Lebanese Police Overwhelmed by Lawlessness

They may put a parking ticket on your windshield, but Lebanese police stand little chance in the battle against serious crime.

Overwhelmed by lawlessness spawned by a decade of warfare, police admit that they can do little except file reports after the event. Judicial authorities say citizens are often loath to turn to the courts for justice.

“People know that if they bring a case to court, they will pay money for a lawyer but are unlikely to get results,” Justice Ministry Director General Wajih Khater said.

Police statistics show Lebanon’s crime rate has about doubled since 1982, while the number of arrests has fallen.

A police captain, who asked not to be named, said even record-keeping was an uphill task amid Lebanon’s flaring factional violence. Crime statistics “mainly reflect whether the situation permitted us to do any work at all,” he said.

Lebanese say their stagnant economy, hard-hit by the plunge of the Lebanese pound, has increased temptations for crime, especially for a generation growing up under gun law.

In Beirut, where police fade from the streets after dark, gunmen have robbed and kidnaped often only a few yards from police stations or army checkpoints.

“If a militia is involved, we have to stop because they have more weapons than we do,” the captain said.

Lebanon would have to expand its 9,000-strong police force to 21,000 to match a world per capita average, the police captain said. Even that would probably be inadequate.

“We need more than that in a country like this,” he said.

Still, Khater said, religion and strong community values keep the incidence of certain crimes, such as rape, far lower than in most Western countries.

“Rape is not a big problem because it is considered a very serious sin in Islam,” he said.

“Besides,” he added, “the parents of the girl would kill the rapist.”