crimes in Pakistan a sociological perspective

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INTRODUCTION
“We should be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime”. (TONY BLAIR)
Starting with the term crime itself, so what is crime? Is it something
discouraged in the society, is it threat to the people living in the society
or is it something against the norms and values of a society? So, answer
to it is yes. Before describing the crimes in Pakistan and their causes
first we will evaluate the term crime with respect to sociology and
sociological perspective.
Figure 1 A crime Scene

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CRIME
In sociology there is a term known as deviance which is defined as a
behavior, trait, a belief, or characteristics that violates a norm and
causes a negative reaction.
These two words crime and deviance are linked with each other as
crime is a particular type of deviance. It is defined as crime is a behavior
that violates a society’s legal code.
Or
Crime is defined as a violation of norm that has been codified into law.
“Peace is a virtue of a society and war is its crime” (VICTOR HUGO)
In today’s modern world there are many crimes in a society, but
sociologists have divided crimes into three types: violent crime,
property crime and cybercrime. Violent crime includes robbery,
homicide, rape, and assault, that may result an injury to a person.
Property crime includes larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.
Cyber crime is associated with technology and computers. It is a type of
crime which is committed via internet which includes identity theft,
embezzlement, fraud, sexual predation, and financial scams.
THEORIES OF CRIME AND DEVIANCE
Well, to study crime and their causes with respect to sociological
perspective there are certain theories given by various sociologist

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through which we can analyze crime and can reach to their true cause.
The sociologists have divided these various theories into three types
which are: biological theories, psychological theories, and sociological
theories, moreover these three branches are divided into various other
theories.
BIOLOGICAL THEORIES
Biological theories mentioned above of various sociologists has stressed
upon the importance of inherited factors in producing the deviance and
crime.
inheritance
factors by
lambroso and
sheldon
theory
hooton theory
sarnoff
mednick's
theory

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PHSYCOLOGICAL THEORIES
psychoanalytic
theory by sigmund
freud
behavioural
theories
crime as an
individual choice by
james willson and
richard herrenstein

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Psychological theories by various sociologists have emphasized on
cognitive or emotional factors within the individual as the cause of
deviance or crime.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
Sociological theories of crime or deviance rely on patterns of social
interactions and the relationship of the individual to the group as
explanations.
CRIMES IN PAKISTAN
“When there is crime in the society there is no justice” (PLATO)
In every society there are certain rules, norms, or values. It is
mandatory for the people living in the society to follow those rules and
anomie theory strain theory control theory
cultural
transmission
theory
labeling
theory

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norms but there are certain people living in the same society who does
not follow those rules or norms. In other words, one can say that they
show deviant behavior.
or they are law breakers or criminal. In Pakistani society crime exists
too. There are many types of crimes in Pakistan that occurs every
where especially in big major cities like Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi,
Peshawar, Quetta. Pakistan has one for the harshest justice systems in
the world. In 2007, it administered 135 executions, the 4th greatest
number of that year. For those who are committed to prison, the
facilities are amongst the more crowded on earth, with a 222.5% prison
capacity filled.
JUVENILE CRIME
This type of crime is associated with individuals younger than 18 years
old. in most countries of the world the minimum age for criminal
responsibility is under 18 years old, but unfortunately in Pakistan
minimum age for criminal responsibility is 7 years old.
Figure 2 Pakistan flag

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Juvenile crime in Pakistan is mostly murder(unintentionally), stealing
because of extreme poverty and hunger, kids transporting drugs,
damaging property etc. According to SPARC report published in 2012
there were 1500-2000 juveniles imprisoned in Pakistan. There are many
factors and reasons for occurrence of juvenile crime in Pakistan, first is
low age of criminal responsibility, which is so unjust. According to a
report by the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), at least 10% of death-row
prisoners in Pakistan committed crimes when they were under the
age of 18. Second is bad influence from peer groups. Third is less or no
surveillance of parents on children. Fourth is absorbing violent acts
from television or media exposure, and last in the case of poor kids the
main causes and reason for crime is mostly hunger and poverty.
Figure 3 Reasons and cause of juvenile crime

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VIOLENT CRIME
As mentioned above, Violent crime includes robbery, homicide, rape,
and assault, that may result an injury to a person. In Pakistan violent
crimes are quite
high.
One of the major
violent crime in
Pakistan is
domestic violence
Figure 4 police officers arresting juvenile.
Figure 5 say no to violence.

