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

Don’t desert traditional values

Our slow and sluggish judicial system is the main reason behind the rising crime rate. Justice delayed is justice denied. Decisions given by courts should be implemented quickly and exemplary punishment be given to the culprit so that others dare not commit crime in future.

The blind aping of the Western culture and their way of life is another factor responsible for the rising crime. In the age of glitz and glamour, TV and cinema cause a great effect on young minds. The youth can easily fall prey to the lure of luxury, and often take to crime to support the lavish lifestyle. The media can play an important role in this regard. Since the TV has become integral part of everyone’s life, maximum emphasis should be on value-based programmes so that children may imbibe these values in their childhood. We should not desert our traditional values in blind adoption of the Western traits.

Besides, there is need for population control, which leads to unemployment and crime. Elders in society should present a role model before the youngsters by imposing self-control and discipline. It is, in fact, the responsibility of every citizen to be honest and sincere. Only then we can think of tackling the rising crime in our country.

II

The abnormal rise in criminal activities can be attributed to the loss of moral, spiritual and ethical values among our youth. We are forgetting our ancient culture. Instead of following the path of dharma in our day-to-day life, we are treading the path of adharma.

Man has become over ambitious and wants to achieve his ambition by hook or by crook. For him, to achieve his ambition is very important. The spirit of service and renunciation is gone. There was a time when a piece of gold left by a person on a roadside would not be touched by passers-by. Nowadays, gold is being snatched and looted. The law alone can’t tackle the growing rate of crime. We should first try to inculcate ancient and rich culture into ourselves. This is the only way to deal with the rising crime.

G. R. KALRA, Chandigarh

Check migration to make metros safe

The crime rate has been increasing alarmingly in the metros. The people there are insecure. They feel that neither their life nor their property is safe any longer. The people in the metros have started taking crime for granted. The spurt in crime there can be attributed to growing industrialisation, migration from villages and job crunch. This is not to say that city people are angles as compared to the illiterate village folk.

Modern science has invented slither ways of committing crime and getting away with it. Honest and upright people find it hard to digest that unscrupulous and dishonest persons have flourished.

We’ll have to stop this blind migration to cities. Those who are already employed should be able to buy all basic amenities with their money so that they are not tempted to take to crime.

PRERNA JAIN, Ludhiana

Improve police functioning

The changed circumstances have increased the expenditure of lower/middle class on luxury items. The income perhaps not increased in that ratio. There are so many examples, when in order to get easy money to support their lifestyle, the people have taken to crime. This is due to a lack of moral education at the primary level. Unemployment is the second cause.

Big fish threaten small fish, and the small fish then thinks of crime as the quick way of becoming big fish. Delay in punishing the culprits is also a cause of crime. The judiciary should be amended in such a way that culprits get punishment within minimum possible time.

The image of the police, especially at the lower ranks, should also be polished by increasing the minimum basic qualification for constables etc. They should at least be graduates.

RAM DASS VERMA, Ludhiana

Let’s stop overlooking everything

Crime is purely a product of the mind. We are its producers. The inherent accredited admittance of crime rising in the country is no less a condemnation of the values for which we are so proud. Our culture is bleeding profusely under the nudity of Westernisation, and there appears no "Krishna" to penalise the perpetrators. All watch and stare helplessly.

Full-throated slogans are common, but we do not peep deep into this source of crime. Justice is delayed, vested interests take an upper hand, compromises are common, criminals are inducted in the government, a perverted form of governance is respected, and human traffickers have hidden sponsors, but we turn a blind eye to everything.

We overlook everything, from lax security to political leaders who shelter criminals. The onus lies entirely on the shoulders of the media. Unless we change our character, we have brought about our downfall.

BALKAR SINGH, Mukerian

People need courage to speak

Corruption and crime are twins. Both nourish each other to cripple society. Power-hungry politicians provide criminals with material and legal support; in return, they get the muscle to wrest votes. Our democracy is on a sound base, but its pillars can no longer bear the load of these twin evils. If we are not shattered yet, we shall soon be.

Intellectuals have done a remarkable job in exposing crime and arousing awareness among the people. The people are awake, but afraid. Their voice is too weak. Honest individuals can still expose crime through the media, committees, commissions, NGO’s etc. These institutions can inculcate moral courage among the people and keep them enlightened and vigilant.

