New Delhi

Will shutters down in Delhi mean crime rate up ?

The traditional causes of somebody taking to crime have practically ceased to matter, observes Prashant Pandey

Even as the sealing process is going on in the Capital, there is a sneaking apprehension all round that unemployment arising out of closing businesses may lead to a sharp increase in incidence of crime. However, experience shows that such drives are seldom the prime factors in contributing to the crime scene.

There is no doubt that quite a few people would lose their jobs and might have to go through a phase of unemployment, but police officers feel this would not necessarily translate into an immediate increase in crime.

According to them, propensity for crime is linked not to employment alone. "Employment could be one of the factors. It may even lead to frustration for a while. But the likelihood of these people taking to crime simply because of unemployment is less," said a senior police officer. "It often depends on the individuals. If they have had criminal tendencies, they might be lured into the world of crime. Also, in so far as violent crimes are concerned, such tendencies run in particular communities and employment, or the lack of it is again not a major factor in them resorting to crime."

For that matter, police officers feel that individuals having such tendencies and equipped with technical know-how may try and indulge in non-violent crimes like cheating and so-called white-collar crimes. But since most of them are already a part of the system, the possibility of their falling out of it is miniscule. And in due course, these people are absorbed back into the system, they feel.

Even in earlier cases, like when the polluting industrial units running in residential areas were closed a few years ago, there was an apprehension of crime increasing by several notches. However, while there were a few incidents of youngsters taking to crime, there was no evidence to suggest that there was a tangible increase in crime due to the closure of units.

Moreover, it is interesting to note that the traditional causes of somebody taking to crime have practically ceased to matter. "In these times, it is not necessarily compulsion that drives people to commit crime. Rather, it is the lure of the money. And barring a few incidents which occur on the spur of the moment, quite a chunk of the criminal world has become very organised," say police officers. Be it the chain-snatching gangs, the gangs of burglars or robbers, or those of auto-lifters, all of them have become increasingly organised in the past few years.

So while there is little likelihood of an increase in crime due to the closing down of businesses, what is also interesting to note is that the traditional definition of crime has undergone a sea change. In fact, those involved in non-violent crimes like vehicle theft and bag-lifting have become organised to such a level that such acts appeal to the youngsters as a lucrative economic activity rather than crime. It is perhaps this blurring of line between crime and "alternative employment" which should be a matter for concern.

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