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or abuse. A 2011 report claims that 80% of Pakistani women suffer
from domestic abuse. A 2004 study claimed that 50% of the women in
Pakistan are physically battered and 90% are mentally and verbally
abused by their men, while other reports claim domestic violence rates
between 70% to over 95% in Pakistan. Earlier studies from 1970s to
1990s suggest similar incidence rates of domestic violence in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, domestic violence occurs in forms of beatings, sexual
violence, torture, mutilation, acid attacks and burning the victim alive
(bride burning). The reason behind domestic abuse in Pakistan is male
dominancy, conservative mindset, and illiteracy. Honor killings is also
one of the major violent crime in Pakistan. honor killings are locally
known as karo-Kari. Pakistan has highest volume of documented an
estimated honor killing in Pakistan is performed greatly a rate of
increment (1000 out of 5000 total). Honor killing are done because the
death of the victim is viewed as the way of restoring reputation and
honor of the family. It is likely that honor killing has been in practice in
Pakistan for thousands of years and it remains a common practice in
Pakistan today unless the public chooses to condemn you. Honor
killings are once again becoming a national controversy in Pakistan the
practice in which a family will murders one of its own members for
social transgression such as having premarital sex is receiving another
round of international attention over the killing of a pregnant woman in
Lahore. Even though, a 25-year-old girl killed by her father for not
accepting the relative to marry with. Reason and causes of honor
killings in Pakistan are religious extremism, conservative school of
thought, cultural and honor factors, and less knowledge. RAPE is
another violent crime in Pakistan, but its cases are very rare.

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Figure 6 a victim of rape
Figure 7 honor killing.

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PROPERTY CRIME
Property crime is the type of the crime in which the person who
commits crime seeks to damage to or derive an unlawful benefit or
interest from another property without using force or threat of force.
Property crimes includes burglary, theft, arson, larceny, shoplift and
vandalism. In Pakistan, these types of crime are very common,
especially in the city of Karachi. It is one of the Pakistan’s biggest city,
but its rising crimes rate is extremely alarming. Property crimes in
Karachi are mostly motor vehicles theft, burglary, dacoity and
Here is some current statistics of crimes in Karachi.
Figure 8 city of lights Karachi

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Crime rates in Karachi, Pakistan
Level of crime 62.47 High
Crime increasing in the past 3 years 37.36 Low
Worries home broken and things stolen 45.34 Moderate
Worries being mugged or robbed 62.31 High
Worries car stolen 52.12 Moderate
Worries things from car stolen 53.93 Moderate
Worries attacked 44.25 Moderate

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Worries being insulted 36.74 Low
Worries being subject to a physical attack because of your
skin color, ethnic origin, gender, or religion
29.17 Low
Problem people using or dealing drugs 51.76 Moderate
Problem property crimes such as vandalism and theft 58.46 Moderate
Problem violent crimes such as assault and armed robbery 63.08 High
Problem corruption and bribery 80.14
Very
High
The following statistics are of June 2021. Unfortunately, crime rate in
Karachi is again soaring. Reasons and cause behind property crimes in
Pakistan and especially Karachi are poverty, hunger, soaring inflation.
Rising population and corruption is another factor that Karachi police
and ruling government of PPP are unable to control crime. If we analyze
this situation in sociological perspective most of the criminals do not
belong to any gangs or mafia but they are indeed poor people, when
there is no option left to feed themselves and their families, they opt to
become a thief. So, one can conclude that poverty and unemployment
can lead a person to show deviant behavior or crime.
WHITE COLLAR CRIME
White collar crime is a non-violent crime. This crime is committed by
businessmen’s, government officials, and by various individuals at
corporate level. This crime is associated with finance and unlawful

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financial benefits. The term white collar crime was first devised by
sociologist and criminologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939.
White collar crime in Pakistan is common in IT sector, trade business,
banking sector, education sector, health sector, and more. Money
laundering, cybercrime including cyber hacking, business frauds,
documents fraud and forgery, dishonest issuance of cheque are some
of the key examples of white-collar crime in Pakistan. white collar
crimes were at rise in Pakistan but thanks to the current PTI
government initiatives, FIA and NAB have been able to put up a great
show against white collar crime, especially against big politicians and
Figure 9 white collar crime cartoon

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bank owners like Mian mansha, Nawaz sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and many
more.
OVERALL CRIME RATE
• Pakistan crime rate & statistics for 2018 was 3.88, a 1.96%
decline from 2017.
• Pakistan crime rate & statistics for 2017 was 3.96, a 5.29%
decline from 2016.
• Pakistan crime rate & statistics for 2016 was 4.18, a 12.08%
decline from 2015.
Figure 10 National accountability bureau

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• Pakistan crime rate & statistics for 2015 was 4.76, a 30.03%
decline from 2014.
CONCLUSION
Concluding my debate and views I just want to say that there may be
thousands of reasons or causes for crime, but the core of the crime is
poverty. Some other factors can also be added like peer groups bad
influence and bad parenting.
In Pakistan about 20 % of the population living standards are below
poverty line. So, my view is that criminals are not born, they are
created by the society. So, it is our responsibility to help people who

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are impoverished and unemployed, so they do not fall towards doing
crime. Human psychology says that when a person is living in a poverty
and hunger, he will contravene societies norms and rules to eradicate
the hunger of his family and himself.
References
stein, j. f. (sixth edition 2018). The real world an inroduction to
sociology. canada: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifh
Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017.
An introduction to sociology oxford handbook
Daily Nation newspaper article
Daily dawn newspaper article
Statistics and numbers from world crime rate index
Images inserted from bing.com.