There is something common about the five or six major crimes reported in the city in the last one year. One conspicuous thing is that most criminals were in their prime, aged between 18 and 28. Besides, they were addicted to vices and pornography and learnt the tricks of the trade from crime serials.
Profiling major crimes such as the recent gang-rape and murder of a middle-aged woman at Yanamalakuduru, the double murder of women on October 14 at Satyanarayanapuram and the slashing of an elderly woman’s throat for gains in June last year, police came to the conclusion that addiction to vices and pornography acted as a catalyst.
Of the 1,100-odd chain-snatching cases, majority of those involved were youth, and many hailed from decent families and were studying in professional colleges. They apparently turned to crime to fund vices such as drinking, gambling and carnal desires, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) M. Ravi Prakash.
According to Mr. Prakash, resorting to crime is a shortcut to fund their desires, and youth tend to take the bait very easily. It is largely owing to rapid changes in society such as easy availability of pornography on the info highway.
Another aspect is the “tutoring role” played by crime serials. In many cases, it was found that the accused not only got motivated to commit a crime but also learnt how to do it and get out of it simply by watching a few crime serials, said Police Commissioner B. Srinivasulu.
Similar to seasoned professionals, in some cases, criminals used gloves to avoid leaving finger prints, spraying chilly powder at the scene of the crime and sending police on a witch-hunt by manipulating cell phone locations. “And, when criminals were questioned about the modus operandi, pat came the reply, crime serials,” said the DCP.
