DAWN 15-12-2011

THE consistent trend of high-profile bank robberies in Karachi indicates a collective failure by the police, bank managements and private security firms hired by banks in checking these incidents. Tuesday`s robbery, in which criminals made off with over Rs5m, is the 17th such incident this year in the metropolis. It is shocking that the bandits spent nearly an hour and a half inside the bank, apparently undisturbed, despite the fact that the bank is located on one of the city`s busiest roads. The incident also suggests criminals are growing more brazen: that they did not bother to remove the CCTV footage indicates the suspects are certain they will not be caught. A CCTV-grab published in this paper shows one of the suspects — his face clearly visible — brandishing a weapon in an utterly nonchalant, calm manner as a bank employee empties the strongroom. As for the guards posted at the bank, one was half asleep at the time of the incident. In fact, the guards admitted they did not know how to use their weapons.

This heist will be a test case for the police: considering that the suspects caught on camera will not be difficult to identify, the police will be expected to track down the criminals. If they cannot do so despite such glaring evidence, of what good is the taxpayer-funded force? And if it is true that the proceeds of bank heists are going towards funding militant outfits and organised crime, it is all the more urgent for the law-enforcement agencies to crack down on this crime. While the police bear primary respons- ibility for investigating the robberies and dismantling the gangs involved, the banks, which often skimp on security costs, and the security companies, which hire untrained guards at miserable wages, also need to be held accountable.