional Inspector General (IG) Karachi, Javed Alam Odho, about the police’s failure to make the city safe.

“There has been an increase in street crime because as many as 5,000 police personnel were on security duty for the census,” said Odho, adding that the situation would improve now. “Moreover, we have tightened security around the city’s entry and exit points and also increased patrolling. We are hopeful of curbing street crime soon,” the additional IG informed.

However, Naima Saeed, a sociologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology at University of Karachi, does not see Odho’s optimism. The street crime plague will remain in Karachi until factors like unemployment, economic downslide, and a politicised police force, which contribute to the rise in the menace are addressed, according to Saeed. “Furthermore, projects like Safe City need to be expedited if the government is actually serious about curbing street crime,” suggested Saeed while talking to The Express Tribune.