In recent times, the police do not appear to be concentrating more on crime prevention, the Madras High Court has lamented.
It has highlighted the importance of preventing offences as far as possible than focusing on developing an efficient investigation system to nab the criminals after the commission of offences.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam made the observations while dismissing a batch of writ petitions filed by three sub-inspectors of police in 2016 and 2017 seeking a direction to the Home Secretary and the Director-General of Police (DGP) to shift them from the Armed Reserve police to the law and order wing as it was done in the case of their colleagues.
‘Rightly rejected’
The judge held that the request of the petitioners had been rightly rejected since they had suffered punishment in departmental proceedings initiated against them on various charges. He pointed out that the prime criterion for being shifted to the law and order wing was that the police officer concerned must have an unblemished record.
The judge also issued a generic direction to the DGP to ensure that only men and women of high discipline, integrity and honesty were shifted to the law and order wing since it plays a pivotal role in protecting the fundamental rights of citizens and made certain observations related to the virtues to be possessed by policemen.
“Discipline, honesty and integrity are the need of the hour in the police department, more specifically in the law and order wing. There are large-scale allegations of collusion and receiving ‘Mamool’ (bribe) by police personnel. If personnel who lack integrity are posted in the law and order wing, it will have direct impact on society,” he wrote.
The judge went on to state, “In recent times, prevention of crimes is lacking... This is the right time to work out modalities for effective prevention of crimes in society. No doubt, investigation skills are also an important factor, but if prevention is effectively made, then commission of crime and investigation would be minimized.”
