No doubt, the police force of Khyber Pakhtunkwa province is overstretched and its response to criminal activities, on top of all militancy, is seen to have been dogged by a number of factors ranging from the shortage of personnel to lack of equipment to training issues and, above all, the much needed public trust in the policing system.
Despite these deficiencies, the police force has been resolutely moving against criminals and anti-social elements, which is evident from the official data on the crime situation in the provincial metropolis. According to statistics, the Peshawar police registered three cases of kidnapping for ransom, four separate incidents of kidnapping, two cases of child lifting, seven cases of abduction, 42 robberies, 15 burglaries and 36 theft cases during the last one month. Besides, 17 incidents of car lifting , two of car snatching, 20 motorbike lifting, six bike snatching, 56 cases of hurts and 71 cases of attempted murder and 55 cases of murder were reported in the last one month.
The list also points to a surge in the crime rate, particularly street crimes and requires the law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, to give a serious thought to stem the menace and restore the sliding public trust in the police, which should be a major concern for the force.
Despite struggling to improve the situation, especially in the urban areas and suburban localities of Peshawar, violent street crimes are on the rise, which further eroding the public trust in the policing system. The conventional view on this matter is that it is on the increase which presents a far greater danger to the social order.
Despite the fact that the rise in street crimes in the metropolitan city has largely been blamed on the negligence on part of the local police, the unprecedented inflation as well as drug addiction and use of ice drug have aided to the upsurge in the street crime rate.
In fact, the lower and middle classes are the worst affected by street crimes because they already struggle to make ends meet and in majority of cases it is hard for them to get back what they have lost.
A look at ordinary crimes through the lens of media reports indicates that a large number of incidents of phone and cash snatching, theft and burglaries in homes, shops and other places and lifting of motorbikes are not even being reported to police since the victims with shattered self-confidence have been led to believe that they are not going to get any relief and consider going to the police as a fruitless exercise.
This trust deficiency is one of the major causes of rising street crimes and needs to be removed to give an aura of security to the people and rally them behind the police force to root out crimes from the society.
