Police records show sharp nine-month drops in every division, yet motorcycle thefts in August and September fell only 22% from a year earlier, against 51% in the first seven months
LAHORE: Car thefts in Lahore fell by 70% and motorcycle thefts by 46% in the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to police records, with every one of the city’s six police divisions reporting declines.
Police registered 50 car thefts and 4,522 motorcycle thefts between January and September, down from 172 cars and 8,383 motorcycles in the same months of 2025. That still means about 17 motorcycles reported stolen every day, against roughly 31 a day a year earlier.
The nine-month figures, however, mask a slowdown. Comparing them with police data for January to July, published by The Lahore Times in August, shows the decline in motorcycle thefts has narrowed markedly in the two most recent months.
The slowdown inside the numbers
In the first seven months of the year, registered motorcycle thefts fell 51%, to 3,384 from 6,923. By the end of September the cumulative total stood at 4,522, which means 1,138 motorcycles were reported stolen in August and September alone, an average of about 569 a month, up from about 483 a month earlier in the year.
The same two months of 2025 saw 1,460 thefts, so the year-on-year decline for August and September was about 22%, less than half the rate recorded through July. Every division saw its gains shrink. In Saddar, August and September thefts fell only to 246 from 269, and in City division to 230 from 264.
Police did not explain the change. Seasonal patterns, the end of a one-off crackdown effect, or shifts in how quickly complaints are registered could each play a part.
Division by division
Saddar recorded the biggest fall in car thefts, down 80% to eight cases from 40, followed by Iqbal Town, down 79% to three from 14, and Model Town, down 74% to 13 from 49. Model Town nonetheless remained the division with the most car thefts. Cantt fell 72% to nine from 32, Civil Lines 54% to 12 from 26 and City 55% to five from 11.
For motorcycles, Iqbal Town showed the steepest drop, 54%, to 472 from 1,036, and Civil Lines fell 51% to 436 from 898. Saddar fell 46% to 894 from 1,667, Model Town 44% to 936 from 1,680, City 44% to 822 from 1,460 and Cantt 41% to 962 from 1,642.
Cantt, Model Town and Saddar together accounted for nearly 62% of all motorcycle thefts this year, mirroring the pattern for overall theft, where the same three divisions made up about two-thirds of 39,624 cases in the first eight months.
| Division | Cars 2025 | Cars 2026 | Motorcycles 2025 | Motorcycles 2026 |
| City | 11 | 5 | 1,460 | 822 |
| Cantt | 32 | 9 | 1,642 | 962 |
| Civil Lines | 26 | 12 | 898 | 436 |
| Saddar | 40 | 8 | 1,667 | 894 |
| Iqbal Town | 14 | 3 | 1,036 | 472 |
| Model Town | 49 | 13 | 1,680 | 936 |
| Total | 172 | 50 | 8,383 | 4,522 |
Registered car and motorcycle thefts in Lahore, January to September. Source: Lahore police records.
What police credit
Police attribute the declines to dedicated anti-vehicle-theft teams, gang arrests and wider camera coverage. Safe City’s automatic number plate recognition has flagged wanted vehicles for recovery and, in one widely followed case, traced a journalist’s stolen car despite a fake number plate. Thefts of commercial vehicles such as rickshaws, vans and loaders also fell 48% in seven months, police data show.
Recent arrests in the city have also exposed how organised the trade is, from a gang that towed stolen bikes behind a chingchi rickshaw to evade checkpoints to a motorcycle stolen from outside a police station gate.
Reading the figures with care
The data measure cases registered, not thefts committed. Police in Punjab have long faced complaints that some theft reports are discouraged or recorded under lesser sections, a practice known as burking, and a fall in registered cases can reflect reporting as well as crime. The figures released did not include recovery rates or say whether armed vehicle snatching is counted separately.
Lahore police have previously claimed a 76% fall in overall crime, a figure analysts said used different baselines from other police data. Publishing monthly division-level figures, alongside recoveries and convictions, would let residents judge the trend for themselves.
For the city’s motorcyclists, who include students, delivery riders and daily-wage workers, a stolen bike can mean a lost livelihood. With the province preparing to launch an e-bike scheme for students next month, securing two-wheelers is likely to remain a policing priority.
The fourth quarter will show whether the slowdown seen in August and September continues. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Thursday ordered visible police patrolling across the province and weekly crime reviews by regional police officers, measures that should shape the year-end numbers.
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