STREET crime is easily Karachi’s biggest problem that the police have failed to address. No part of the metropolis is safe from gun-toting criminals who terrorise citizens at will, while a large number of Karachi residents have had the unfortunate experience of coming face-to-face with armed criminals. Figures contained in a report recently released by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority back this assertion. The report says over 200,000 people have had their cellphones snatched or stolen in Karachi over the past five years. The number of cellphones snatched in the city accounts for over 35 per cent of such crimes committed countrywide. However, as the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee chief has pointed out, the number of reported crimes is most probably lower than the actual number of incidents as most people have lost faith in the police and feel it is useless to report such crimes.

Karachi’s markets are thriving with shops dealing in second-hand cellphones. Neither the buyers nor the sellers seem to have any qualms in dealing with what is in all likelihood stolen property. For starters, the police needs to crack down on the racket of dealing in stolen cellphones. While patrolling every street is practically impossible, the law enforcers can at least keep an eye on the supply chain of second-hand phones. Also, though the PTA claims that blocking the International Mobile Equipment Identity number of each phone — which is supposed to lock the phone and render it useless — has been a success, the CPLC says criminals have found ways to easily unblock phones. It is essential that criminals don’t have access to technology that unblocks cellphones while the authorities should publicise the importance of keeping one’s IMEI number handy. Perhaps it should be inscribed on the receipt at the time of purchase.