Combating crime

An example of how resources are being diverted and time and energy lost can be found in the way police are chasing a known criminal in the city--Kala Jahangir. No fewer than 156 people have been arrested as police suspected them to be the wanted man. The unusually high figure might be an indication of the enthusiasm that police have about nabbing him, but it also gives a dismal picture of intelligence gathering. After all, the trial and error method is not suitable for tracking a criminal. It is not clear how could a most wanted man reduce himself to a needle in the haystack.

Intelligence failures, then, are far too obvious and that brings us to the issue of modernising the police force still reliant on outdated weaponry and primordial intelligence. It transpires that Tk 803 crore is needed to modernise the police force to a level of effectiveness. They need fast-moving vehicles, modern weapons and a sound communications system to face the criminals. Judging by the yardstick of the new figures that are added to the revised budget of the ministries, it should not be particularly difficult for the government to cough up the money that police need. Obviously, law and order has reached a critical stage and the investment needed to set things right has to be made on a priority basis.

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But no less important is the unalloyed will on the part of the administration to check the slide in law and order. The will must also permeate the level of enforcement operatives on the ground. Most of the criminals have 'backward political linkage' which is a heavy counterweight in the investigation into the cases against them. Matters must improve appreciably in this area before that will to combat crime can be translated into concrete action.

Since the problem is known, and so is the solution, the government should act with a sense of purpose and determination to blunt the force of criminality.