Although governments come and go, not much has been done to stop the widespread crime in Sindh, especially in the lawless capital. One of the main issues in this regard, according to Sindh’s caretaker chief minister, is that crime is being “patronized by the police.” While honorable police officers make an effort to combat crime, far too many bad apples in the force damage the force’s reputation by both aiding and abetting in criminal activity. One recent instance of this destructive inclination is the claimed involvement of a DSP in a house robbery in Karachi. According to popular belief, no criminal organization could function without the “blessings” of the local sheriff’s office. The IGP presented the chief minister with crime statistics on Monday, and the data is dismal. This year, there have been over 1,600 murders in the province, along with 232 reported kidnappings and 155 cases of extortion. Thousands of car and cell phone thefts from Karachi are reported each month, according to CPLC data. Since many people do not report crimes because they have no faith in the criminal justice system, the actual numbers may actually be higher. Furthermore, kidnappings for ransom are a “small industry” in upper Sindh, but street crime has become an epidemic in Karachi.
The Sindh police chief’s justification that the police’s focus on locating illegal immigrants, conducting anti-smuggling operations, and other related tasks has interfered with their ability to combat crime is untenable. Although VIP assignments and other elite-focused activities do have an impact on policing, the real issue is elsewhere. The true problems affecting the effectiveness of law enforcement are corruption and inefficiency, which are mostly caused by the politicization of the police, who defend the political interests of their bosses rather than enhancing public safety in the province. Fighting crime in Sindh will remain a challenging endeavour until the police force is restructured along contemporary lines and the colonial model is abandoned.