Introduction

In ordinary language, a crime is an illegal/unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. Blackstone defined crime as an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law either forbidding or commanding it. The term ‘crime’ does not, in present day criminal law, have any basic and universally acknowledged definition, in spite of the fact that statutory definitions have been given for certain purposes. The people who get involved into criminal acts belong to different categories such as, they may be educated or uneducated, may be wealthy or impecunious in dejected and poverty stricken conditions, they are engaged completely different sorts of occupations such as, white collar jobs, blue collar jobs, minority jobs such as manual work or may be unemployed. They vary on the premise of family backgrounds, religious groups, ethnicity, caste, gender, socio-cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. In most cases, individuals who get involved into criminal and violent acts belong to distraught, disadvantaged and marginalized segments of the society, they are not taught sufficiently and are ordinarily engaged in minority employments. The predominance of crime is frequent in all the societies, whether it is rural or urban societies. It has been observed by many people that a society without crimes and criminals could be a paradise.

It is therefore fundamental to find out techniques/methods to avoid crime, at all costs if possible. The method of prevention ought to begin from the early childhood and continue till adolescence and youth. It is vital to execute crime prevention techniques, there are certain points that have to be compelled to be understood when the government is observing crime prevention techniques. These are, all the levels of the government ought to contribute a leadership role. The following article portrays the need of strong responses of government, NGOs, corporate sectors, citizens of the country and national commitment to a common cause i.e. the prevention of crime.

The crime rate in India has increased drastically over the years with the capital being the centre of the chaos. As per the National Crime Bureau Report 2019, New Delhi had the highest crime rate at 1049 per 1 lakh persons.[1] Between 2016-2018, the total number of First Information Reports/Complaints registered throughout the country was as high as 2.39 crores.[2] These figures indicate that there is large number of criminal activities taking place in the country and also makes us question the role played by the government and other state authorities to curb it.

One group may advocate, the best way to reduce the criminal incidents can be simply by giving stringent punishments to the offenders, because these punishments will act as a deterrent and create a fear in the mind of the felons before they think of committing an offence. If one introspects and look into the various legislations that penalises criminal activities (Indian Penal Code, 1860 and special enactments), it becomes clear that we already have harsh punishments in place for commission of grave offences, but then again, why is it so crime still seems to be rampant in our the society?

Other group may support, we need speedy justice system and to clear the backlog of cases so that the justice can be served within due time without any inordinate delay. One should not forget that it nearly took eight years to punish the culprits of Nirbhaya case. It is because our legal system works on the principle that an accused is innocent unless proven guilty. And even after conviction by the court, the convict will still have the right to file an appeal, revision, review, curative petition and mercy petition (as per the nature of offence). Since our legal system seems to recognise and protect a large number of rights, is the sole reason why it takes years and years altogether for the justice to be served. And this in turn makes the offenders think that, there is no one to hold them accountable and they can easily escape from the shackles of justice.

What we need today, is small measures and initiatives taken by the government and concerned State authorities that can help us reduce the criminal activities throughout the nation. Many people have suggested the youth employment, creation of job opportunities, providing more recreational outlets, and enhancing a sense of togetherness as measures to prevent crime at the community level. Through this article, the author would like to throw light on how to State can prevent crime, some of the suggestions are discussed as under:

1.      Overcome the Rich and Poor Divide:

The divide between the rich and the poor has increased over the years, while the poor do not even have access to basic necessities like food, clean drinking water, shelter, sanitation, etc., the rich seems to enjoy their luxurious lives. Various studies have indicated that, poor people who are not able to meet their basic ends are the ones that indulge into petty criminal offences like theft. The government should take up initiatives to bridge the gap and make sure the resources are available to everyone and to reduce the income inequalities and classism.

2.      Understand That Violence Is Going Virtual: 

Cyberspace is a new domain for violence. This ranges from the use of social media to project force (videos showing assassinations, torture, threats), to recruit would-be members of extremist groups (digitally savvy marketing campaigns, online chat sites), for selling product (deep web), and also for more banal but no less important forms of intimidation and coercion (bullying). Violence is going virtual, and we need to get a much better handle on all of this. We have cyber security cells but they don’t function properly and report offences, it is important for the government to address this issue.

3.      Restore The Faith Of People:

The government should try to restore the faith of general public in the justice system. This can be done by making it easier for different members of the society to approach the police and to register a complaint against any wrong done to them. Moreover, the government should come up with laws and legislations that will give proper police protection to the whistle-blowers, the witnesses of criminal cases and other who report offense. With help of such initiatives people will be able to report the crime fearlessly and without facing any unnecessary repercussions.

4.      Punish The Culprits Of White Collar Crimes:

In in the opinion of the author, the government has done very little to catch the culprits off white collar offences and bring home the justice, this includes various monitory default committed by Vijay Mallya, bank fraud committed by Nirav Modi etc. Though the government has enacted Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 but so far not even once the provision of these acts have been invoked to punish those who have committed money laundering, bank frauds, theft etc. and escaped the country. The government needs to be more proactive and catch the offenders who fall in this category.

5.      Create Awareness Among The Youth

The government and especially Ministry of Law should take up initiatives to educate the younger members of the society and to teach them to be good citizens. We need to educate the youth how not to become victims of cyber bullying and other prevalent offences.

6.      Create Harmony Among Various Religious Groups:

India is a secular nation and treat every religion equally. In the past, there have been numerous incidents where one religion or ethnic group has suffered and the state has failed to protect their rights. The state shall take a neutral approach to safeguard the rights of all the people belonging to various cultural and ethnic groups. This in turn will help in harmonising and creating brotherhood in the society and reducing crime.

Conclusion:

The author would like to conclude by saying that the government plays an important role in reducing the criminal activity in the action and they should take small steps towards the same and play and proactive role. The strategies, guidelines and approaches that are defined in order to lead to the prevention of crime should be particular and the most focus ought to be that each person should follow them as law.