OPEN HOUSE JALANDHAR (APR 12-15)

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OPEN HOUSE: DO YOU THINK POLICE NEED TO TAKE DRASTIC STEPS TO CURB CRIME INCIDENTS IN CITY?

Police must be freed from political shackles to ensure fair probe

STRAP: Need to use latest technology to prevent petty crimes and install CCTV cameras at various crowded places

Not fair to blame police solely

Though it’s true that crime incidents have increased in the recent months, it is not fair to solely blame the police for this sorry state of affairs. They are performing their duty round the clock, with not too good salary. Many of them have also been left injured in attacks by goons and public. A few days back, an SHO was manhandled by some naval officers in Jalandhar for being questioned on flouting the curfew norms. Many such incidents have happened in the recent past. A writer once said that even if you post a police official in front of every house, crime won’t end in a locality. It has emerged out as a human nature of being indulged in such nefarious activities. Such incidents are perpetrated more by youth who are drug addicts or smugglers. Though the police too are not dyed-in-the-wool idealists, who perform their duty conscientiously, many of them had been suspended or even terminated for negligence or even complicit with the criminals. They need to be stricter in preventing such crimes. The police can’t handle political criminals who are living luxurious lives and have to be subservient to them. Former DGP of Punjab Julio Rebiero and that of J&K Gurbachan Jagat had earlier written that the police should be made free from the shackles of political parties, only then the crime rate can be curbed.

Dr JS Wadhwa

Revamp law enforcement mechanism

Over the past few months, the astronomical increase in various crimes such as murder, rape, firing, assault, snatching, robbery and kidnapping across the state is surely a cause of concern. The scourge of crime creates a disturbance and panic among the residents and degrades the quality of life drastically and erodes the country’s image of a peaceful nation. Though the state government is taking several measures to check the menace, the ground situation does not seem to be improving. Anti-social elements are continuing their unlawful activities with impunity. The prevalence of criminal incidents can be attributed to a number of factors such as growing population, poverty, unemployment, corruption, widening social and economic inequalities, illiteracy, unplanned urbanisation, proliferation of slums and poor neighbourhoods, broken families, murky political and religious issues, lax and unfair police and judicial systems, terribly low conviction rate and meagre punishment etc. The need of the hour is to maintain law and order which is crucial to make society free from crime. In the given scenario, people always feel insecure and unsafe both inside and outside their homes. Dissatisfied with the police performance, they want it to take drastic steps to contain the crime rate and bring the guilty to book. Knowing the gravity of the situation and doing nothing on individual level is also not acceptable. People should be aware of their role in a civilised society. The police administration alone cannot address the problem without public support and cooperation. The government should revamp its law enforcement mechanism, break the unholy politician-police-criminal nexus and rid the police force from unwarranted political interference for the purpose.

DS Kang

Need to improve image of cops

How can a common man feel safe in such a scenario when the law-enforcing agency (police) itself is being thrashed and beaten up in broad daylight openly by hooligans. People are taking law into their own hands and have lost their faith in the functioning of the police due to their casual attitude and dereliction of duty. Though the government has made several attempts to end it, VIP culture is still prevalent in our society. The administration must focus on improving the image of the police among people. Also, political interference in the working of the police should end and there is a need to speed up judicial system.

GS Bhullar

Cops hand-in-glove with criminals (OR People should be more vigilant)

The incidents of thefts, snatching and eve-teasing have increased manifold in the recent past in the city. The police seem to be doing nothing to improve the situation. This indifferent attitude of cops has made the situation worse. Anti-social elements are roaming freely without any fear of the police. Cops sometimes seem to be hand-in-glove with criminals. In many cases, victims are only given assurance and not justice. It is due to this reason criminals do not fear the police anymore and thus the crime rate is increasing with each passing day. In some areas, residents have installed gates and erected concrete walls to check the entry of anti-social elements, causing more inconvenience than security. The judiciary should take action against criminals and all policemen who are not discharging their duties should be dealt with strictly. More CCTV cameras should be installed. People should be more vigilant while roaming in the market.

Shashi Kiran

Admn, police need to work in tandem

The issue of maintaining law and order lies with the administration and the police and both should join hands to curb the menace of robbery, snatching and other such crimes. Maintaining law and order has always been the priority of the Police Department. Amid the ongoing pandemic, the police are also sensitising people to always wear a mask and practise socialdistancing. To check crime rate, the police should install CCTV cameras at various sensitive points and keep a strict vigil round the clock on all main entrances to the city. The police should strictly follow their manuals without any political interference or pressure. They should also post two to three policemen along with the traffic police at every chowk. The police should rope in more personnel from PAP to keep a tab on crime rate. Meetings of police-public and peace committees should be held regularly once a month so that members can highlight their suggestions and problems faced by residents.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Improve response time to crime incidents

Under the Constitution, every citizen is entitled to fundamental right to life and property and the directive principles enshrined therein bind the states to protect them through law and order machinery without any discretion and bias. But this is not happening and citizens continue to feel unsafe and insecure despite the presence of policemen around them. In recent times, apart from frequent cases of snatching, theft and other petty crimes, there have been numerous incidents of firing at minimal provocation, indicating how people lack trust in law and order machinery and how the criminals take it into their hands without even remotest fear of the police. The initial tracking and response time to crimes is not satisfactory and more disgustingly, conviction rate is very low. These facts erode the credibility of law and order apparatus, resulting into loss of required deterrence for violations. This can be largely attributed to non-professional approach to crimes and shameless politicisation of police force. There is undue interference in the working of police by political leaders at all levels, hampering independent and fair investigation into crime incidents. There is also an urgent need to use latest technology to prevent and trace petty crimes and fast track them through special tribunals/courts to ensure justice to the victims.

Jagdish Chander