Rise in phone snatchings offsets fall in other crimes in 2018

Compared to 2017, the year 2018 fared better in terms of major crimes in the city, such as targeted killing that witnessed a decrease of 70 per cent; however this success of the law enforcement agencies seems to be offset by the slight rise in incidents of mobile phones’ snatching in the city, which increased this year by five per cent from the previous year.

Discussing the law and order situation in Karachi with The News, Karachi Additional IG Dr Amir Shaikh said the Karachi operation was continuing in the right direction; however, it needed to be expedited and pursued more vigorously.

According to the Karachi police chief, the police had been focusing on ensuring security at major events in the city due to which no untoward incident occurred during major festivals and events. Christmas has passed peacefully, Dr Shaikh said, adding that the next major event in the city is New Year’s Eve.

The Karachi Addl IG maintained that despite engaged in various security duties, the police still performed well during the year in terms of controlling crime.

Reforms in police force

The Karachi police chief shed light on various reforms introduced in the police force during 2018.

A major reform was the new accountability system under which police stations were to be made answerable if vice dens continued operating in their respective jurisdictions. Dr Shaikh said he had already issued strict directives to the police to immediately demolish and close all vice dens running in various areas of the city.

The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) had also being approached by the police to carry out joint operations against criminals in the city, the Karachi Addl IG said.

Establishment of victim support service and a child protection unit are other initiatives adopted by the police in 2018, Dr Shaikh said, adding that the police also took steps during the year to enhance capacity of its investigation branch and various internal systems, including the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS), Criminal Record Management Information System (CRMIS), Police Record Management System (PRMS) and Complaint Management System (CMS).

The police also established district-wise crowd management units, comprising 50 officials each, the city police chief maintained. He added that trainings of 100 Investigation officers were also arranged with the prosecutor general to improve their performance.

The police worked on gender-responsive policing during 2018 and also introduced community-based policing for various groups such as Bohri and Ismaili communities, Dr Shaikh said.

Crime data

Despite several police successes in 2018, a rise of five per cent in street crime has stigmatised the overall performance of the force as citizens continue falling prey to robbers who do not hesitate to shoot them if they offer resistance.

Although incidents of theft of vehicles and other crimes have decreased, snatching of mobile phones has witnessed an increase due to which many people are not satisfied with the police’s performance.

According to crime data compiled by the city police, 169 four-wheelers were forcibly snatched in the city in 2018, which is 27 per cent less compared to the previous year when 233 vehicles were snatched. The stealing of four-wheelers likewise also decreased in 2018 as 1,162 vehicles were stolen compared to 1,288 vehicles in 2017.

Likewise, the snatching and stealing of motorcycles also decreased in 2018 than the previous year. As many as 2,036 two-wheelers were forcibly snatched in 2018 while the last year’s figure of such incidents was 2,545, resulting in a 20 per cent decrease this year. Similarly, 25,140 motorcycles were stolen in different parts of the city during 2018 which is less than the figure of 25,738 last year.

It is the snatching of mobile phones that increased in 2018 with five per cent as 15,038 mobile phones were snatched in 2018 while the figure of stolen mobile phones was 14,321 in 2017.

The police have also maintained data of heinous crimes in the city. A few years ago, Karachi used to make international headlines due to the daily toll of killings in the city which was often between 20 and 30. However, as the Karachi operation against criminal and terrorist elements continued, incidents of targeted killings and murders plummeted.

Around 447 people were killed in the city during 2018 which is 22 per cent less compared to the previous year when 573 people were murdered.

A significant decrease in targeted killings was witnessed in Karachi in 2018 as only seven people have so far become the victim of drive-by shooting, which is 70 per cent less than 23 such incidents reported in 2017.

Bomb explosion and terrorist incidents are one of the few law and order indicators which worsened in 2018 compared to 2017. The city was not hit by any bomb blast or terrorist incident in 2017 but a couple of such incidents have occurred in recent months in 2018, including the attack on the Chinese consulate.

Cases of kidnapping for ransom declined in 2018 as only 10 such cases were reported in the year, which is 41 per cent less than 17 kidnapping cases in 2017.

A decrease of six per cent was seen in extortion cases in 2018 with 109 cases of extortion reported during the year compared to the last year’s figure of 116.

In terms of bank heists, 2018 was not a too unsatisfactory year as only three bank robberies were reported in the months of January, May and August.

Police personnel also embraced martyrdom while trying to enforce peace in the city during 2018. A total of 12 policemen laid down their lives in the line of duty, of whom nine were killed in targeted killing, two in bomb blast and one during an encounter. A total of 655 police personnel have been martyred in Karachi since 2011.

A large number of suspected criminals were arrested by the Karachi police during 2018. According to police data, 215 alleged murderers, 23 suspects involved in kidnapping for ransom, 65 alleged extortionists and 1,477 suspected dacoits were apprehended in the outgoing year while 6,429 and 7,189 suspects were arrested under the Arms Ordinance and Narcotics Act respectively.

The police also managed to arrest 4,377 absconders and proclaimed offender in 2018 while busting two major criminal gangs, and arresting three alleged terrorists and 57 alleged street criminals.

More than 400 police encounters with criminals took place during 2018, in which a policeman was martyred while 18 others injured.

A large quantity of arms and ammunition was also seized by the police in 2018. They included 7,463 submachine guns, pistols, revolvers and mousers; 135 rifles, 122 shotguns and repeaters; and thousands of bullets.

The police also confiscated 5,583 kilogrammes of hashish, 21 kilogrammes of heroin and 8,989 bottles of liquor during 2018, according to the police data.

— Infographic by Faraz Maqbool