With all the talk about revamping the police force, the citizens of Rawalpindi were expecting the crime graph to go down. But the latest figures have dashed all such hopes. The first eight months of this year marked by murders, kidnappings, rapes, burglaries and vehicle thefts.
Gangs of youngsters were active during this period, snatching purses from women and holding couples at gunpoint in the city markets.
People, especially women, are worried about the increasing incidences of purse snatching. They say there seems to be no end to the purse snatching incidents as the police have not yet caught any culprit involved in the crime.
Citizens criticize the police for their indifferent attitude in curbing the crime, especially the burglary and vehicle theft which are happening almost everyday in the city. A terror-stricken resident said 'Every time my son leaves the house, I pray to God that he comes back alive.'
According to statistics for the period of January to August 2009 the Rawalpindi district police reported 11,350 cases as compared to 9,520 such cases registered during the same period in 2008. The police attribute the increase in the number of such cases to the policy of free registration of case.
According to the statistics 198 cases of murder and 249 attempted murder were reported to the police during the last eight months compared to 192 murder and 254 attempted murder cases in the corresponding period last year.
More than 300 incidents of robbery were reported in the first eight months compared to 333 such cases reported in the same period in 2008. Though there was a slight fall in the robbery cases but new trend in the city to rob the women of their purses has shaken the nerves of the police.
The kidnapping and rape situation has become so bad that 318 incidents of kidnapping and 39 rape cases were registered during the period under review against 283 kidnapping and 11 rape cases of the corresponding period in 2008.
The vehicle lifting crime seems to be an ever-increasing problem of the residents of the city who were deprived of more than 505 cars and 238 motorbikes during the period under review compared to the 528 cars and 205 motorbikes taken away by thieves from different parts of the city in the corresponding period in 2008.
In Rawalpindi, an average of two cars and one motorbike were stolen by thieves during the eight months this year. If an average market price of a car is estimated to be Rs250,000 it means the people were deprived of around Rs126.2 million in eight months. Besides cars and motorbikes, stolen by thieves, 30 cars and eight motorbikes were snatched from their owners at gunpoint. About 180 pickups, carry vans and mini-trucks were stolen by thieves from different parts of Rawalpindi during eight months in 2009 compared to 161 stolen in the same period in 2008.
There was a marked increase in the burglary but a slight decreased in theft cases as 392 burglary and 491 theft cases were reported in eight month compared to the 345 burglary and 495 theft cases reported during the corresponding period in 2008.
Police crackdown against illegal arms and narcotics seem to be successful as 1,400 cases of illegal arms and 2,345 cases of narcotics were registered in the first eight months this year compared to the 1,380 cases of illegal arms and 1,574 narcotics in the corresponding period in 2008.
If crime figures are seen, one can say that neither the banks, nor shops, houses, pedestrians, ordinary citizens are safe from the hands of robbers, burglars and thieves who have been actively striking in the city.
A resident of the city commenting on the sorry state of affairs says that only police officers may feel safe because they are escorted by heavily armed police guards when they travel, they are safe because heavy police guards are deployed at their residences and offices.
