Open House: What steps should be taken to instil fear of law among criminals in Amritsar?

The ever increasing graph of criminal activities is the result of nexus between anti-social elements, police and politicians. To remain in power politicians use antisocial elements for their political motives and to get plum postings, police officers do obey the dictates of their political bosses to give protection to such anti-social elements. To get rid of such activities, we need police officers with courage and character of Julio Ribeiro. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, anti-Sikh riots broke down in different parts of the country and thousands of Sikhs were killed but not a single such ugly incident was reported from Mumbai, where a sizeable Sikh population was living. Because Ribeiro, the then Police Commissioner of Mumbai, immediately issued ‘shoot at sight ‘orders for inciting riots in Mumbai. But alas! , at the moment we don’t have police officer of that calibre and character, therefore facing such deplorable situation.

Naresh Johar

Install CCTV cameras in city

To instil fear of law in criminals, the foremost step the administration needs to take-up on urgent basis is to increase intelligence services to nab the earliest anti-social elements committing crime. Secondly, effective CCTV cameras should be installed throughout city so that it becomes easier to identify criminals. Thirdly, awareness must be created among residents about absconding criminals by displaying their coloured photos in daily newspapers and pasting in crime prone areas. Harshest punishment in the form of capital punishment should be enshrined in law and criminal proceedings against such criminals should take least possible time. The trial against such criminals should be proceeded in fast-track courts only.

Sanjay Chawla

Introduce night patrolling in city

The media is replete with reports of crime left and right in rural areas. That is not to suggest that the city is crime free. Discovery of drugs, murders over property, violence over marital disputes, incidents of snatching of cash or cars, suicides and bizarre cases of murder fill the pages of popular dailies. Women are not safe if they are wearing jewellery and travelling alone. The general feeling is that anti-social elements commit the crime and often get away with it. But preventive measures like night patrolling by police are non-existent these days, nor do we find the intelligence wing in the country side working in ‘mufti’ (plain clothes). The most logical way for the police to curb crime is to expose the criminals and to keep the people with them for which they must have frequent interaction with them, receive and attend all calls and rush to the spot when informed of any unpleasant incident. I think the old Punjab Police red and blue turban / cap was very conspicuous and served as a great deterrent for law breakers. On the other hand, a well regulated and streamlined road traffic induces punctuality and discipline in all departments. In fact, expecting a totally crime-free city is to be unrealistic, because it is a child of development. Zero tolerance to crime is a myth but credit must be given to the local population and the Punjabi character, for there is no hate crime here in contrast with cosmopolitan cities like New York. The new Commissioner of Police claims to restore order on our roads and reduce crime. We have no reasons to doubt his confidence.

Prof Mohan Singh

Tackle root cause of crime

To instil fear of the law in criminals, several measures could be taken, such as ensuring that offenders are caught and punished consistently. To realise this, it is necessary to improve crime detection, investigation, and prosecution methods and ensure that culprits are brought to justice surely, swiftly, and impartially. The National Crime Records Bureau reports that Punjab has a low rate of investigation and charge-sheeting, indicating that many cases remain unsolved or poorly prosecuted. This results in a lack of faith in the justice system and a lack of deterrence. To address this issue, there is a need to empower the police and judiciary by increasing their capacity, resources, and adherence to due process of law and human rights standards. Furthermore, it is essential to tackle the root cause of crime, like unemployment, illiteracy, poverty, social exclusion, drug abuse, and political interference. These factors create an environment conducive to criminal activities, especially among youth and migrants. Therefore, inclusive and sustainable policies and programmes must be implemented to provide sufficient opportunities and support for skill development, employment, health, and social welfare while reducing corruption, delays, and biases in the criminal justice system. To reduce crime, various environmental designs, target hardening, surveillance, and regulation strategies can also be employed. These include installing CCTV cameras, improving street lighting, activating police patrolling, surveillance, and barricading at strategic points controlling access to crime-prone areas.

Dr Kulwant Singh Phull

Create jobs for youth

A tidal wave of crimes in the state over the last few months has terrorised the people. To deter criminals and goons from committing crimes, the government should explore employment opportunities for the youth. Unemployment leads to deviant behaviour, which is the root cause of crime. Secondly, the system has become over-dependent on technology. The system should accord importance to human intelligence as well. This will help prevent crime. To instil fear into the hearts of criminals, the trial of criminals should be completed within a unified time frame. The influx of weapons in the state is both a matter of grave concern and is fraught with danger. Punjab is a border state. The smuggling of weapons into the state can pose a challenge to its peace and tranquillity. The efficient police officers who crack cases and apprehend criminals should be suitably awarded. The public should also stay vigilant and stop blaming agencies for not doing enough to tame crime in the state.

