FORUM Q:What can be done to tackle the rising crime in the country? This is the third instalment of readers’ response

Large-scale unemployment, unrest, and drug abuse among the youth, besides exploitation of the poor and the illiterate by politicians, has raised the level of crime in the country, which needs immediate attention of the government. Moreover, all political parties should arrive at a consensus on formulating a concrete employment policy, where the unemployed get suitable job options soon. Till that time, the government should keep giving them "unemployment allowance" as is being done in other countries.

Another area of concern is the increasing use of drugs, which needs to be checked with more stringent laws or the young generation will suffer immensely. Political soft attitude towards nefarious elements, history-sheeters and other criminals should be condemned by one and all. Such politicians should be voted out.

R. K. BHATIA, Panchkula

Crime is bound to increase with rapid unemployment and urbanisation, but the shocking part is that even the wealthy, well-placed and educated persons are also in the race to make fast buck the dirty way. They even have the resources to exploit loopholes in the legal system to get away with murder. Most of the criminals have got the patronage of politicians, which has made them immune to law.

Early justice through fast-track courts, where the politicians do not influence judiciary, can bring the desired change. Job-oriented education system, more job opportunities and unemployment allowance can reduce crime. The police should drop the colonial attitude it has been carrying on since the Raj and amend its archaic ways.

Lieut-Col RAVI VAID (retd), Chamba (HP)

No one is a criminal by birth, but poverty, unemployment, corrupt police and politicians force him to choose this path. When Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru established public sector undertakings, his primary purpose was to generate employment, while seeking industrialisation was only a secondary objective. Profit was not a prime consideration. Now each PSU has changed its focus from employment to profit, which has added to the number of the unemployed and increased crime.

Politicians and the police promote crime by twisting the law. News reports of custodial deaths and cases like Ruchica molestation. Shivani Bhatnagar murder, rape of a teenaged girl by a Mumbai police constable, and exoneration of Pappu Yadav, Raja Bhaiya and Amar Mani Tripathi are dime a dozen. Police training should be reoriented to give the force a human face, and no uneducated person should be allowed to enter politics.

M. S. GILL, Kokri Kalan

The rising crime can be contained, if people become more vigilant and shed their indifferent attitude. For success, cooperation of everyone is essential. The Police should perform its duty with diligence and honesty. It becomes all the more difficult to contain crime when the saviours of law become law-breakers. Until we rein in corrupt police officials, the crime rate is unlikely to come down. Senior police officials should keep an eye on their juniors, but for this, they will have to be clean themselves, which is sadly not the case in India. Issues like unemployment, illiteracy and poverty need serious attention. These are the main causes of rising crime. Parents also need to be more careful while bringing up their children; they should stop their children from taking the wrong path.

AMRIK SINGH, Karnal

When a person fails to earn his livelihood with honest and sincere means, he resorts to the use of unfair means to get a square meal. The government should ensure food, clothing, work and shelter for everyone, if crime has to be stopped. Uneducated persons are more prone to crime than the literates, so our efforts should be to spread education. Controlling drug abuse will ease the situation a great deal. New legislation should come in to curb drug menace. Politicians should not patronise criminals and the Election Commission should debar persons with criminal background from contesting elections. All citizens should consider it their duty not to vote for a criminal.

B. R. DHAND, Mansa

Before trying to uproot crime, we should first find out its roots. We never dare to take hard steps to check crime, thanks to the cooperation that we receive from our congenial leaders, who themselves are mostly criminals. More honest persons should come forward to join politics.

The foremost reasons for rising crime are unemployment and population explosion. The government should frame more polices that somehow help the youth. Women are the major targets of crime, so the women police wing should be staffed, trained and equipped better. Checking population growth is a collective social responsibility. Erosion of tradition and moral values among the youth is also responsible for rising crime, for which upbringing and parents are responsible.

