The cases of murder and attempted murder continued to dominate the crime figures in the country in terms of spread and intensity during January 2011. These crimes against humanity were reported in 66 out of 72 districts monitored by FAFEN. With 1,452 documented cases - 638 premeditated murder and 814 attempted murder - these crimes accounted for five percent of the total 28,823 FIRs registered by police in 72 districts monitored by FAFEN.
FAFEN's trained Governance Monitors collected the compiled figures of First Information Reports (FIRs) registered under various crimes from the offices of the District Police Officers (DPOs) in 72 districts - 29 districts in Punjab, 19 districts in Sindh, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), five in Balochistan and one in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
Approximately 11 percent of the total 28,823 FIRs, registered nation-wide, pertained to the category of crimes involving physical harm to persons. These included criminal acts like murder, involuntary manslaughter (both Qatl-i-Khata and Qatl-bis-Sabab), attempted murder, hurt, illegal confinement and terrorism related incidents. This category represents 14 percent of the total crimes if crimes against women are included.
The category of crimes against women accounted for three percent of the total crimes. This includes offences of so called 'honour killing', use of assault or criminal force on women with intent to outrage their modesty, kidnapping, abduction or forced marriages etc, rape, offences relating to marriage and words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of women.
The crimes pertaining to property including theft, motor vehicle theft, extortion, robbery and dacoity, criminal misappropriation of property and criminal trespass stood for 24 percent of the nation-wide registered FIRs while the category of threat and fraud represented 9 percent of the total crimes. Threat and fraud crimes included acts such as offences against public tranquillity, criminal breach of trust, cheating, fraudulent deeds and dispossession of property, counterfeiting currency notes and bank notes and criminal intimidation.
More than half (53 percent) of the total filed FIRs comprised of minor crimes, categorised as 'other crimes'. The monitored districts of Punjab accounted for 76 percent of the total registered crimes followed by 13 percent in Sindh, 9 percent in KP and one percent each in Balochistan and ICT. Compared with last month, a decrease of two percent points was observed in the share of Punjab in FIRs registered nation-wide while it increased by same ratio in the case of Sindh.
The high ratio of crime registration in Punjab may be attributed to its high population or to the trust of people on state-run judicial system. It is important to note that a low rate of crime reportage in regions such as Balochistan and KP does not necessarily represent a low crime rate, but may indicate that other factors are at work. These might include the failure of the police to record crimes that are brought to their attention, citizens' lack of trust in the police, and/or the existence of a strong parallel (traditional or community-run) justice system operating in various regions.
Another reason for low crime reporting from Balochistan may be the administrative classification of areas. Police jurisdiction is restricted to 'A' areas, which are normally cities or suburbs, whereas Levies control the 'B' areas consisting of rural tribal areas in various parts of the province.
Region wise, a major proportion of crimes of all categories was observed in monitored districts of Punjab. Nearly 59 percent of the total crimes involving physical harm were registered in Punjab, while 23 percent, 15 percent, 2 percent and 1 percent, were registered in Sindh, KP, Balochistan and the ICT, respectively. Similarly, Punjab accounted for 80 percent of the total registered crimes against property while Sindh, KP, Balochistan and ICT reported 16 percent, 2 percent and 1 percent respectively.
As compared to last month, the share of Punjab in total property related crimes decreased by four percent while that of Sindh increased by the same ratio. Of threat and fraud cases, nearly 86 percent were reported in Punjab, followed by 10 percent in Sindh, 3 percent in KP and 1 percent in Balochistan. No information was available regarding all the crimes of this category in ICT.
However, the share of Punjab in crimes against women registered nation-wide, decreased from 73 percent in December to 67 percent in January 2011, while 24 percent in Sindh (showing an increase of 8 percent compared to findings in December), 8 percent in KP and 1 percent each in Balochistan and the ICT were recorded.
Faisalabad district of Punjab reported the highest numbers of crimes against women (95) for the second consecutive month. Similar to findings in December 2010, Lahore district topped the list of five districts reporting the most crimes, with more than one-fifth (22 percent) of the total registered crimes across the country. Faisalabad district (Punjab) came second in this list, with 11 percent of the total registered crimes, while Karachi district (Sindh) ranked third, where 6 percent of the total registered crimes were documented during the observed month.
Multan and Rahimyar Khan districts of Punjab accounted for 4 percent each of the total registered crimes. Premeditated murder and attempted murder, along with hurt or physical injury, were the most widespread crimes being reported overall, with the exception of a few districts.
Karachi district reported more cases of murder, while Lahore district registered more cases of attempted murder, including crimes pertaining to property, threat and fraud, and minor crimes. Only two districts of Sindh accounted for 54 percent of the total terrorism related incidents reported in observed districts in the region.
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