KARACHI: Despite police claims of improved law and order, Karachi’s streets continued to pose serious safety concerns for citizens in 2025, with more than 64,000 street crime incidents reported during the outgoing year, according to official data. These crimes resulted in over 70 deaths and hundreds of injuries, underscoring the persistent threat posed by muggers, carjackers and mobile phone snatchers across the metropolis.
Police statistics show that 64,323 cases of street crime — including robbery, vehicle theft and mobile phone snatching — were registered through first information reports (FIRs) in 2025, compared to 71,105 incidents in 2024. This reflects a reduction of 6,782 cases year-on-year. However, experts and civil society representatives caution that the actual scale of crime is likely far higher, as many victims either avoid police stations or are unable to register complaints.
During the year, 70 people were killed and 290 injured in street crime incidents up to the first week of December. While this marks a decline from 2024, when 99 people were killed and 400 injured, the figures still highlight the human cost of urban crime. Police data further show that 17,706 mobile phones were snatched at gunpoint in 2025, down from 19,353 the previous year.
Vehicle-related crimes also remained widespread. A total of 6,683 vehicles, including 302 cars and 6,381 motorcycles — were hijacked at gunpoint, compared to 8,370 in 2024. In addition, 39,934 vehicles were stolen during the year, including 1,813 cars and 38,121 motorcycles, slightly lower than the 43,382 stolen in the previous year. Overall, more than 46,000 citizens lost their cars or motorcycles in 2025.
Criminologist Dr Zoha Waseem of the University of Warwick said that comparing just two years of data was insufficient to assess long-term crime trends. She noted that underreporting remained a major issue, estimating that only about half of street crime incidents may be officially recorded. She added that there was no comprehensive research or survey to show whether public perception of safety or trust in the police had improved.
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Citizens-Police Liaison Commission (CPLC) chief Zubair Habib attributed the relative decline in some crimes to increased use of technology, such as CCTV cameras, which has aided detection and arrests. However, he stressed that deeper reforms were needed, particularly to improve police station culture and make it more service-oriented.
Regarding street crimes in Karachi, the IG says this crime has also been “contained”.https://t.co/P0UPryjCBp
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) January 1, 2026
Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon maintained that the reduction in street crime reflected effective policing despite socio-economic pressures such as inflation, unemployment and rapid urbanisation. He said intelligence-led operations, data-driven deployments and action against repeat offenders had helped prevent a sharper rise in violent crime.
Nevertheless, for many Karachiites, the figures suggest that while crime may have marginally declined, everyday safety on the city’s streets remains an unresolved challenge.
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