Along Islamabad Expressway: incidents of mobile phones, wallets snatching on the rise

Crimes of snatching and armed robbery are on the rise on the desolate paths connecting the service roads to Islamabad expressway. According to a police official at Koral police station, crime of snatching valuables is quite frequent. He said some youngsters were involved in the crimes and looted travellers at night time at desolate places.
These persons come from Rawalpindi and flee back after committing the crime, he added. With no policemen in sight, people crossing the greenbelts at night are at an increased risk of getting looted by armed gunmen riding motorcycles.
These pathways are without any proper lights and policemen have no clue to stop this crime.
If you talk to people about cases of armed robbery and snatching of mobile phones and wallets, everyone has a story to tell based on his personal experience or about a person, who has been deprived of his valuables at gunpoint.
However, there are some bright spots about police efforts to take on criminals.
Rescue 15 and policemen on patrol are quick to respond to complaints of street crime and snatching.
Recently, the Interior Ministry directed the Islamabad Police to adopt a pro-active policy for preventing street crime in the city.
Following these directives, patrolling system within the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) has been revamped, with deployment of 15 Falcons, 16 pairs of Eagle motorcycles and six commando vehicles, which were working in three shifts for surveillance.
Station house officers (SHOs) of all police stations were strictly directed to utilise their mobiles as well as staff from Rescue-15 to curb the street crime.
The Federal Capital has been divided in 44 beats, with deployment of experienced officers to watch the activities of suspects. One Falcon vehicle has been deployed for patrolling in each beat.
But despite all these steps at improving policing, there is some missing link and nabbing the culprits and holding them accountable in street crimes cases need more organised efforts by the police. Many victims of street crimes have the perception that police are not active enough to stop the criminals. A Koral police station official felt frustrated at the crime of snatching and armed robberies, saying the police of Islamabad and Rawalpindi needed to cooperate more closely to curb such kinds of activities.