Crime is commonly perceived as an easy breach of law a transgression that should be eliminated, an inconvenience that should be restrained. However, behind these small legitimizations, there is a much more complicated situation. In Pakistan where almost 1.8 million cases are pending in the courts, justice has not only been delayed but it has been denied to many. It is not possible to define crime in isolation, therefore. It does not come out of a vacuum but is highly rooted in the social, economic and political situations. It is a mistake to consider it simply in terms of legality, and disregard the structural circumstances which generate it. Crime in such environment can only be viewed as a symptom and not merely as an act. The current model of criminal justice is still very skewed towards punishment. The prisons in Pakistan accommodate more than 100, 000 inmates in a prison set up that is only meant to accommodate a small number of inmates, yet they run way above the required capacity. A good majority of these inmates are on trial having not been found guilty of any crime.
This fact is not only an overcrowding, but a more fundamental institutional failure whereby the incarceration frequently comes before justice itself. Such a punitive approach can be satisfying to the demands of the population to have criminals punished, yet it is hardly effective in dealing with the underlying causes of criminal behaviour. Rather, it strengthens processes of marginalisation. Prisoners usually go back to poverty, lack of education, and poor economic prospects that led them to commit the offence and hence reoffending is not only very likely, but also very likely to occur. In cases where the prisons are not able to rehabilitate but turn into a place of neglect, such a promise of reform is never fulfilled. Also of concern is unfair dispensation of justice. This disjuncture between law and law enforcement is sharp. The legal system can be maneuvered, postponed and sometimes even evaded by the privileged; on the poor it is usually very quick and merciless. Most people caught in the criminal justice system have low economic backgrounds, and in most cases, they lack proper representation in the court of law.
This kind of inequality destroys the social confidence and weakens the credibility of the institutions that have a role to play in ensuring justice. Simultaneously, the new types of crime especially cybercrime and organised networks are testing the conventional policing and law systems. The growing digital environment in Pakistan has revealed gaps in the institutions, as those agencies involved in enforcing laws are unable to keep up with more technologically advanced crimes. These dynamic threats require not just an enhanced technical ability, but also a radical change of attitude to no longer reactive policing, but rather preventative, intelligence-driven policing. To be more effective, justice should be reconsidered. Accountability should be considered together with rehabilitation. Prison education, vocational training, and psychological support can help to boost the reintegration outcomes significantly. Meanwhile, the long-term crime prevention methods may be wider investment in the social sectors education, health, and employment. It is not only a moral duty to be able to deal with inequality, but also a practical requirement.
There is also a community-based initiative which can be taken forward. The solutions will be more sustainable and context-sensitive when the local leaders, civil society and citizens actively engage in solving crime. Establishing credibility between the communities and the law enforcers can change the concept of policing into a model that is cooperative instead of forceful. Finally, justice should not be limited in the courtroom. It cannot be judged by the number of convictions it gets, but by how many lives have been rebuilt and communities made stronger.
A penal system which penalizes without knowing, and holds without trial, runs the danger of working in the shadows of the law, instead of in its enlightenment. Reform is not an option then; it is an emergency. A reduction of case backloads, fair trial, and limiting pre-trial detention and investing in rehabilitation should become the focus of policy discussion. The point of rethinking crime and justice is not to justify it, but to face it squarely and with intent. Punishment will not bring long-term security, but the creation of the society in which crime is not the most readily available.
