It has been observed that during the last two years house breakings have been on the rise during the period of Christmas celebration. Last year, during the Christmas week there were about eight house breaking cases in Pendurthi and Kancharapalem area, alone.
To control the crime during this period, the police are gearing up to intensify patrolling, especially during night time.
According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) S. Varada Raju, the offenders can easily identify the houses belonging to Christian families, as normally a Christmas star is hung.
“Most of the family members either go for carol singing or midnight mass during this period and the house breakers take advantage of this scenario,” said the ADCP.
To create awareness among the Christian families, the crime department is working on designing a pamphlet, which would highlight the dos and don’ts and will be distributed at churches across the city.
Giving a few tips on safety, Mr. Varada Raju said, “It is advisable that at least one person remains in the house, when the family members go for carol singing or midnight mass.”
He further added that the neighbours and the nearest police station be alerted about their movement. He also advised that it was always safe not to keep valuables at home during this period.
Talking about the general crime during this year, the ADCP said that there was a significant drop in the snatching cases. “Last year, during the period January to October we had about 183 cases and in this year it has dropped to 130. But at the same time robbery cases have increased from 27 to 37,” he said.
Screening and police verification is no longer restricted to issuance of new passport and for government job aspirants. Screening and police verification or police clearance has become the order of the day. Even private companies are insisting on police verification or police clearance for job aspirants, said ADCP (Special Branch) P.V. Ravi Kumar.
In fact six NCC cadets who were recently selected for the Republic Day parade to be held at Delhi in January, were to be cleared by us on the insistence of the Home Ministry, said Mr. Ravi Kumar.
This apart, an Army officer, from the city, who was recently deputed to the NSG for PM office security, had to be cleared and his entire family was screened, said sources in the SB department.
According to sources, one of the main duties of the SB officials is to regularly screen the security persons, including their family members, who are assigned to the innermost security ring of VVIPs. “The screening is done meticulously for those who are assigned small arms and form the close proximity security ring,” said a SB official.
This apart, a lot of emphasis is now being paid to counter terrorist security drills. After the recently concluded ‘Hamla’, a counter-terrorist security drill jointly organised by the police, navy and the Coast Guards, another drill will be held from December 2, wherein the elite National Security Guards (NSG) will participate. Over 150 NSG commandos are likely to be flown for the simulated drill, which will be held at various locations including vital installations.
