RAWALPINDI: An increase of 25.8 per cent was noticed in property crime in 2021 with the Rawalpindi district police recording 10,986 cases in which people were deprived of 4,613 motorcycles and 537 cars compared to 8,730 property cases registered in 2020.

An increase in robberies, vehicle snatching, burglaries, theft and murder in some cases occurred throughout the previous year.

However, according to the city police officer, who was posted on Dec 13, 2021, and his team of senior officials, this increase in property crimes was a result of free registration of cases.

According to the police statistics, 258 people were murdered in 2020 and 236 in 2021.

There was, however, a decrease of 37pc in the category of murder with robbery as 17 cases were reported in 2021 and 27 in 2020.

However, motorcycle theft and snatching remained a challenge for the police as 4,392 citizens were deprived of their motorcycles while 221 motorcycles were snatched at gunpoint from their owners in 2021 and 3,576 stolen and 207 snatched at gunpoint in 2020.

The garrison city also saw 76 burglaries, 2,273 robberies in 2021 compared to 51 and 2,293 in 2020. There was a 30pc drop in the theft of cars in 2021 as 508 cars were stolen and 29 snatched at gunpoint compared to 731 stolen and 31 snatched in 2020.

A noticeable increase of 52pc was seen in other cases of theft, including burglaries and general theft, as 3,234 cases were reported in 2021 compared to 1,554 in 2020.

Since Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Sajid Kayani assumed the charge of CPO Rawalpindi, he reviewed factors behind the rise in property crime and chalked out a strategy to curb the increase in the crime, especially theft of motorcycles and other vehicles, and burglary.

He believes that majority of the robberies, including snatching of mobile phones, had taken place with the use of motorcycles; therefore, police have been focusing on checking of motorcycles.

For this purpose, the CPO said police teams had been formed to check motorcycles. He added that he had been focusing on incomplete challans of cases of 2020 and 2021 in which several people involved in the cases were yet to be arrested by the police.

“Special police teams have been constituted to arrest the remaining accused in the cases and also to apprehend proclaimed offenders (POs)”, CPO Kiani said, adding police have also been accumulating data of all people detained in property crimes and released from prisons as they continue their activities when they are released.

“My major focus will be on crime investigation, which will provide relief to the crime victims and public”, said the CPO.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2022