PERHAPS rattled by the public outcry against the recent wave of murders and armed muggings, numerous solutions are being offered by those in power to tackle Karachi’s street crime epidemic. Among these is Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s offer to post paramilitary Rangers at the city’s police stations. The minister’s proposal came after a PTI MPA from Sindh wrote to him highlighting Karachi’s lawlessness. This is an unimpressive solution, and at best a stop-gap one. After all, the Rangers have been deployed in the city since the late 1980s, when ethnic and political violence resulted in a breakdown in law and order. Despite the force’s decades-long deployment, there has been no noticeable difference in Karachi’s crime rates, save for a few patches of calm. Moreover, this city in the past has also seen army deployment and curfews to control rioting and bloodshed. While the use of military and paramilitary forces may give temporary relief, these are not long-term solutions to control violent crime in the metropolis.

Only an effective police force can curb street crime and to make efforts towards this end Sindh’s police force must be revamped. Senior officers themselves have admitted to the presence of black sheep in the force. Strict checks on performance are required, with any policeman found to be involved in illegal activity being shown the door. Moreover, the concept of community policing needs to be introduced, where officers familiar with the city’s neighbourhoods are deployed to keep a check on crime and interact with citizens. Moreover, the force needs to be staffed with well-trained, dedicated and honest police officers who have a passion for public service; unfortunately, so long as the police remains under political influence, such officers may not become a permanent feature of the force. To control the immediate severity of the street crime crisis, help can perhaps be taken from the Rangers. But in the long run, effective and sustainable police reforms are the only solution to the problem.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2022