Auto theft statistics: What goes up, stays up

Rise of 25 percent in car thefts; 136 percent increase in motorbike thefts.

ISLAMABAD: Car and motorcycle thefts in Islamabad have gone up despite claims by the Islamabad police to the contrary.

During the first 11 months of 2013, car snatching and thefts witnessed a 25 per cent increase, while motorbike thefts saw an alarming 136 per cent increase over the last year.

According to information gathered by The Express Tribune from police stations, in 2013, carjackers deprived over 600 people of their vehicles. Police records show around 580 cars were stolen, while some two dozen cars were snatched at gunpoint. Sources said out of all the cars lifted, only a few dozen have been recovered so far.

They said the investigations in around 450 car theft and snatching cases are still pending with the police, while court records show that in most cases, investigators failed to satisfy the courts, with only 30 convictions in such cases all year.

Meanwhile, the compiled statistics show that this year 260 motorbike snatching cases were registered, compared to 110 reported in 2012.

Out of the cases this year, 32 were at gunpoint. Sources said that investigations of around 220 bike thefts cases are lying pending with investigators, who usually do not emphasise bike thefts.

Islamabad IGP Sikandar Hayat could not be reached for comment, but an Islamabad Police spokesman said car snatching and theft cases in the city have declined after an upturn earlier in the year.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2013.