Laxity in policing sees rash of crimes in City

Is the City being properly policed? No, not really. With a senior official of their ilk squarely holding the force’s laxity in beefing up patrolling the City, crimes, as expectedly, seem to be on the upswing lately.

For example, in the last fortnight, the City has witnessed as many as 12 chain snatching crimes, as against 49 such cases recorded in August.

And as if to buttress the fact that policing has virtually hit the pits, the last 17 days has seen a sharp spurt in house burglary theft (HBT) with the City reporting nine cases. This during the daytime. While it is a whopping 49 during the night time taking the total to 58, averaging 3.5 such cases a day.

With the criminals and miscreants having a hey day, hitting paydirt, instead of expressing serious concern on the spate of crimes and finding ways to quell them, you had Additional Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Kamal Panth pontificating that the police would intensify the patrolling system and ensure that such instances are curbed in the days to come.

Trust the common public, at their wits end as to how to safeguard their person and property, to buy his assurance, when another senior official handling crime pinned the blame virtually on laxity in policing to rising crimes in City.

According to the official, chain snatching, HBTs, ATM thefts are crimes that can be checked with effective policing and the police adopting a practical hands-on, boots on ground, approach.

Another attributed to the disdainful attitude of the police personnel, who knowing full well that it is either in the early morning, or the wee hours of the dark, that the criminals strike when the citizens are vulnerable busy with their chores, they are not vigilant but let their guard down during the slog hours of their shift.

However, according to the officials, the best way to stem the criminal activity was extensive booking of miscreants under preventive sections of Karnataka Police Act, besides regular surveillance of known offenders at various police stations. Well, with the keepers of law itself floundering on how best to put in place an effective machinery to discipline its forces as also policing system, citizens have no choice but take precautions themselves and pray that powers that be would work out ways to rid the City of its criminals and dam the rash of crimes that has been on the ascendency at free will.