open house: What steps should the administration and police take to check the rising crime graph?

Promote community policing

The recent surge in criminal activities has exposed unprecedented challenges in maintaining law and order in the city. Disturbing incidents of snatching, robbery and burglary have placed considerable strain on law enforcement agencies. The National Crime Records Burea reports that Punjab has a low rate of investigation and charge-sheets. Initially, cases may go unregistered, or many of them either remain unresolved or poorly prosecuted, leading to a lack of faith in the judicial system and an absence of deterrence. It is essential to tackle the root causes of crime, such as unemployment, poverty, social exclusion, drug abuse and political interference. Additionally, promoting community policing and public awareness campaigns can foster trust and cooperation between the police and the citizens. Ultimately, law enforcement agencies must adopt a holistic and proactive approach to effectively deal with the multifaceted challenges of crime prevention and control.

Dr Kulwant Singh Phull

Police force should Intensify vigil

No matter what assurances are given by the government, incidents of arson, loot and robberies are being reported every day. It appears that anti-social elements have no fear of police as the spurt in petty cases of chain snatching, theft and road rage goes on unabated. Under such apparent deterioration in law and order, people continue to feel insecure despite the state police waging a war against gangsters and criminals. It is indeed a cause of worry for all peace-loving citizens. As such, surging crime rate calls for thorough introspection over the strategies and mechanism adopted by the administration to check terror and criminal activities. The government instead of tendering repeated justifications that the crime situation is under control, should analyse the weaknesses in the system and take necessary corrective steps without any political hiccups. To tackle the problem, while the security personnel need to be given a free hand to maintain law and order, their accountability must be fixed for any untoward incidents occurring in areas under their command. In this technology-driven era, it is vital to use electronic devices for round-the-clock surveillance, but the law enforcing agencies might intensify patrolling so that their presence is noticed everywhere. More importantly, the judicial mechanism which has been rejuvenated recently to act as a strong deterrent to any kind of delinquencies, ought to be enforced in right earnest to punish the guilty in least possible time.

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

Moral values are missing

The law and order situation is deteriorating day by day and there are several incidents of thefts, robbery and other crimes taking place. Law enforcement agencies and police are responsible for the rising crime graph. Their job is to make operational decisions, prevent crime and uphold the law with accountability. It requires an ethical and professional approach. Sadly, all these moral values are missing. Nobody is doing their duty perhaps under pressure from the higher authorities. To check the crime, police needs to be more vigilant. The government should take strict action against the officers who are not performing their duty. Strict action should be taken against giving and taking of bribes. CCTV cameras should be installed and in working condition all the time. Fear of administration is must, deploy honest officers.

Shashi Kiran

Onus for safety lies on police

I do not wish to include the psychopaths who commit a heinous crime like rape. They cannot be talked about as ordinary criminals for they are mentally sick men who only deserve a death sentence once proven guilty. Getting to the rampant incidents of robberies, specially cases of snatching jewellery in broad daylight, leaving women with torn earlobes bleeding profusely, necks bruised or fractured limbs as a result of pulling their handbag, phones, bangles and the like is something that needs to be stopped at all costs. Looting shops at gunpoint, committing robberies in houses, at times coupled with murders and theft of vehicles are spreading like plague for the last decade and a half. The onus for safety and security of the citizens lies with the police and not the government. The police force has to gear up and round up these elements, they cannot be left free to roam around and commit crimes repeatedly.

Manveen Mann

More burden on police in border state

It's not good news for the government that the Punjab Police have miserably failed to even perform their basic duties of maintaining law and order in the state. However, it is also an accepted situation that the state is long burdened with extra responsibilities of handling the mafia culture, criminal gangs, drug-related organised crime in collusion with their own men, bureaucrats, politicians and anti-national elements across the border. Given the situation, the police leadership needs to introspect about the whole strategy to deal with crime at macro and micro levels. The local police stations should be made wholly responsible for handling petty crimes and law and order situation in general. For other major crimes, special cells at the district level have to be created to be handled by dedicated, honest and trained officers. Their progress and constant working needs to be handled by centralised control rooms on 24X7 basis. As regards local crimes, it is to be strictly ensured that there is zero political interference in their working and the CM himself should monitor the progress in cases.

