New force launched to tackle Karachi street crime

KARACHI: Police in Karachi launched a new force on Saturday to curb growing street crime in the Pakistani city.
The Street Watch Force comprises “1,870 attentive, alert, responsive and energetic youths who’ll work to support the existing force, policing in different parts of the city,” Police Chief Dr. Amir Ahmed Shaikh told Arab News.
The new force will be headed by senior superintendents in Karachi’s various districts, according to a police handout.
“We’re going to adopt scientific methods to improve performance, and increase the size of the force,” Shaikh said, adding that Karachi police will soon launch a mobile app through which a person can report street crime.
“Lack of reporting crime is a worldwide issue, but we’re making it easier,” he said, urging citizens to use WhatsApp to tell his office if the force is working properly.
Because the new recruits are young, there are concerns that they may act irresponsibly, but Shaikh said they have been carefully vetted and there will be weekly training sessions.
The new force has raised hopes among victims of street crime. “I’ve been looted twice this year, which has made me cautious, and each day I hear someone has been looted in my neighborhood,” Amir Ashraf, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, told Arab News. “It’s good to hear that police have started taking measures to tackle street crime.”
Amjad Rizvi, a resident of the Liaquatabad neighborhood, told Arab News: “We hope the force will get rid of street criminals, but how effective they’ll be will show in the coming month.”

New force launched to tackle Karachi street crime