Recently, when I became the victim of a street crime in Lahore’s Mughal Pura area, a lot of issues regarding the state of law enforcement, attitude towards women in our society and misguided government spending became readily apparent. Mughal Pura is one of Lahore’s busiest shopping centres and comes under the jurisdiction of ‘Thana Mughal Pura’, one of the important police stations in Lahore. The moment I stepped out from my car a person in his early 40s rushed his bike tome and tried to snatch my purse. When I resisted he just tore the gold chain I was wearing from my neck and rode off. My next action was to call 15. The rescue team took about fifteen minutes to reach the scene of the crime, concluded the inquiry process and suggested that I submit an FIR. There are certain points in this incident that seriously require attention from the government, law makers and society.
The Punjab Government has spent millions of rupees to modify and upgrade law enforcement agencies. This includes initiatives like the formation of the Dolphin force and changing the uniform of the Punjab police. However, the rising rates of street crimes in Lahore have marked serious questions on the credibility of the Lahore Police. There are hundreds of officers employed in the 15 emergency number and they are charged with taking quick action regarding crime or accidents. The thing is instead of new cars, bikes and uniforms these officers have no proper electronic devices or manual system to file FIR’s on the spot. They write details by hand on a plain notebook and if one has to submit an FIR he or she has to visit the police station.
Second, the way the offender came and rushed back into the streets after accosting me means he was a career criminal with sufficient knowledge of escape routes and exit points. Meanwhile the time he took showed that he was well trained and aware of locations where he could sell stolen items.
Instead of getting relief, women victims are often asked ‘how did the thief see your chain if you were wearing a duppata?’, or told that ‘you were not wearing a duppata that’s why he could snatch your chain’, ‘this is what happens to disobedient Muslim girls’
Third, the behaviour of people towards a victim of a crime was very disappointing. Following the initial formalities, I asked the men of my family to file an FIR at the police station as per societal rules. Their response was, “don’t bother, nothing will come of it, the police is useless.” Meanwhile, some remarks were made such as “how did the thief see your chain if you were wearing a duppata”, or “You were not wearing duppata! That’s why he snatched your chain, this is what happens to disobedient Muslim girls”, “What were you doing in a marketplace without your Mehram”. Now the question is, if the ‘Duppata’ is a symbol of your financial as well as physical security than there is no need for police and all females even the males that have been robbed or became victims of street crime need to wear a huge chadder or veil.
This is one of the prominent reasons for an increase in crime rate. This was a case of petty crime and the men in my family did not allow me to submit an FIR to protect the ‘honour’ of the family. What happens then, in cases of sexual harassment or rape? That is why sex offenders are getting more confident. Because they know that no one is going to file a report against them. Meanwhile society and the police force focus on shaming the victims of sex offenses.
Therefore the government has to take serious steps to combat street crimes. First they should introduce the means to submit an application online if the victim can’t visit police station. They should also spend money on upgrading police efficiency instead of changing their uniforms and 15 should be provided with online facilities to file FIR’s on the spot and the system should be connected between all law enforcement agencies.
Next, police agencies have to make serious attempts to build confidence in the public so that people should report crimes instead of assuming that nothing will come of filing FIR’s. Police officers who are serious about their jobs should be respected and trusted.
The writer is MPhil scholar, associated with a think-tank based in Islamabad and can be reached at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, October 18th 2017.