No
baby born criminal. It is his/her
surroundings—surroundings of parents and family, surroundings of neighbors,
friends, schools and colleges, workplaces and marketplaces, churches and
society he/she is living in, make
him/her a normal citizen or a criminal.
The
“Encyclopedia of Murder”, appeared in 1961, has a section on ‘motiveless
murder’. In Nov. 1966, Robert Smith, an
18-year-old student walked into a beauty parlor in Mesa, Arizona, made five
women and two children lie on the floor, and shot them all in the back of the
head. Smith was in no way a problem
youngster; his relations with his parents were good and he was described as an
excellent student. He told the police:
‘I wanted to get known, to get myself a name.’
A woman walked into a California
hotel room and killed a baseball player who was asleep there – and who was
totally unknown to her. She explained to the police: ‘He was famous, and I knew
that killing him would make me famous too.’
There
is a basic desire in all human beings to ‘become known’ either by good deeds or
evil deeds. Every one, ordinary or
extra-ordinary, feels that his/her thoughts are worthy of attention. In fact, there is none in the world who does
not secretly feel that he is worthy of attention? One of the most basic urges in man is the
urge of heroism. And this is the human
urge that we see in the pages of news media and nations’ history depicting
heroic deeds of evil. We can see the urge when a child shouts his needs at the
top of his voice. He does not disguise his feeling that he is the center of
attention. We can see this human trait
in larger perspective when every adult indulges in endless daydreams of
heroism.
Religious
scriptures and moral precepts ever since the dawn of human civilization could
not reform this ugly trait of mankind.
It is beyond scope of this study to present the horrible events of the
two world wars, Nanking and Rwanda massacres, Jewish holocaust in Germany,
Palestinians massacres in Lebanon, Gaza and West Bank, and many many other such
genocides.
There
are many faces of crime and violence that vary from country to country and ages
to ages. Crime and violence in developed societies, like France, Italy,
Germany, England and the United States are different in nature comparing to the
developing societies of Asia, Africa, Middle East, Far East and Latin America. Conduct
that is lawful in one country may be criminal in another. Abortion, once prohibited has become lawful in
many countries, as has homosexual behavior and prostitution. Suicide and attempted suicide, once criminal,
have also been removed from the scope of the criminal law in many countries. The
trend generally is to increase the scope of the criminal law rather than to
reduce it. New technologies give rise to new
opportunities for their abuse, which in turn give rise to legal restrictions. The widening use of computers and cellular
telephones has created the need to legislate against a variety of new abuses
and frauds. However, the crimes of murder, rape, arson and theft, burglary and robbery are taken as crimes in
most of the legal systems.
However,
this study does not relate to organized crimes, like state crimes of Germany,
Italy, China and Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the sub-continent.
This study relates to the exploration of the nature of crimes in the heart and
mind of a person and individual.
One
of the fountain heads of all comprehensive crime is ego or egoism. The literal meaning of ego as Merriam Webster
explains is, ‘the feeling or belief that one is better, more important, more talented,
etc. than others’. In applications and
practices, it is varied and mostly damaging to human society. The history of world organized religions
furnish typical examples of egoism displayed in the tussles between churches
and emperors, between ulama, fuqaha and theologians, between caliphs and their
courtiers, between soldiers of sword and warriors of pen.
Lust
for power, property and wealth is another human trait which is creating havocs
throughout the passage of civilization. Most
of the squabbles found in the fields of political, economical, religious and
social fights are destined to achieve power, property or wealth.
Street
crimes and corruptions in metropolitan cities of Bangkok, Tokyo, New York,
Chicago, Penang, Rangoon, Karachi, Delhi, Mumbai, and Dhaka are on rise with
the rise of science and technology developments. City
police in almost all of the metropolitan cities is one of the founding sources
of city crimes and corruptions. Crimes
of city police run like blood-vessels in the body of civic life.
Here
is a personal experience. Sometime in the month of May 1965. As soon as I
reached my office in Ministry of Education, Karachi, I received an emergency
call from my home to go to Nazimabad Police Station to collect the dead-body of
one of my relative-boys, age 15, who had migrated from India with his family only
about six months before. He was living
with his mother and two elder brothers. The news was shocking for the whole
family. Instantly, I rushed to the
Police Station with one of my neighbors, a senior and experienced person;
collected the dead body, brought home, and buried him after necessary
formalities. The Police Station handed
us a court judgment that the boy had committed suicide in the police
lockup. Later, after few days, one of
the close friends of the deceased informed us that he and his friend with some
more boys of the same age, were usually picked up by local police from their
playground in the evening. They were
used to break into assigned houses in dark of the night, steal valuables and
deposit in the police station. They were released from the police station only
after their sexual molestation without any share of the loot. Those not ready
for molestation were put into lockup. He
said his friend was tortured to death because he had revolted and declared to
disclose the nightly affairs of the police station to media newspaper.
