Crimes and the city

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— While the overall crime scenario in the city continues to be a matter of concern, a peculiar phenomenon has been the noticeably low incidence of criminal acts during the time of mass festivities such as Durga Puja, Eid, etc. According to the police, the city’s crime rate came down by as much as over 70 per cent during the last two weeks that marked the celebration of Durga Puja and Eid. Incidents of vehicle theft, burglary and rape that have become almost a routine affair have dwindled to a trickle during the fortnight of the festivities. While one should not be blamed for predisposing to attribute this positive change – temporary though it might be – to the festive ambience and even divine intervention on the sacred occasions, the police would like to place the reason elsewhere, and with good logic. According to the police, the city’s criminal and anti-social activities stem largely from its floating population and not its permanent residents. Over 80 per cent of the day-to-day criminal acts are said to be committed by members of the city’s two lakh-odd floating population. The sudden drop in crime during major festive occasions, police say, can be explained by the absence of a majority of the floating population who return to their original places on such occasions. While this explanation has merits, it is also a fact that festive and holy occasions do exercise a benign influence on people’s minds and keep criminal tendencies in check to an extent. Psychologists also believe that the human mind is inclined to undergo temporary but positive changes during such festivities.The low incidence of crime during Durga Puja, Bihu or Eid, however, comes as little comfort against the bleak backdrop of the overall crime scenario in the city. The past few year’s crime graph would make it evident that different sorts of crimes, ranging from petty to serious, have shown an increasing trend. Worse, many crimes, especially murder cases, have remained unsolved, allowing the culprits to have a free run. In view of the seriousness of the crime scenario, the City Police needs to equip itself in the best possible manner to deal with the deteriorating situation. Today’s criminals being a smarter lot, it is imperative that the police keeps on upgrading its skills and strategies to take them on successfully. While constraints such as low manpower, dearth of required technological assistance and overall modernisation of the forces etc., continue to hamper the functioning of the police, the low morale and the general complacent attitude of the police has not helped matters either. source: assam tribune editorial 13.10.08