SHELJA, Amritsar

Rising crime is a sensitive subject connected with the future of India. Before going for any action, it is important to first control the population, which will bring crime under control. There is no control over the growth of population, which is squashing the opportunities that India has to offer. By being lethargic on population control, the state is itself generating more crime. The media is guilty of misinterpretation of viewer’s choice and wrong presentation of facts, and the content that explodes on the screen encourages the thirst for a quick buck, even if it comes the wrong way. There is a dire need to create more employment opportunities to keep the young generation busy so that none of its members participate in any crime. Smart thinking is not enough for the government to curb crime; the ideas should be backed by solid implementation. No crime will sprout, if its seeds are not sown.

S. K. NAYAR, Panchkula

Criminals of all kinds can be reformed, if political will and sense of social responsibility are shown. We haven’t realised, so far, that crime is a major hurdle in the process of development. The nation is not in good economic, social, technological, environmental, political, cultural, moral and spiritual health, and is exposed to the risks of the market economy, due to which, crime has not only become more organised than ever, but also gained political patronage. In some cases, politicians and Mafia dons are the same persons. The impact of the rising crime has not been on the market alone; it has been rather more on way the resources for the poor are allocated and utilised.

An attempt should be made to raise the standard of governance in India, with a special emphasis on breaking the criminal-politician nexus. The need of the hour is an empowerment movement, which would let ordinary citizens work towards prosperity. There is a wind of opportunity flying capital into the country, so the Government of India should be more transparent than ever.

Prof M. M. Goel, Kurukshetra

The rising crime in the country can be tackled by stopping the entry of criminals in politics. Unemployment, which is a major cause of crime, should be checked. Schools laying stress on moral education will save many from straying. Conducting special short-term reform programmes in jails, where yoga, stress management and personality development are taught, will stop convicts from returning to the life of crime.

A special cell should look into the grievances of criminals; even hear stories of their entry into the world of crime. Reformed criminals should be offered jobs or special loans for beginning a new work; this will help especially the convicts who are not professional criminals, but victims of injustice.

As a vast majority of crime is against women, raising the standard of their living and making them self-sufficient will curb the process to some extent. The legal action against first-time offenders should be lenient and they should be treated differently from hardcore criminals.

JAGROOP SINGH, Jalandhar

The Indian intelligence services should be improved, so that these are able to prevent crime before it is committed. The law should be made more stringent, so that no one should ever think of committing any sort of crime. Mass awareness campaigns should be launched among the general public, so that they can take on the criminals themselves.

In these camps, the general public should be told about various crimes, shown profiles of active criminals and guided on how to tackle them. More security should be deployed in sensitive regions of the country where the crime rate is already very high and feeling of insecurity is rampant.

A survey should be conducted to detect parts of the country where the incidence of crime is high and then appropriate steps should be taken in that part to solve the problem.

SANJAY CHAWLA, Amritsar

The seeds of crime are sown by society, environment and stresses in the family. If checked in the embryo stage, by improving the circumstances for the mother, the individual who is to come will not grow up to be a criminal. Approach juvenile criminals psychologically with full honesty before the crime cells in the body become cancerous. The root of crime can be nipped in the womb and not later.

Good education, psychological treatment and good mothers would see the next generation growing without fear or stress; The idea might seem ridiculous to some, but it will have far-reaching consequences, if implemented.

Culture is developed not outside, but in the womb. Thereafter is the second stage of aggravation, up to the age of three, when we can mould the habits of the child to a good extent.

Dr VINOD GULIANI, Baijnath (HP)

Poverty, migration, unemployment, frustration, starvation, illiteracy, nepotism and inflation are the major factors contributing to the rising crime in the country. The urge to become rich overnight and ape western culture has made the masses turn towards crime.

The Ministry of Home Affairs should frame a policy to deal with migration (especially migration across the international border). It should be made difficult for migrants to obtain documents like ration card and voter’s I-card until their identity is firmly established. The Ministry of Human Resource Development should come out with a new education policy, where stress should be on technical education in schools. Soft loans will create more opportunities for self-employment, which will reduce the number of opportunities for crime to flourish.

If the media and the police behave responsibly, common man will have no fear in approaching them to report crime. Politicians should neither shelter criminals nor let them join their ranks.

SIMMI MOHINDRU, Jalandhar City

Nothing, I repeat, nothing can be done. Why? Because the perpetrators of crime are those very people who are supposed to tackle it. And you know who they are.

DEV RAJ GUPTA, Ambala