Like the rest of the country, street crime is rampant in Rawalpindi due to rising poverty, unemployment, tight economic conditions and the desire to collect wealth in an easy way. However, the police have also become active in curbing the menace in the city.
Along with the heinous crimes, the noose has been tightened around the elements involved in the incidents of robbery, extortion and snatching. Compared to the first four months of this year, the crime rate in the district started to decrease during the last four months.
According to the crime data for the last eight months of the ongoing year, 212 cases of murder, two cases of kidnapping for ransom, 22 cases of robbery and murder, 25 cases of robbery, 3,754 cases of burglary, 4,202 cases of snatching, 6,617 cases of theft, 485 cases of carjacking and 5,842 cases of motorcycle theft were reported.
On the other hand, police sources claim that due to the aggressive and proactive policing with zero tolerance against criminals, especially those involved in street crimes, in the last four months as compared to the first four months of the current year, not only the crime rate has come down significantly i.e. from 26 to 61 per cent, but also over 200 gangs have been traced out and assets worth over Rs700 million have been recovered.
According to a comparative analysis of serious crime statistics in the first four months (January to April) and the last four months (May to August), the police claim that there were 18 cases of robbery in the first four months and seven in the last four months with a decrease of 61 per cent.
Further, 13 cases of robbery and murder were reported in contrast to the nine cases reported in the first four months. However, 21 out of the 22 total cases were traced out.
Similarly, two cases of kidnapping for ransom were reported and both were traced out. Meanwhile, 107 murder cases were reported against 105 and 1,314 incidents of burglary against 2,440 with a decrease of 46 per cent.
Moreover, 1,608 incidents of snatching were reported as compared to 2,594 with a decrease of 38 per cent. Likewise, 198 cases of carjacking were reported against 287 cases and 2,487 incidents of motorcycle theft against 3,355 cases were reported with a reduction of 31 and 26 per cent respectively.
Mixed public reaction
On the other hand, citizens have shown mixed reactions to the overall serious crime situation and police performance in the garrison city.
They are worried about the incidents of crimes, but at the same time satisfied that the culprits have been traced, expressing their gratitude to the Rawalpindi police.
Talking to The Express Tribune, the cosmetics trader, who was the victim of the theft incident of over Rs15 million in the Ganjmundi area, said: “The incident took place two weeks ago but the Rawalpindi police worked diligently and not only traced the suspects but also recovered Rs13.2 million from their possession.” He said he was optimistic that the police would also be able to recover the remaining amount soon.
Another businessman said although the crime incidents were frequent in Rawalpindi, the good news is that the police were not only chasing the accused but also arresting them and recovering the looted money.
‘Systematic crackdown’
Responding to a question, Rawalpindi CPO Syed Khalid Hamdani said a systematic crackdown had been started against the criminal elements to arrest the gangs committing robberies and recover the looted money.
The CPO said that the law and order of Rawalpindi and the protection of lives and property of the people were being ensured in every possible way with a proactive and aggressive policing approach with public cooperation.
“People should trust their police and give information when they witness any illegal activity,” he said.
“From today, I am sharing a hotline number on which citizens will be able to register their complaints by sending a direct message,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2023.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