LAHORE: The Lahore police allegedly fudged the statistics of crime incidence big time by refusing to register FIRs on 72pc of calls received on police emergency helpline from January till the first week of the current month.

Obtained by Dawn, a first-of-its-kind report gives startling figures about the Lahore police’s peculiar way to show ‘outstanding performance to its senior bosses’.

The report states that 72pc of the calls were ignored despite verification of the committed crime by the respective police stations in various parts of the city. The statistics pertain to the first nine weeks of this year (Jan 1 to March 7) and they show out of the total 9,881 verified calls made by the crime victims, the police lodged FIRs on only 2,163, which constituted 28pc of the total cases.

This new scandal surfaced when the Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) prepared a report and sent it to Punjab Inspector General of Police Shoaib Dastgir recently.

Refuse to register FIRs on 72pc calls received from January to March

“Out of the total calls received against selected heads, 72pc FIRs are not registered,” reads the report, showing how such a huge number of criminals escaped punishment due to unreported crime.

It also highlights the possibility of a margin of error as per actual situation/occurrence and statement of the callers, which can be verified by actual report of the police officer on the ground.

“However, there is a tendency of non-registration of FIRs under all heads,” reads the report, which points out that out of the total crime incidents, the Lahore police are lodging fewer FIRs on the complaints of motorcycle theft and robberies.

“Most of the crimes are not registered under heads of crime which can be commonly labeled as ‘Street Crime’ and ‘Vehicle Theft’,” it states and suggests to the IGP to enhance targeted patrol and ensure presence by Dolphin Squad and Police Response Units there.

“There is need to develop investigative capacity on an urgent basis,” it says and adds that the communication with the public also needs to be increased.

Some independent police experts have termed the manipulation of numbers as an ‘occupational disease’ plaguing the police force. They are of the view that registration of an FIR is mandatory if the information discloses that a cognizable offence has been committed and no preliminary inquiry is required in such a situation.

“The FIR is the instrument which gives the police the authority to investigate. When an FIR is not registered, the rule of law suffers,” an officer comments on the report, saying that efficiency of police and government is measured by the escalation or decline of crime rate.

“Owing to this, there is a tendency to fudge the figures and more commonly to manage the crime statistics by not recording/reporting them,” the police officer laments.

He adds that the registration of crime helps the authorities assess the law and order situation prevalent in any area and they take steps to check the crime rate.

The report shows that the lowest percentage of the FIRs was reported during the 8th week when Lahore police registered only FIRs only on 8.86pc out of 1,027 verified calls made by the victims on police emergency 15. About other weeks,

the PSCA reported that during the first week, Lahore police registered 265 FIRs on 819 calls (32.36pc), during the second week 300 FIRs on 852 calls (35.21pc), third week 260 FIRs on 889 calls(28.9pc), fourth week 262 FIRs on 762(34.38pc), fifth week 226 FIRs on 757 calls (29.85pc), sixth week 307 FIRs on 906 calls (33.8pc), seventh week 284 FIRs on of 876 calls (32.42pc) and on ninth week 168 cases were lodged on 822 calls made by the crime victims which constituted 20.44pc.

Regarding the divisions, according to the report, the City Division got 1,614 calls during the first nine weeks of the year and lodged only 471 cases. The Cantt Division registered 319 FIRs on 1,435 verified calls, Civil Lines Division 214 FIRs on 714 calls, Iqbal Town Division 317 on 828 calls, Model Town Division 337 FIRs on 1,403 and Saddar Division registered 505 FIRs on receiving 1,725 calls.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2020