Crime is one of the social issues which is of constant importance in our society. In the last few months we have witnessed a sharp rise in crime in Kabul.
One may not wonder why the crime is considered important in our society, because the aim of society is to help the citizens to optimize the fulfilment of their lives, and if crime is widespread, or even crime exists in the society, then this is a strong indication that this is not happening in the concerned society. The people who commit the crime aren’t fulfilled, the victims certainly aren’t pushed towards fulfillment, and fear of crime can affect everyone. If crime is particularly high in a certain type of society, an insecure society with lack of social cohesion or low social cohesion, we must ask if the advantages of the society outweigh the high crime, of are these benefits worth it at all? Could a different approach to crime lead to decrease the crime rates without having to alter the fabric of our society?
Crime as a social issue in Kabul requires to be addressed in a comprehensive manner. To prevent crime it is important to have an understanding of its roots in our society. These roots are complex and interrelated, but we can summarize them I three main categories:
Economic factors
In addition to lack of financial resources, poverty manifests itself in a lack of educational opportunities, lack of meaningful employment options, poor housing, lack of hope and the prejudice against the persons living in poverty.
Poverty is one of the main social constructs of Afghanistan society. At least, above 80 percent of the Afghan population lives under the poverty line, and this is true about the people who live in Kabul as well.
Social Environment
Our social structure mirrors to citizens and communities what we value and how we set our priorities. Social root causes of crime are generally common and it applies to any society to some extents and they usually include: inequality, not sharing power, lack of support to families and neighborhoods, real or perceived inaccessibility to services, lack of leadership in communities, low value invested on children and individual wellbeing, the overexposure to television as a means of recreation, watching criminal films and videos.
Family structures, I believe that families are uniquely placed in contributing to raising healthy responsible members of the society. However, the duty of putting children first goes beyond the family to include communities and the society. Dysfunctional family conditions contribute to future delinquency. These include parental inadequacy, parental conflict, parental criminality, lack of communication, lack of respect and responsibility, abuse and neglected children, family violence. Kabul as a place where has witnessed fierce civil wars and now one of the main targets of the terrorists groups, is one of the places most conducive to crime in Afghanistan.  And the cause of crime in Kabul are diverse. To prevent or at least reduce crime in Kabul, it requires to focus on improvements in all the three mentioned areas because they are interrelated and nurture each other to create the enabling environment for crime and crime rising. To address the crime issue in Kabul, the government shall develop a realistic crime prevention plan, to be implemented holistically in three phases: Short, Mid, and long term.
Short Term measures
The government shall increase the number of police forces and take specific measures to encounter the criminal incidents in those areas where the rate of crime is at the peak. Also, the government, shall involve the public to cooperate with police in terms of suspicious individuals, groups and institutions.
Mid Term
The government shall take all the necessary measures to create employment opportunities and improve the economic conditions of the people. This also requires ensuring the protection of the national and international investors. Ensuring the security of large and small companies, entrepreneurs and economic institutions, require more transparent and accountable law and order institutions. Although, the Afghan governments have repeatedly developed reform and anti-corruption measures in these institutions, they have not had much gain in this sector so far.
Long Term
Crime is closely linked to the conditions of the children in our community. If the Afghan government wants to strategically tackle the crime, it shall develop a realistic and modern educational curriculum, to educate the children as the future generation to be the responsible members of the society. Of course, takes time, but it is the best mechanism that can address this social issue in a sustainable manner.
Crime is one of the main social issues in Kabul city. The rising trend of crime in Kabul indicates that social, political and economic institutions are not functioning well. Crime in any society including Kabul has economic, social and family factors, and it is one the basic criteria for assessing the success or failure of these institution in any given society.  Crime prevention is one of the main roles and responsibilities of the governments. As a result, the Afghan government shall develop a realistic crime prevention plan and implement holistically according to its time frame and shall make all the necessary measures to involve the community to support its efforts if it does not want to fail achieving its crime prevention goals.