This refers to the letter ‘Crimes in the city’ (Feb 9) by Naeema Jawaid. One of the major reasons behind the inability of the police to control street crimes is the lack of creativity and ingenuity exercised by the concerned department. We can, perhaps, learn and take on some of the techniques devised by the police in developed countries. In Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA, the police took a big step forward to improve public safety by creating Plymouth’s first street crimes unit (SCU).
This unit is a dedicated team of plainclothes, undercover officers who mingle in public places using a variety of techniques to detect people involved in crimes. They do this by blending in .The officers may appear to be regular people, drug dealers, substance abusers or even easy targets for criminals. In short, a SUC officer can be any one they want to be depending on the situation. The crime rate in the area has declined significantly since the unit stated functioning in the year 2014. It is suggested that the Karachi authorities follow suit.
Dr Najeeb A Khan
Islamabad