Karachi has witnessed an alarming increase in street crime, with murders of residents over resisting the attempts to mug them becoming a routine matter, indicating that the police and the Rangers have completely failed in curbing the menace.
According to the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) data based on police and newspaper reports, more than 21,000 cases have been reported in the first three months of the year, but the number of unreported cases is likely to be double.Robbers have taken the lives of 34 people and injured over 150 others. Residents of the city are not even safe on their doorsteps. Countless video clips made from CCTV camera footage of muggings have been circulating on social media.
People have been deprived of cars, motorbikes, cash, mobile phones, jewellery and other valuables. According to the CPLC data, around 7,000 incidents were reported in January, over 6,800 in February and more than 7,000 in March. The data shows that majority of the 34 residents who were shot dead were young, with 14 of them being killed in January, and 10 each in February and March, while District Central was the worst affected, followed by the East and Korangi districts.
Last year’s street crime data shows the deteriorating situation of law and order in Karachi, with over 81,000 incidents being reported. The 2022 data shows 52,000 motorbikes and 26,400 phones being stolen, and the recovery of only 4,000 stolen items, including 2,900 motorbikes, 600 cars and 530 phones.Last year robbers had killed 100 people and injured over 400 others.
The data shows 24 were killed in District West, 23 in District Central, 19 in District East, 16 in District Korangi, nine in District Keamari, five in District Malir, and two each in District South and District City. To control the rising street crime incidents, the Karachi police have taken several steps, like forming the Shaheen Force, but the residents are losing their confidence in the law enforcement department because all these measures appear to be ineffective.
Police believe they cannot control street crime until all the relevant departments work together. A senior officer claimed that encounters with robbers are increasing, but the number of street criminals is also on the rise, so street crime incidents in turn are increasing.
