Calling for a free hand in policing to bring down the crime rate, Kerala High Court judge C.N. Ramachandran Nair has said that political influence needs to be brought down by creating an autonomous authority. He was speaking at the Janamaithri Sangamam Merit Evening organised by Janamaithri Hill Palace Police Station, Tripunithura, on Sunday.
He wondered whether the political leadership would be ready to bring around such a change. Speaking on the concept of Janamaithri, Mr. Ramachandran said that policing should be people-friendly. The fact that the term police instilled fear among the public did not help in actually booking all criminals and creating a sense of security in the society, he said.
Many a time, society found fault with the police and the police too get demoralised, because they did only what their political bosses say, said the judge. "Only 10 per cent of criminals get punished here whereas in the U.S., about 80 per cent gets punished." Addressing children was difficult as they learned from what they see in the society, said Mr. Ramachandran as the merit evening was a gathering of families of children who scored A+ grade in all subjects. Minister for Excise K. Babu, who inaugurated the event, said that the government aimed to protect human rights through better policing. It will endeavour to instill the people's confidence in the police, he said, adding that the student police concept will be widened.
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M.R. Ajith Kumar, City Police Commissioner, presided over the function. Actor Siddique spoke on the occasion and gave away the mementos to 74 meritorious students. Mr.Siddique said that while films were blamed for glorifying crime, films also portrayed that criminals get their due punishment in the end unlike what was happening in the society.