The Hindu : Front Page : Catch the sharks and leave small fry, says Kodiyeri

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 18, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Catch the sharks and leave small fry, says Kodiyeri

Staff Reporter

Police response should be proportionate to gravity of offence

TAKING STOCK: Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan talking to DGP Raman Sreevastava at a Police Department conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. At right is Lizzie Jacob, Principal Secretary, Home. — Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

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

Briefing presspersons after a Police Department conference here, he 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 caused by rash driving. Vehicles should be checked for smuggling of illicit spirit, arms and explosives.

The police should concentrate more on busting large-scale, cross-border smuggling of spirit than chasing petty bootleggers. Cracking down on serious offences, such as illegal extraction of river sand, should be their priority and not hounding people playing cards, the Minister said.

Reception counters

The public should have access to police officials of all ranks. Reception counters would be opened at all 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, a copy of the first information report (FIR) should be given to the person who made the complaint.

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. He said the number of "under investigation cases" was high in Kerala. Charge sheets should be filed in 30 days in all cases, except those requiring opinion from chemical examiners and forensic experts.

Police investigators and public prosecutors should work together to ensure conviction of offenders. A State-level conference of prosecutors and police investigators would be held in Kochi on August 27. A committee would be constituted to amend outdated sections of the Kerala Police Act and Manual.

Several top-ranking IPS officers were serving in posts which had no bearing on actual policing. Kerala had four Directors-General of Police (DGPs), 10 Additional DGPs and 24 Inspectors-General. The Government was thinking of how best their services could be used as policemen.

The Maithri Suraksha scheme, a community policing initiative in Thiruvananthapuram, would be implemented in other cities. Night patrolling would be intensified. Vigil had been stepped up against seditious activities. Special measures were initiated to reduce burglaries.

The police would hold monthly crime conferences at the district level. Proficiency in swimming and water rescue would henceforth be part of the curriculum for police recruits. Nearly 150 officers engaged in law and order and intelligence gathering duties participated in the conference.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page