Prof Rajan Kapoor

Timely completion of criminal trials

Where there is a will there is a way, it is up to the home ministry and the senior police officers how to frame a new mechanism to curb the criminal activities with an iron hand. Maintaining law and order and creating confidence of peace and brotherhood among the masses have always been the priority of the Punjab Police. The number of cops in police stations be increased and the department should transfer policemen from PAP / Police Lines to active beats in the urban and rural areas. The Police Department should ensure the posting of police men on every chowks to create atmosphere of confidence among people. The courts should ensure judgments announcing in the case of criminals within a stipulated period so that fear in the minds of criminals keep intact. Managing law and order should be the priority of police officers.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Fear of law missing in society

Fear of law’ and the machinery for its subsistence is a major factor in determining law and order situation in any developed country. But unfortunately in our society, fear of law in general is missing and no serious efforts are underway primarily owing to lack of political will. There are so many shortcomings and widening gap between the incidence of crime and reaching logical conclusions up to punishing the guilty adequately and speedily within the legal frame work of criminal justice. To address the menace in beginning, there must be efficient and honest policing in preventing the crime; if however, the crime takes place, quick and professional response to chase the criminals wherever possible, registering FIR unconditionally, flawless and time-bound investigation and filing charge sheet in the designated court within shortest possible time and finally to plead the case for maximum severest punishment to the guilty. The criminals are provoked to stay in the criminal world primarily due to very low rate of conviction, tardy and indifferent judicial system and the corrupt practices prevalent in the whole system of justice administration of crimes.

Jagdish Chander

Tighten surveillance of jails

Punjab has been experiencing a hefty rise in criminal cases more constantly in the juvenile field. It appears as if the offenders are not scared of the law and punishment imposed by the judiciary. To instil fear in them is a key feature to protecting the streets of Punjab. Identifying the underlying cause of the sudden disappearance of fear in those who have done wrong is crucial. Instances of lackadaisical conduct by law enforcement agencies in carrying out impartial investigations of reported cases and the reluctance of victims to report incidents of harassment and abuse they have been subjected to are contributing to the escalation of crime. Often, individuals who have been harassed or ridiculed by criminals are intimidated into not reporting the incidents, which encourages the perpetrators to continue committing more crimes with greater confidence. But the solution to this is quite basic and straightforward. The police should keep a check and catch the criminals a bit faster and more efficiently. Another bold but effective way can be to publicly announce a warning to all the wrongdoers and then be on sight to catch any of them as this might hurt their self-esteem and by the force of their ego, they will perform a nonsensical crime, that is when the authorities can catch them and set an epitome of what the result can be to do crime. It is impractical to put a whole burden on the police where this organisation is largely facing a crunch of manpower. An increase in manpower would result in efficacious implementation and enforcement of the laws and orders of the court. Other ways can be to tighten the surveillance of jails and the target sights. Jails were based on reformative theory whereas these turned out to be confinement places only. Emphasis should be laid down on the jail programmes to change the mindset of the inmates. People in general should be made aware of the stringent laws already in place in India. Court delays must be curtailed.

Lakshit Jindal

Onus is on police officers

After a long array of extolling gun culture and gang wars in Punjab, a promising picture emerged upon AAP government avowing to end the menace. Amidst strict vigil initiated by law enforcing agencies, several hard core criminals and gangsters were put behind the bars while many others fled the state. Accordingly, law and order situation witnessed a considerable improvement. However, in the past few months there is again a spurt in instances of theft, loot, arson and murderous assaults, despite repeated claims of enhanced patrolling and good governance. It is ironical that heinous crimes against woman, children and elderly people, besides petty property disputes and incidents of road rages taking a fatal turn have substantially increased. It appears that antisocial elements have no fear of police and are raising ugly heads again to distort the image of the state. It is indeed worrisome, for which the government has to evolve a robust mechanism to prevent such occurrences by instilling fear of law in criminals. For the purpose of durable peace and progress in the state, policing has to be more intensive and proactively involved, aided by modern scientific techniques. Whereas perpetual surveillance to check disruptive and unlawful activities is necessary, our criminal judicial system too be prompted to expedite dispensation of justice in least possible time. Any sort of political interference has to be curbed so that unscrupulous elements do not draw any leverage of inherent lacunas in the system. All the more, citizens’ cooperation to LEAs is very vital for early nabbing the culprits and to deal effectively with drug-paddlers and antisocial elements. Subjectively, the officials should be held accountable for unlawful happenings in their command areas.

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

People use digital payments

The city has witnessed a sharp increase in crimes. Many cases even go unreported. There is hardly a day passes when an incident of murder, loot or snatching is not reported in newspapers. Corruption is the root cause of unemployment, illiteracy and backwardness which help the crime to grow. The government hold awareness seminars in colleges and schools on crime prevention. CCTV cameras must be installed at all key locations. People, instead of using cash, deal in digital mode of payment and avoid wearing expensive jewellery at busy places.

Shashi Kiran

QUESTION FOR NEXT WEEK

Frequent protests by farmers have not only affected people but also the economy of the state. What steps should the government take to resolve their pending issues?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to [email protected] by Thursday (November 30)

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