As society evolved, the methods and techniques of crimes have also evolved.
French Sociologist Emile Durkheim defined two kinds of societies: Simple Society and Complex Society.
The former is comprised of a simple way of life, whereas the individuals play multiple roles at the same time. Thus, they keep an environment of social integration alive in society.
Meanwhile, the latter comprises of fields and disciplines, It is based on professional skills and the specialisation of persons in the core areas. These complexities give birth to transformed institutions. Nowadays, the world we are living in is the over-complexed form of society where the institutions have been evolved in structures as well as in functions. Technological advancement has brought an extraordinary increase in capacity in terms of production of goods and amplified the provision of services.
On the other hand, this technological advancement has transformed our behaviours to a great extent. For example, the transformations in behaviours could be seen while using the computer for writing, computing for mathematicians, researchers, banking and media professionals, controlling the production units for industry workers, using mobile phones to get in touch with relatives, friends and business clients and partners, utilizing bikes, cars, rails and airplanes for travelling. Putting light upon the negative side of this behavioural transformation caused by technological advancement, we frequently come to know the advanced methods of crimes in the forms of robbery, dacoity, stealing, murders and kidnapping for ransom.
To counter the behavioural transformations, developed nations made mechanisms through transformed constituent laws and boarded on-ground actions. However developing countries, like Pakistan, lack tools to counter this. Three major cities of Pakistan, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, remain absorbents of massive population influx and have been witnesses of a high crime rate. The foremost reasons behind the increasing crimes in these major cities include the overwhelming migration of masses from rural and less developed backward areas in search of earning business; education and other security-related matters, which have obliviously increased the ratio of aboriginal cults hailing from different diversities, classes and social folds. Recent statistics about Karachi revealed that the city secured first place in the race of crime rate (65.82 per cent), with an increasing crime rate of moderate level from 45.11 per cent to more than 48.7 per cent incidents.
Technological advancement has brought an extraordinary increase in capacity in terms of production of goods and amplified the provision of services
While the rate of robbery has been estimated at 66.13 per cent, the same is true for other crimes.
The second-largest city, Lahore, closely follows Karachi in this crime contest. Therein, the crime rate is 39.08 per cent, with a 39.51 per cent increase in the last three years. The cases of robbery and car theft stand at more than 35.84 per cent while the city holds 44.64 per cent of the cases of armed robberies and other violent crimes.
Islamabad, the capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the centre of political activities and abode of literate jargons. However, the city is facing a crime turmoil since the PTI government took the bridles of its affairs. The crime ratio in Islamabad stands at 25.65 per cent, which is comparatively less than crimes happening in Karachi and Lahore until July 10, 2019. The crime ratios have been recorded on different indicators. Police have been equipped with advanced tools and training in different investigation specialities. Still, the crime rate is rising instead of dropping down across the country. As society evolved, the methods and techniques of crimes have also evolved. Criminals and law offenders are using modern gadgets to collect information about prospective crime scenes. They keep surveillance of their targets and make proper case studies before the execution of their plans of robbery, dacoity, kidnapping, ransom, murder and rape.
Recent cases of dacoity in Islamabad revealed the dacoits were so well-trained that they escaped the eyes of CCTV cameras and had the knowledge of fingerprint identification. Thus, they used transitioned clothes or other undetectable items to keep themselves safe without leaving any clue at the crime scenes. One thing that should be noticed is these crimes occur in a sequence in one territorial zone and then enter the other. For example, once an incident of robbery happens in one corner of the city, it moves in a parallel direction.
Recently, in Barakahu area, three incidents of dacoity happened with intervals of seven to 15 days. Same cases of robbery and dacoity happened at Karachi Company, Sabzi mandi near Pirwadai Adda.
Talking about crimes of other nature like rape and paedophilia, a case of a girl, Farishta, happened near Chakshehzad Town Police Station two months earlier.
On July 9, 2019, merely after two months, the same incident was repeated at Hafiz Abad Barakahu, Islamabad, where a four-year-old girl was allegedly raped and thrown in the nearby fields. The girl is out-of-danger and under treatment at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). But the stigma would go with her and her family would not be ignored for the rest of her life. In the case of Farishta, three persons were accused. One, identified as her close relative was put behind the bars after a long delay due to the complex policing procedure while six policemen, including the SHO, were dismissed from their services. However different media circulars later revealed that they were reinstated soon afterwards.
The crimes happening on such a large scale, especially in the major cities of Pakistan, have given birth to several stinky questions. How are they possible in cities where a mesh of Safe City projects has been spread from right to left and front to back? How are such cities centres of large-scale crime occurrences?
These crimes have evolved due to extensive technology use and planned mechanisms. Could the law enforcement agencies and countering crimes authorities not evolve their systems and train their personnel to revamp the lost trust of citizens?
Could they lessen the gap between public and government institutions, like the one between police and other investigative agencies?
The government should take precautionary and meditative measures for the safety and security of citizens. Meanwhile, the public should also be vigilant about their surroundings and their privacies and keep a watch on themselves and their loved ones.
The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance journalist