Fact-check: Official data shows crime in Punjab is up, not down
There has been an overall increase of more than 11% in reported crimes in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024
Updated Thursday Jul 31 2025
Pakistani social media users appear to believe the claim made online and repeated by Punjab’s minister for information that the crime rate in the province has decreased.
The claim is false.
Claim
On July 28, a user on Facebook posted that under the leadership of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, there have been positive changes in the province.
“The condition of hospitals and schools is improving, the sanitation system is being organized,” the user wrote. “More importantly, there has been an improvement in the police system due to which there is a drop in the crime rate.”
At the time of writing, the post had received over 3,500 likes and 137 shares.
A similar claim was made by Punjab’s minister for information Azma Zahid Bokhari in a press conference on July 10. “In Punjab, crime is declining at a rapid pace,” she told reporters. The presser can be viewed here.
Fact
Official police data does not support the claim.
Geo Fact Check compared crime statistics for the first six months of 2024 and 2025. The 2024 data was provided by the Punjab police, and the 2025 data is available on their official website which can be viewed below.
Crime stats from Jan-June 2025 available on the Punjab police’s official website.
When the numbers from January to June 2024 are compared with those from January to June 2025, reported crime has gone up in most categories. The only exception is crime against property, which has decreased. Below is the data:
| S. No | Categories | Jan-June 2024 | Jan-June 2025 | Increase or decrease in crimes |
| 1 | Crime against person | 45,612 | 46,686 | +1,074 |
| 2 | Crime against property | 256,131 | 236,731 | -19,400 |
| 3 | Crime against local & special laws | 94,871 | 110,447 | +15,576 |
| 4 | Miscellaneous crimes | 142,956 | 207,077 | +64,121 |
| 5 | Total Reported Crimes | 539,570 | 600,941 | +61,371 |
The above table shows reported crimes in Punjab, according to data from the Punjab Police.
There has been an overall increase of more than 11% in reported crimes in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
Verdict: The claim is false. Contrary to what was claimed, official data shows that reported crimes in Punjab have increased in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
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