LAHORE: The Crime Control Department (CCD) on Saturday claimed to have brought down the incidence of serious crimes by 58 per cent in Lahore and 55pc in Multan over the past year.

According to performance reports released by the CCD’s Lahore and Multan regions, the number of serious crimes in Lahore dropped from 29,471 cases before the department’s establishment to 12,470 in the subsequent year, while in Multan the figure fell from 23,208 to 10,418.

The reports attribute the decline to vigorous operations launched against organized and other heinous crimes across Punjab under the supervision of Additional Inspector General CCD Sohail Zafar Chatha.

The Lahore report said murder cases declined by 36 per cent, from 399 to 254, while dacoity cases dropped by 53pc, from 72 to 34. Robbery incidents decreased by 77pc, falling from 8,649 to 1,990.

It said incidents of murder during dacoity decreased by 25pc and cases involving injuries during dacoity also witnessed a noticeable decline. The report further claimed a 100pc reduction in rape-cum-murder cases, stating that eight such incidents had been reported before the establishment of CCD.

The report said motorcycle snatching declined by 74pc, motorcycle theft by 49pc and car theft by 75pc. Car theft cases dropped from 379 to 94, while burglary incidents registered a 46pc decline.

According to the report, one CCD officer embraced martyrdom and 46 others sustained injuries during operations against organized and heinous crimes over the past year.

Meanwhile, the CCD Multan Region claimed that serious crimes had decreased by 55pc over the past year.

The report says dacoity cases dropped from 160 to 44, a decline of 72.5pc, while robbery incidents fell from 8,828 to 3,123, down 64.62pc. Car-snatching cases decreased from 18 to four and motorcycle-snatching incidents from 2,149 to 769.

It said car theft cases dropped from 135 to 58 and motorcycle theft cases from 9,542 to 5,279.

Dacoity-cum-murder cases declined from 27 to nine, while murder cases decreased from 410 to 251. Burglary incidents also dropped from 1,560 to 746.

A CCD spokesperson said that officers and personnel were working round the clock and had made sacrifices to make Punjab a crime free province.

The Regional Officer CCD (Multan) said efforts to eliminate serious crimes would continue with the cooperation of public.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2026