M. M. BHATIA, Amritsar

Deploy cops on campuses

The problem of eve-teasing can be checked if the police personnel are deployed in civil dress on the campus of educational institutes. No society can flourish if women are disrespected, harassed or molested. It is a widely-known fact that many educational institutions have become drug dens. We need to have stringent laws where even minors are punished, if they turn delinquent. We should give protection to witnesses by giving early judgments.

ATUL SHARMA, Chail (HP)

Media: act responsibly

The rising crime rate can be contained if the media starts acting responsibly. The perpetrators of crime are those very people who are supposed to tackle it. So, the Press should expose these very faces to curb this menace.

Everyone knows that justice delayed is justice denied, and justice withheld is even worse than that. The judiciary should focus on speedy justice to award criminals exemplary punishments.

The government should open up more and more job avenues for the unemployed youth so that they don’t indulge in criminal activities.

ANJU ANAND, Chambaghat (Solan)

Teach truth, kindness and sacrifice

Lust for power and lust for money,

Works as an impetus for committing a crime,

Devise some device to tackle them from childhood,

That will save him from the country’s rising crime,

Take help of religion and teach the child,

Truth and contentment, kindness and sacrifice,

Good thinking will lead to good deeds,

Save him from committing a crime in life,

An idle man’s brain is a Devil’s workshop,

So keep the young men busy whole time

Lack of economic security in man’s life,

Forces him to admit this or that crime,

Set up special courts with special power,

To curb this menace of rising crime,

The Election Commission should take an affidavit,

That the candidate has not done any crime,

Punish the culprits if they defy the Divine,

Teach them a lesson if they are caught,

Right at the time when they commit a crime.

ZORA SINGH, Muktsar

Debar criminals from contesting elections

The police is unable to discharge its duty honestly while dealing with crime due to day-to-day interference in its working by politicians and bureaucrats. Heinous crimes like the smuggling of narcotics/ammunitions, abduction and murder are being carried out under the patronage of political leaders. To cleanse the system, leaders with criminal record should not be allowed to contest elections.

Though poverty, illiteracy, overpopulation and unemployment are major factors that encourage crime, the root cause of all the ills in this world is the ever-growing lust for money that prompts people to acquire money by hook or by crook, thus breeding corruption, greed and other evils. In this mad race, people have forgotten the Almighty and human values as well. Until we start following our religious dictates and putting on leash our unlimited desires, we cannot get rid of frustration and lead a happy and satisfied life.

Dr DARSHAN SINGH, Sirsa

Bridge the gap between rich and poor

The rising graph of crime in the country can only be contained by bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, which is getting widened year after year. The rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. This has given birth to a feeling of hatred among the poor.

The formations of armed groups like PWG owe their birth to this ever-increasing chasm. Unemployment is the second cause of rising crime. The government should try to create more job opportunity for the educated youth, otherwise the situation may slip out of our hand.

RAJAN KAPOOR, Nakodar

Change attitude of police

Due to unemployment, the number of educated criminals is increasing day by day. Instead of having an education system that produces the army of clerks, we should have a professional and job-oriented system.

Rampant corruption in every sphere of life is largely responsible for the rising crime rate. Very often hardcore criminals manage to go scot-free after paying huge bribes.

The government should improve the salaries and other emoluments of the policemen. Also, there is need for the police to change attitude and training methods, which are acquired from the British. It should adopt modern ways that are prevalent in advanced countries. While criminals are going hi-tech and committing crimes with latest weapons, our police is still equipped with age-old weaponry.

Political interference in the working of police and judiciary should be avoided as both play vital roles in tackling the rising crime. A competent body should be formed in these departments to ensure fair recruitment and posting.

Parents should monitor their children’s activities so that they don’t indulge in criminal activities. Overpopulation and poverty are the other factors that add fuel to rising crime.

ROMICA PAHWA, Jhansa (Kurukshetra)

II

With the so-called development, the crime graph has also increased manifolds in the country. The following steps should be taken to control the rising crime:

All police stations should be provided with the latest infrastructure and have adequate number of police personnel. The police should be equipped with latest arms to handle crime in a proper manner. Special anti-crime groups at the village level should be formed to tackle criminal activities. These above-mentioned measures can be helpful in decreasing the crime rate.

MANOJ SHARMA, Shimla