29-05-2025
'We will shoot the thugs': Iranian police crack down on crime
The Iranian police are responding to growing criticism of the increase in crime and violence, which experts believe is due to 'chronic poverty, chronic trauma and daily stress caused by political unrest and mistrust of institutions', according to Iranian sociologists.
Images of violent attacks and robberies have become ubiquitous in Iran, with multiple videos recorded by CCTV cameras or mobile phones posted daily on social media.
Some of the attacks result in the victim's death, such as an incident on February 12, when two thieves attacked a Tehran University student, stabbing him in the neck while stealing his backpack. The student, Amir Khaleghi, died in hospital.
CCTV footage of the attack triggered several days of protests and strikes at Tehran University. Some days later, Tehran police claimed to have arrested the thieves.
For more than a decade, Iranian society has been grappling with rising criminality, particularly violent offences. While the number of robberies reported per 100,000 inhabitants stood at only 222 in 2006, this figure had surged to 1100 by 2023, according to data from the Statistical Center of Iran.
Government statistics also show a dramatic rise in the number of violent crimes and attacks, including homicide, violent robberies, and street brawls. Analysts who follow crime and social issues in Iran say the official figures likely understate the worsening crime rate.
'The police shot me five times'
Facing intense criticism for their inability to tackle violent crime, the Iranian police have responded by resorting to violence themselves. Following police chief Radan's announcement on April 7, 2025, they have begun shooting alleged criminals in the legs, publishing videos of these incidents on social media, and broadcasting them on state television channels.
The police and the state media routinely refer to the criminals as 'thugs'. In one state TV report, the Tehran police commander, Brigadier-General Abasali Mohammadian, is even seen reprimanding one of his officers about an arrested 'thug', asking: 'Why is he unharmed?' The officer then apologises.
Mohammadian, the Tehran police chief, declared on May 22: 'Crime has fallen by up to 33 percent in recent days because criminals know we shoot at them without hesitation. In the past 48 hours alone, we have shot and arrested five thieves.'
Police response 'part of the problem, not the solution'
Despite this display of force and swift violence, experts argue that such brutality has no deterrent effect. 'Simin' is an Iranian sociologist. (We have concealed her identity because of the sensitivity of talking to foreign media.)
The authorities' short-term response exacerbating violence is part of the problem, not the solution. It is not the first time this approach has been taken. The regime tends to react punitively, favouring criminalisation over preventive social programmes.
Iran's legal system has been shaped more by ideology than by practical considerations in defining criminal behaviour. As a result, many perceive the laws as arbitrary or unjust, which fosters defiance. Increasing the severity of punishments is largely ineffective; without addressing the root causes, the cycle of violence continues. What this society needs is fundamental reform: long-term crime prevention and social planning, not mere crackdowns.
'Injecting further violence only breeds more violence'
'Karoun' (not his real name) is also an Iranian sociologist, he too does not believe in the new method of the Iranian police.
Injecting further violence into society only breeds more violence, both in society at large and in the crimes committed.
Iranians rarely encounter the police on the streets unless it is to arrest women for not wearing the hijab, an action often carried out with violence. Broadly speaking, the police are seen more as agents of political and social control than as enforcers of public safety.
These short-term, sporadic, and arbitrary crackdowns on social phenomena like 'thuggery'—or crime more generally—are ineffective. Police cannot decide to shoot at people when they want. There are laws that they ignore, and they say it publicly: 'We ignore the laws'. They see it as a public relations exercise.
'If poverty, inequality and government failures are not addressed, the upward trend in violence will continue'
'Simin' says the recent high-profile cases reflect a broad rise in crime in Iran.
Several surveys show that almost half of the Iranian public expect crime and violence to get worse. And the official statistics, even if they are not reliable, do reflect an upward trend in crimes being committed in Iran. There are several reasons for this.
First of all, rising crime in Iran is largely due to chronic poverty, inflation and unemployment fuelling despair. There is a strong link between inequality and violence: Iran's laws and development plans as well as economic inequalities lead to more poverty and inequality and thus drive up crime, putting people under constant stress, undermining security and provoking aggressive reactions.
At a meeting on crime prevention on May 15, a spokesman for Iran's judiciary, Asghar Jahangir, said that approximately 80 percent of crimes in Iran stem from inflation and rising prices.
'Daily stress… heightens public anxiety and fear'
'Simin' continues:
Four decades of revolution, war and conflict have left Iranian society exposed to chronic trauma and instability. Daily stress linked to political unrest—most notably the violent crackdown on the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests over the past three years, and two instances in which the country stood on the brink of war with Israel—has heightened public anxiety and fear, fuelling a climate of violence.
It is well-established that communities exposed to persistent stress and insecurity—whether through discrimination, crises or disasters—are significantly more prone to aggression.
Many Iranians feel they are denied employment opportunities simply because they lack connections within the regime, are not affiliated with the Basij, the ideologically driven paramilitary wing of the Revolutionary Guard as an example.
Years of broken promises, repression, and the unequal enforcement of laws have eroded public trust in Iran's institutions. This trust deficit discourages cooperation with authorities—such as reporting crimes and weakens community cohesion, further fuelling violent crime and social decline.
Reports of assaults, thefts and domestic violence now appear in the news almost daily, reinforcing the perception of a society gripped by a crime epidemic. Both the data and public sentiment point to a nation under immense pressure. Without addressing the root causes - poverty, inequality and governance failures - the upward trend in violent crime is likely to persist.
