Karachi: Sindh’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon has said that street criminals are not convicted due to lack of independent witnesses and late registration of cases against them.

In response to a question regarding the rise of street crimes in the city, he said that two types of criminals were active in the metropolis: professional criminals, who were not convicted due to a lack of independent witnesses and late registration of cases; and drug addicts.

The IGP was speaking to a delegation of the Council of Economics and Energy Journalists (CEEJ) at the Central Police Office Wednesday.

Memon said that police personnel was using modern technology to control the movement of criminals in the province and that his department had requested the provincial government to allocate Rs3 billion for restructuring of the anti-terrorism department.

Traffic police would be equipped with body cameras by next month to make the process of challan issuance transparent, he said, adding that the crime rate this year was expected to be nearly the same as last year.

He said that illegal arms were being smuggled into the city and the involvement of arms dealers had also been identified in this heinous crime.

The IGP said that the Sindh government had made certain budget allocations for police stations in Karachi to ensure transparency in the system. However, the SHOs were reluctant to fully utilize the allocated budget for unknown reasons.

He said that the budget of Sindh Police was around Rs109 billion, 85 percent of which was meant for salaries and 15 percent for operations.

Advanced cameras were being installed at all the toll plazas to monitor the inter-provincial movement of people, Memon said.

The theft of four-wheelers had decreased in Karachi as compared to the past, he said. However, the snatching of mobile phones and bikes had increased considerably, which he termed “one of the biggest challenges” faced by the Sindh Police.