Jagdish Chander

Blueprint of sensitive areas can help

Punjab Police should be strict in maintaining law and order and enforce decisions and measures at any cost without any pressure from the political bosses. The Punjab Police have a number of jawans at the PAP Headquarters and even they are fully equipped with latest weapons. There are units of Rapid Action Force and paramilitary forces like BSF, CRPF, ITBP and the CISF stationed in various cities. In order to strictly curb crime, the Ministry of Home Affairs should take the services of these paramilitary forces to maintain law and order and deploy them at sensitive points in cities. The police department should make a blueprint of all the entrances and exits of cities and sensitive areas like roads adjoining the railway station and bus stand and consider them in sensitive category. Patrolling should be round the clock, especially near schools and colleges at the time of their opening and closing.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Technology boost for police in place

Jalandhar is the third most populous city in the state and despite 14 normal and two special police stations, crime is on the rise. Some of the common crimes in the district are robbery, snatching, assaults, road rage, online scams, fake phone calls and bounty killing. The recent increase in crime rate in Jalandhar has raised concerns among the authorities, prompting them to find swift and effective solutions. To make the city crime-free, several measures need to be implemented. To ensure public safety and security, many steps can be taken such as increasing the number of law enforcement officers, improving their training, and providing them with modern technology. Additionally, it is important to install and upgrade surveillance cameras in public areas, major roads and locations prone to criminal activities. This can serve as a deterrent to crime and help in the identification and apprehension of offenders. With the increasing prevalence of cyber crime, it is essential to develop specialised units and provide training to law enforcement personnel to effectively combat such crimes.

Lakshit Jindal

Make police officials accountable

Crime incidents are increasing day by day. It seems that the snatchers and thieves have no fear of the government and police. They snatch ornaments, mobiles, cash and mopeds of girls or women. The people fear going somewhere alone with cash. The police have totally failed to control crime in the district. The state government should set accountability for the SHOs and DSPs of areas where crime incidents take place. The state government should be strict to decrease the crime rate. SSPs should be asked to control crime in the district. If they are unable to reduce crime incidents, they should be made accountable. It is not a big deal for the police to control crime in the state.

Sucha Singh Sagar

Bengal Bill needs proper implementation

Criminal laws were changed in 2013 after a woman was brutally raped in Delhi. Subsequently, several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh have introduced amendments to provide for enhanced punishment for sexual assault. Now, in West Bengal, the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to enhance penalties for sexual offences, with a special focus on crime against women and children. The Bill introduces stringent measures such as mandatory death penalty for specific cases of rape and speedy investigation. This highlights West Bengal's legislative response to public outrage following a major incident, aimed at strengthening the legal framework and ensuring speedy justice. The Bill provides for death penalty in case of death or moribund rape victim, thereby enhancing the deterrent effect. The Bill provides for the investigation of sexual offences to be completed within 21 days, aimed at expediting justice. It strengthens the protection of the identity of victims and provides for 3-5 years imprisonment for disclosure. The Bill proposes the setting up of dedicated special courts for sexual violence cases, thereby speeding up legal processes and targets cases involving sexual abuse of minors, imposes harsher penalties, and increases monitoring. The Aparajita Bill is an important step towards addressing sexual violence in West Bengal, reflecting a legislative response to public outrage. However, effective implementation requires a balanced approach.

Priyanka Saurabh

Boost police morale through incentives

Since Independence, incidents of crime have been taking place in our district. Successive state governments, administration and police, all have failed in curbing crime in the city. The result is that as of now, law and order situation in the city has worsened. The foremost step to restore normalcy in the district is that they should take is to ensure installation of effective CCTV cameras throughout the district. Also after its installation, vigil on activities and movement of people should be kept by the police so that criminals attempting to commit crime can be nabbed on the spot. Secondly, self-defence training centres should be opened in sensitive areas where crime rate is high. Urgent steps should be taken by the administration to end the nexus between police and criminals by shunting out corrupt officials. Monetary incentives should be given to police officials who succeed in curbing crime in their area.

Sanjay Chawla

Question for next week

The condition of roads raises questions about where the funds meant for the smart city project went. Isn't it imperative for government bodies to ensure proper monitoring of funds and to prevent misuse of taxpayers’ money?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (September 12)