Tariq Malik, a Dawn News reporter, was killed a week
ago as he grappled with one of the criminals during a robbery attempt in
Lahore's Defense area. (Dawn, 30 March 2009). The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee came up
with their data showing that car theft and cellphone snatching had actually
increased by 18 and 30 per cent respectively last year.
A Pakistani serial killer, Javed Iqbal, 40 years,
Lahore, murdered some 100 boys. His case attracted international attention not
only because he was one of the deadliest serial killers in history but because
he was sentenced to die in a manner similar to that in which he had tortured
and killed his victims. Iqbal surrendered to Pakistani authorities in 1999
after confessing to 100 murders during a six-month period. According to his
confession, he had lured the boys, mostly beggars and street children between
the ages of 6 and 16, to his home in Lahore, where he sexually assaulted them,
strangled them to death, dismembered their bodies, and disposed of the pieces
in a vat of acid. Iqbal was given 100 death sentences; the court also ordered
that he be executed with the same chain he used to strangle his victims and
that his body be cut into 100 pieces and dissolved in acid. Before the
execution could take place, however, Iqbal and a young accomplice, who also had
been convicted, were found dead in their prison cells. Despite indications of
foul play, their deaths were officially ruled suicides.
The sad fact
is that people are resigned to living with a high rate of crime in our cities.
Citizens devise their own private arrangements for security or take other
protective measures. In fact, crime has come to be accepted as commonplace. As for the underlying reasons, these are said
to be growing poverty and unemployment. But
this does not tell the full story. The involvement of young people from
affluent families in such criminal activity belies conventional arguments.
There is additional factor of political and religious groups resorting to crime
to fund their programs.
With the police having become dysfunctional
it is not surprising that street crime is on the rise. Inefficiency and
corruption within their ranks has increased as the law-enforcers have come to
be used by the government to further political parties' goals. The police reforms of
Pakistan introduced in 2002 were watered down by subsequent amendments and
never implemented in their true spirit. If the task of reforming the police
were to be taken in hand earnestly and training improved, we could see a
positive impact on the crime situation.
Once, the Police caught up four Taliban militants
about 15 minutes after they robbed a local bank, shooting them dead on a bridge-crossing,
while driving their loot to the safety of the border regions with Afghanistan. There is a shift in militants funding inside
Pakistan. The Taliban, al-Qaida and
associated groups now relying less on cash from abroad and more on inside-country
crime to get money for equipment, weapons and the expenses associated with
running an insurgency. (Dawn, , Oct. 12, 2011).
Below
is a brief from Times of India, New Delhi on Crimes and Corruption.
For
the cops of south Delhi, Madangir is a hotspot for criminals. For many
pickpockets, bag-lifters, bank robbers and extortionists—the resettlement
colony in southeast of Delhi is both home and workstation. Police sources say Madangir is now the
playing field of at least six organized gangs. What makes them more disturbing,
even sinister, is their regular use of teenagers for crime. "They are very
organized. Before they are employed, the teenagers are screened by gang
leaders. Many of them are on their payrolls. If someone goes to jail, the gang
funds his bail, expenses in jail and also supports his family," says a police officer.
The
patterns of crime have changed over the years, says a well-informed inspector.
"The crimes and the criminals in Madangir have evolved over the
years. Some gang leaders have moved to real estate, including settling
property disputes. The lower ranks started roping in juveniles and teenagers to
execute the crimes and remain "rich and relevant". Jewelers dealing with stolen goods popped up
in the area. By now, several criminals had developed links with weapons
suppliers from Meerut. Sources in the crime branch say, the gangs of Madangir
even have a "weapon on phone" facility where they deliver arms to any
part of the city after receiving an order on phone.
The
shopkeepers in the area are fed up of these gangs. "They have become a
threat to traders. A large number of street vendors shell out money to put up
there stalls.
There
are hundreds and thousands of such instances in the streets of Thailand, Malaysia,
Kolkata, Dhaka, Delhi, Mumbai, Lahore, Karachi and many more, which replicate
the scenario of crimes and corruption cited above.
Can anyone tell me how to remedy the evil-side of
human character?
ISRAR HASAN
13TH
AUG. 2014
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