2020 crime roundup: How was the performance of the Karachi police?

• Karachi police issues annual report for 2020
• Report lists number of suspects arrested in targeted raids throughout the year, recoveries made by the police and more
• Karachi sees improvement in international crime index ranking
  

KARACHI: At least 20,155 suspects were arrested in targeted raids in 2020, according to an annual report by the Karachi police. These included 269 suspects involved in high-profile terrorism incidents.

Karachi’s latest rank in an international crime index stood at 105 - an improvement from the sixth position a few years ago. But the city saw an increase in crime overall because of terrorism.

Over 764 street criminals were arrested and 241 encounters held with criminals, according to the police report. It said 15 police officials embraced martyrdom and 44 others were injured and 49 terrorists and other criminals were killed.

Read more: Karachi sees improvement in ranking on World Crime Index

The Karachi police seized 5,324 pistols, revolvers and mousers, 32 Kalashnikovs and sub-machine guns, 67 rifles and 107 hand grenades.

The report said that 10,415 drug peddlers were arrested, while 4,710 kilogrammes of hashish, 84kg of heroin, 14kg of crystal meth, 13kg of crystal and 51kg of opium was seized.

The annual police report said the Sindh government allocated a budget on the police station level for the first time to eliminate the "thana culture".

Read more: Quick recap: Was 2020 a peaceful year for Karachi?

The performance of the police in stopping an attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange was also mentioned.

Police arrested 3,405 members of 189 gangs involved in stealing vehicles, 474 suspects were arrested by the police helpline and 19,909 CCTV cameras were installed across the city.