The payoff

 

 

Busy man that he was, Vladimir Lenin found time to contemplate on crime. “Crime,” he said, “is a product of social excess.” That has since evolved into an understanding that boredom could be the primary reason for crime (according to Colin Wilson). India’s National Crime Records Bureau (under the Union Home Ministry) says this: In 1953, there were 20,529 recorded cases of riots. In 2004, there were 59,979. The figures for burglary (house-breaking) are even more interesting. In 1953, there were 1,47,379 burglary cases registered. By 2004, this had come down to 92,490. So when there are more houses (and better) than ever now, not many people are motivated to break into them!

There are a few basics with crime. Like any form of human activity, crime is an indicator of progress. Cities and countries that develop show a corresponding increase in crime as well. Primarily because there’s enough gain for the person who has opted for breaking the law as a career. The Nithari shocker may be revolting, but crime in India is still lukewarm. It hasn’t reached a stage where there’s widespread scare on the streets. Mugging is rare and killings of foreigners are also rare (despite the lynching of British tourist Stephen Bennet in Maharashtra).

Still, there are things that can be done. First, the government could take away the ‘pressure of performance’ induced by statistics. India’s crime data is unreliable as no officer wants to show the actual rate of crime. “Politicians want to announce a drop in crime rate. As the crimogenic factor increases, the policeman comes under pressure to control crime artificially,” Maxwell Pereira, former Joint Commissioner, Delhi Police, told TSI. Second, the cop on the street should look smart and menacing. The Indian policeman cuts such a sorry figure in his uniform and paunch that he scares none but the honest ones. The Indian cop should have a walkie talkie on his shoulder patch, have high-performance night vision equipment, modern weapons, a smart uniform, high fitness levels, and (above all) must radiate efficiency. They need to be well fed, so they need to be paid more. Where will the money come from? Impose a mandatory fine on every convicted criminal, which will go towards a fund for increased salaries of policemen.

Hire professional consulting firms to improve attitude. Impart people skills to the police. Increase their abilities to reason (along with detection and prevention). This is crucial because the citizen is convinced that even talking to a policeman is a nuisance. Change this perception and the cop could be a part of us. Once the law is seen on our side, half the problem is solved.