Law-and-Order in Karachi Has Spiraled Out of Control KARACHI - Before driving to a beach on the outskirts of the city last weekend, I took off my wedding ring, swapped my smartphone for an old Nokia handset, and took most of the cash out of my wallet. "Make sure you keep enough money on you to satisfy a robber," my friend advised as we got into the car. In a city where holdups are a part of life, such preparations have become de rigueur. But acceptance of street crime is another sign that law-and-order in Karachi has spiraled out of control. Mobile phones are the items most commonly nabbed by armed robbers. Between January and August, 14,733 mobile phones were officially reported stolen across the city, but most police officials believe many thefts go unreported. Phone snatching in Karachi made up 43.7 percent of all theft in Pakistan in 2010. Being robbed has become an urban rite of passage. As the Pakistani comedian Sami Shah put it, "you cannot be considered a true Karachiite if you haven't been held up at least once. If you have managed to avoid such an experience, then it's probably because you are the one doing the holding up. Among the city's elite, it has become fashionable to use blogs and social media to share holdup experiences and swap tips on how to stay safe. My Facebook newsfeed is peppered with warnings against holdup hotspots; a friend's status update on Monday described how she saw a couple being robbed at gunpoint outside the city's largest mall. At a recent dinner party, guests discussed how pugs and other toy dogs are being snatched along with mobile phones and wallets since robbers have clued into their resale value. While most holdup victims recall the incident with horror, an increasing number express sympathy with the robbers. Stories abound about polite or funny robbers, those that are willing to engage in witty repartee or oblige a victim by returning the SIM card from a stolen handset. Some affluent Karachiites are sympathetic because they realize that holdups are the symptom of much larger problems. Unemployment rates are higher here than in other parts of the country. And Karachi, with a population of more than 18 million people, is Pakistan's largest city, but also one of its most poorly policed [pdf]. Approximately 32,000 police officers are available for duty, but of these, 12,000 are deployed on special security duties, including 8,000 officers who provide protection for government officials and V.I.P.s. Still, in a city where politically motivated killings are rampant - according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, more than 1,300 people were targeted in the first eight months of this year compared with 1,715 in all of 2011 - an armed robbery seems like the least terrifying incarnation of Karachi's lawlessness. Through their fatalism about holdups, Karachiites reveal how low public expectations of governance and law-enforcement have become. They laugh off the loss of phones and wallets as part of the cost of inhabiting the country's most cosmopolitan city. But holdups are no laughing matter: innumerable victims have been injured while resisting robberies, and many have died. Until the authorities take a holistic approach to tackling Karachi's security problems, it's best to leave the smartphone at home.