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Deviant Behavior 1st Assignment

Submitted By : Sana Shahid (5B)
05-171182-086
Submitted To : Sir Faiz

Institute of Professional Psychology, Bahria University, Karachi Campus

 STREET CRIMES IN KARACHI IN ACCORDING TO ROBERT
MERTON’S STRAIN THEORY
Every Society has set and provided a list of desirable goals to the member of its country which
people have to achieve and when people aren’t able to achieve them this cause them to feel
strained and to deal with that people commits crime this is what actually has been explained in
Strain theory by Robert Merton , argued that general strain theory is developed by a blockage in
an individual's life which doesn't allow them to achieve their goal, essentially leading
to deviant behavior and to commit crime.

Our society has set some goals that everyone within the country wants to achieve for example A
man who attends business school, receives his MBA, and goes on to make a million-dollar
income as CEO of any company and has a expensive is said to be a success, but not everyone in
our society has enough resources to reach to achieve all the goals provided by the society or not
everyone in our society stands on equal footing so in order to achieve success they turn
themselves to illegal means, street crime is one of the most common act which people adopt to
reach to the success, taking example of Karachi which is famous for crimes as  US magazine,
deemed Karachi as 'the most dangerous megacity' in a 2013 study which includes 47% of street
crimes. Although according to recent research (Pakistan Index Crime) the percentage has rose to
63%.
According to Merton’s Strain theory, the people of Karachi involving in street crimes in Karachi
is the pressure derived from social factors, such as lack of income or lack of quality education,
the poverty rates which are so high 8.89 (According to 2020 statics) and unemployment which is
through the roof .
47% of crime committed by the People of Karachi is because of the reason of lack of food lack
of job lack of money people becomes frustrated, feeling of not being able to set their prestige or
achieve the desirable goals make them feel strained , dissatisfied with their present life.
Theft/Snatching
For example if a family suffering from poverty and the father doesn’t have enough money to
feed his child would feel strained and this can lead that man to do crime. An incident occurred in
2014 in Karachi where a father of 5 along with his elder son snatched cell phones and violets
and bags from a family who was travelling in the car after getting arrested he mentioned in his
interview that he and was unemployed from 1 year and he found snatching people is the easiest
way of getting money(Sindh News), there are several other cases have occurred due to similar
reason.
Open illegal drug trade is an another example of people finding it a way to deal with the strain,
Poverty ,Drug abuser and the drug trafficker has a complex relationship. The drug abuse in the
form of cocaine,opium, hashish, cannabis heroine, etc. are more used by the poor in Karachi in
order to deal with the strain. Resulting in increased percent of open illegal drug trade trafficking
by those who trade it for the sake of money to access to the socially acceptable goals. Researches
reveals that the main causes of drug abuse and are unemployment, illiteracy, income inequality
and poverty. Drug trafficking is most common in Karachi On 20 Janurary 2020, a man and his
wife was arrested for smuggling drugs (3kg’s charas) (Samaa News). Another incident took place
in Karachi on 12 October 2020 where 11 drug traffickers from the same family sold 10 kgs drugs
to the those students of a university who were financially suffering.
Vandalism and arson is the most noticeable street crime in Karachi, the main reason is that the
people of Karachi are deprived of their basic needs and there are major issues of crime, water
scarcity, and power shortages and the whole city seems to be trapped under the detrimental impacts of
such life-threatening problems. Our government system fails every time to cater and to solve these major
issues , and due to lack of in that result people becomes frustrated and to mediating the effects of strain
they gets involved in the street crime like vandalism and Arson

Prostitution is an another example people finds to get financial security. Women who are
illiterate , have no one to give them shelter or have no one to feed them and their family , step
out from their houses to do this crime in order to earn money. In Karachi there many places
that have gained notorious reputation of being the hub of prostitution . Khayaban-e-Shujaat in
DHA, Phase 5, Karachi . The section of the Khayaban specific to this booming business extends
between A-street and Khayaban-e-Tanzeem. Another operating area is Zamzama Boulevard.

Kidnapping is an another crime which is trending nowadays which people commits to fulfill their
desirable goals.

POSSIBLE RESPONSE TO STRAIN

Innovation:
People of Karachi who commits crime have own unfair means of earning money, and using
unfair way to achieve the goals

STREET CRIMES IN KARACHI ACCORDING TO COHEN VERSION OF

STRAIN THEORY

Cohen rejects the idea of Merton and says that individual do not feel strain for not achieving the
goal given by the society but the problem is of the status , people wants to achieve upper level
status and when they are unable to achieve that is they experience strain in their lives. He gives
the ideology of Status frustration . Status frustration directed mainly to the young people of
lower classes. There is no parallel between their own social realities and the rest of society's
promoted goals. They become frustrated at the disadvantages and inequalities that they face.,
Taking Karachi in the view so there are major class differences , For example there are many
cases comes from several educational institutes like,Beacon House School , City School, LUMS,
NUST,PIEAS where students coming from poor backgrounds got bullied, resulting in leaving
the their institutes , doing bad at school or some committing suicide. Students who experienced
strain due to not being able to achieve upper status and were found getting involved in juvenile
delinquency .

STREET CRIMES IN KARACHI ACCORDING TO THE CLOWARD AND

OHLIN VERSION OF STRAIN THEORY
Cloward and ohlin rejects both Merton and Cohen’s ideas and aurgued that strain is neither
connected with desirable goals nor status it is connected to the area in which you are living. If
the area in which you are living and where crimes are high due to difference in the ethinicity,
cast , language so there is more chances of crime to take place in that area. In Karachi the
number of crime based on differences of language , cast religion.

A very well known example Shia Sunni conflict. More 4,000 people are estimated to have been
killed by Shia-Sunni sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987–2007 .

Another example is the conflict between urdu speakers and Pathaan they have and Urdu
speakers and basis on the basis of language and they have made their parties on that
basis..which have leds to so many streets crimes like homicide, robbery, assault , arson.
Also some Urdu speakers believe that just because of the hold of sindhis in government
sectors they cannot get their jobs and rights, which is also an another reason of having
strain and committing crime.