Yes, you read that right – the industry of street crime. When we discovered this industry, we found out it was hidden within us; our police force, judicial system, and current resources. This industry has flourished due to rising crimes, dire economic situation, unemployment, distance from religion, and the illusion of fame.
As police officers, we have a responsibility in combating crime but the police like other departments do not have a ‘magic wand’. The police have miserably failed in their duties to curb rising street crime across the country particularly in Karachi. But they are determined to step out every day and fight crime and have rendered tremendous sacrifices. Police officers are also part of civil society and are often affected by this situation themselves.
If we compared with megacities of developed countries, the crime rate is much higher than us given the technology and resources which have been provided to police there. Whereas we are still fighting crime without modern technology and lack of resources. Everyone is doing their own job. The job of the police is to catch. The lawyer’s job is to set him free. The judiciary’s role is to punish the guilty and release the guilty. Then where is the problem? It is the proportion of conviction: 1% are punished and 99% are released scot-free.
Who is responsible? It is a complete legal system including police prosecution and civil society. You can bring the most capable young men from any corner of the world and see if there is any change. This is not possible unless we see an increase in witnesses and testimonies to crimes.
The problem is not incompetence or corruption, but a rotten system that is in direct contradiction to the requirements of the present day and has completely failed.
There are some sensitive issues that I may not be able to highlight like a journalist but will continue to point out. Now let’s get to the real issue of why there is a street crime industry. As a police officer, my observation is that when a street criminal is arrested, we find out he has already been arrested several times before in a genuine case.
The police boast that it has the record of the accused and often arrests habitual criminals. The question arises that if a criminal is dangerous and has a record then why he is roaming around the city and not behind bars.
The suspect despite having a criminal record will be arrested again and again, go to jail, and then come back or get acquitted and will start committing crimes again. This means these criminals have turned street crime into a lucrative profession that has become an industry.
The fear of punishment is completely gone. Some criminals are passing on this profession from to generation; they used to be criminals themselves, now their children are also involved. Can the police eradicate this industry? Can police action be used to curb street criminals? Absolutely not.
If we take a closer look at the current police system, when a police officer becomes an SHO, it is his responsibility to register as many criminal cases as possible and arrest the suspects. This is necessary for his survival and securing his job or else we will be booted out. Therefore, the SHO registering false cases as well.
Who will prevent the decay? The state helplessness is such that I have heard police officers sending these professional criminals to jails and courts even if they have to make false cases against them. The criminals will remain in the cities, roam freely, commit crimes and become a nuisance for the police. Is this the right approach? No way.
It is imperative to change this rotten system. We need a system in line with modern requirements. From law and court trials to radical changes in police administrative structures and procedures, it is possible to eradicate the industry of street crime.
