RAWALPINDI, April 23: Street crimes, notably robberies and vehicle theft, in the city increased sharply during the first three months of this year but surprisingly police records show the number of cases registered declined.

A review of the crime situation in the period revealed that while robberies, big and small, and car thefts increased by about 55 per cent compared to the same period of last year, the number of cases registered with the police of all kinds of crime decreased by nearly 15 per cent.

In terms of figures, 193 robberies of different kinds were reported to the police during the first quarter of 2006, 68 more than during the same period last year. As for the vehicle thefts, citizens of Rawalpindi lost 155 cars, 153 motorbikes and 69 other vehicles between January 1 and March 31, 2006, as compared to 96 cars, 118 motorbikes and 35 other vehicles stolen in the first three months of last year.

In March alone, 56 cars, 65 motorbikes and 23 other vehicles were stolen in Rawalpindi, according to official records.

A senior intelligence official attributed the surge in street crime in Rawalpindi to lack of interest by police officers, poor patrolling of streets and disregard for merit in the appointment of officers.

Car theft was on the rise because the number of cars in the streets was on the rise, the official said.

Official statistics however showed that less number of cases were registered during the first quarter of this year - 2,843 cases compared to the 3,227 cases in the same period in 2005.

Goods valuing Rs118,868,456 were either looted or stolen by criminals in the first three months of 2006 against Rs79,863,281 lost during the same period in 2005.

However, while the robbers looted more this year, the value of goods recovered in the same period fell to Rs19,003,075 from the comparable figure of Rs25,761,989 of last year.

Violent crime has also increased. While 55 murder and 77 attempted murder cases were registered during the first three months this year, comparable figures for the same period last year were 38 murder and 64 attempted murder cases.

Likewise, there were 137 burglary cases reported to the police in first three months in 2006 against 107 cases during the same period last year.

The incidents of 50 kidnapping/abduction, three rapes and one gangrape were recorded by the police in the first three months in 2006 against 45 kidnapping/abduction and five rape cases in the same period in 2005.

There was a slight drop in theft incidents as 120 cases were registered during the three months period in 2006 against 139 in the same period last year.

During the first three months in 2006, 26 fatal and 51 non- fatal accidents were reported to the police compared to 41 fatal and 63 non-fatal accidents in the same period in 2005.

Official figures showed a noticeable decline in cases registered under Prohibition Ordinance and Arms Ordinance which stood at 434 and 329 respectively in the first three months of this year, compared to 862 and 376 cases during the same period in 2005.

Police had some success against gamblers as it carried out 76 raids in the first three months of 2006 compared to 39 raids organised in the same period last year.