The Hindu : Kerala News : Kerala police asked to give priority to serious offences

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Friday, Aug 18, 2006

Kerala

Kerala

Kerala police asked to give priority to serious offences

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Minister for Home Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said here on Thursday that police response to crimes should be proportionate to the gravity of the offence involved.

Briefing presspersons after a Police Department conference, Mr. Balakrishnan said the police need not flag down vehicles merely for checking records. It was more important to book motorists who violated traffic rules. The focus of traffic enforcement should be on reducing the number of accidents due to rash driving. Vehicles should be checked for smuggling of illicit spirit, arms and explosives. He said the police should concentrate more on busting large-scale, cross-border smuggling of spirit rather than chasing petty bootleggers. Cracking down on serious offences, such as illegal extraction of river sand, should be the priority and not hounding people playing cards. The public should have access to police officials of all ranks. Reception counters would be opened at all police stations. District police chiefs should receive complaints from the public at least once a month. They should interact with MPs, MLAs and heads of local bodies once in three months. All complaints should be registered and receipts issued. Once a case was registered, copy of the First Information Report should be given to the complainants.

Senior officers should regularly inspect police stations and ensure that no person was in lock-up without a record of arrest. Mr. Balakrishnan urged officers to lead from the front in law and order situations. The police were also duty-bound to help suspects in distress. The number of "under investigation cases" was high in Kerala. All cases, except those requiring expert opinion, should be charge-sheeted in 30 days.

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