Like any other place on the planet, our country, or, as a matter of fact, our State of Goa is no stranger to rampant incidents of crimes. Criminal activities have become more like non-stop occurrences that all our States have to meticulously tackle, at any point of time.
As far as Goa is concerned, currently the situation is critical with yet another unfortunate criminal act in the form of the Sonali Phogat murder coming to light. Going by the official figures, till June 2022, Goa has witnessed all kinds of crimes – murder, rapes, kidnapping, extortion, flesh trading, cyber-crimes and the like. Goa has also reported as many as 60 to 70 cases of rape, each year.
Speaking of cyber-crimes, the State cyber-crime police department has already registered as many as 25 cases during the first half of the current year compared to 2021, where about 20 cases of cyber-crimes were reported in all. These cyber-crimes mostly revolve around the use of social media where scheming scamsters create fake profiles and make monetary demands from randomly picked people across the web.
No matter what the crime is, Goa has seen it all. Right from the Swapnil Walke murder case to the St Cruz shoot-out incident to the Sonali Phogat incident which has currently taken the state by storm. In this regard, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant stated that the government of Goa is ready and willing to hand over the investigation of the Phogat death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) if need be. According to the Goa Police, Sonali was administered a recreational drug by name Methamphetamine, hours before her tragic death.
The existence of crimes in a society is very natural and unavoidable, to state the least. Crimes cannot be eliminated from society in entirety. However, what can be done is – involve the requisite agencies across the nation in formulating strategies that would prevent criminal occurrences. That move would play a vital role in guaranteeing a safer environment for the citizens of the state as well as the nation!
With regard to India, the crime rate is touching the high heavens, which in turn is elevating the burden on our criminal justice system. Crime, if curbed at the grassroots level, can probably be controlled on a larger scale. It goes without saying that the police play a very crucial role in anticipating and preventing crimes. So, what then can be done to curb these criminal contretemps? Here are a few suggestions:
1. First and foremost, the police need to prioritise and up the ante in their surveillance game. The police have to make their presence actively felt as a result of which a fear is created in the minds of criminals, which in turn, plays the role of a deterrent. That apart, if a crime is caught on camera, it can make the process of investigation and evidence collection much simpler.
2. Crime-related agencies have to shift focus on preventing the possible conditions that could motivate a person to commit a crime. A punitive approach towards crime prevention is a must, besides implementing a thorough method of crime analysis.
3. The laws pertaining to crimes have to be rigorously amended and made increasingly stricter. People have to be trained to stay away from commission of crimes. The best way to do this is to instill a fear of punishment in the eyes of a potential offender.
4. Creation of awareness, especially among the younger generation is very important. The Law Ministry needs to take up innovative initiatives by means of which young members of our society can be educated and taught to become law abiding citizens.
5. The nation has to put in place an effective offender-tracking mechanism containing vital data about the previously convicted criminals to facilitate the police officials in tracking down the chronic offenders.
If crimes are prevented, it is obvious that society as a whole will benefit immensely. The citizens will feel secure, and the justice system will feel relieved while maintaining an overall high-quality life for its people. Hence, curbing crimes is not just the responsibility of the Government or the police, but it should also be the collective concern of the community.
