The Inspector General of Punjab Police, Haji Habibur Rehman tried to paint a rosy picture of the ghastly crime situation at a press conference on Sunday. While talking to the media, he blamed loadshedding, increase in population and the airing of programmes by television channels projecting violence for rise in crime rate. He was reluctant to accept responsibility for the failure of his force in providing protection of life and property to the citizenry. He claimed that crime rate had substantially come down across the province generally as compared to yesteryears and in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Sheikhupura districts in particular. He also made some noise about decrease in cases of kidnapping for ransom. It certainly does not seem as though the IG is speaking of the same province to which he in fact belongs. There have been broad daylight bank robberies in Lahore, with police failing to nab culprits, despite a large number of police check posts and road barriers. The IGP must realise that it is a fundamental duty of the police to catch criminals and ensure they are punished according to the nature of their crimes. This noble goal could only be achieved if he along with the provincial government weeds out corruption from all ranks of his force. Training of police force on modern lines is also a requirement that must be accomplished by hiring forensic experts.