"When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw"—Nelson Mandela.
People mostly choose their career paths according to their abilities and aptitudes. Among others, some like to feel secure in employment, some like to adopt a profession/vocation, some prefer doing business, while some end up adopting a line of work opposite to their faculties. All this happens when there is lots of economic activity and there are ample opportunities for earning a respectable income. States are obligated to provide this type of environment for the people to enable them to flourish and prosper. Simultaneously, they are also supposed to regulate the economy and enforce suitable laws to eliminate any form of injustice to either the state or the people.
In other words, the idea is that governments need to provide a level playing field to all its citizens, corporate bodies, and even members of civil and armed forces so that they can all move up the ladder to achieve progress and success legally. Just as heads of family ensure that their homes are comfortable and safe, in the same way, heads of good governments also make provisions for their people. There is indeed no warranty that every person in the household or the country would respond positively to congenial environmental conditions.
Of course, while humans have some common physical characteristics and basic needs, their mental capacity to think, decipher, react, and behave can differ widely from person to person. Where humans are subjected to the same or similar set of circumstances there can be myriads of behavioural possibilities that could be both positive and negative. However, generally speaking, humans look forward to a serene, peaceful, and secure existence, which is occasionally jostled by unpleasant incidents that can turn, lives—victims of a crime or an event—inside out.
Why people commit crimes or indulge in waywardness is a complex question with no straightforward answer. Extensive research concludes that there is a mix of genetics, personality, life circumstances, and environmental factors that compel the committal of crime or violence.
The educated unemployed are resorting to innovative techniques in swindling people. The computer literate are engaged in online frauds by developing applications to fleece the innocent, who in their desire to make some money become potential victims.
Not every criminal goes around killing people, except perhaps one who is out on an expedition to exact revenge or suffers from mental issues. Similarly, one must be extremely psychotic to commit a host of physical abuses. Governments have several options to control criminals, among which are increasing the presence of police officers on the streets, prescribing severe punishments, providing mental health services, etc. However, perhaps the most significant measures would be to improve economic conditions and expand educational facilities, especially in relation to teaching vocational skills to provide greater job and employment opportunities to reduce poverty—the mother of all social ills.
The ever-increasing rate of crimes in Pakistan is raising many questions about the state of the economy as most crimes are committed for the sake of money. Day-by-day, in addition to the escalating population of beggars, criminals too are on the rampage in all parts of the country, particularly the metropolises and under-developed areas like the Katcha in Sindh and South Punjab. With growing inflation, rapidly declining employment situation, food insecurity, massive downsizing because of the closure of industries, rising cost of utilities and education, political instability, and a lot more, people are getting more and more frustrated. One can survive on the bare minimum but a lack of food is something that can drive anyone up the wall.
The educated unemployed are resorting to innovative techniques in swindling people. The computer literate are engaged in online frauds by developing applications to fleece the innocent, who in their desire to make some money become potential victims. These individuals are the ones who engage in blackmailing, cybercrimes, and such online felonious activities. The means are sophisticated but deadly.
The less literate but adorned with evil minds also use amazing tactics for committing crimes. For example, gangs roam the streets, targetting green metres which they conveniently remove from electric poles, burying them in the ground close by. Then they contact the owners via an app that prevents them from being identified or located and demand a certain amount of money to be transferred through a cash transfer application.
Once the amount is received, they lead the owner to the spot of the buried metre. Naturally and as always, the local police are absolutely helpless. Besides, the procedure for filing the first information report of such a crime is too complicated as it involves the electricity supply companies. Interestingly, the affected parties too are reluctant to approach the police knowing very well that they would be ripped further if they interacted with law enforcement personnel, such is their reputation.
Then there are the petty thieves and ones who defraud the soft-hearted philanthropists by narrating a sob story that moves their hearts and who, in their love for humanity dole out amounts to redress their grievances only to later discover that they had been cheated. Besides individuals, some organized groups are likewise engaged in fraudulent practices.
At this juncture, one cannot ignore those criminals who are already rolling in wealth but the unlimited greed within forces them to commit crime upon crime upon crime without ever being brought to justice. They are the confident ones that are unfortunately found mostly in positions of power. Hunter S. Thompson says about them: “In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”
Frankly speaking, indulgence in criminal activity is not a desirable act as it involves playing hide and seek with security forces as well as being a burden on one’s conscience but sometimes the level of disappointment is so great that a person is left with no choice but to adopt crime as a profession. Exasperation and dissatisfaction with the overall socioeconomic environment leave little choice for people in choosing a source of income that would consistently enable them to lead a respectful life.