Date:22/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/22/stories/2008102252420300.htm

Kerala

People urged to be vigilant

Staff Reporter

U.P. police chief delivers Frontier Lecture at Calicut University

Call to lay more stress on community policing
‘Take up research to identify local patterns in crimes’

MALAPPURAM: Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Syed Khalid Rizvi has called upon the people to be proactive in maintaining law and order.

Delivering the 36th edition of the Frontier Lecture at Calicut University on Tuesday, the police chief said that with crime rate on the rise, people should be more vigilant and circumspect. It is not always possible for the police to prevent crimes, especially with added responsibilities of modern times, said Mr. Rizvi. According to him, community policing is the answer to the challenges of law and order posed by modern times.

Community policing has gained currency all over the world. “It has been successfully implemented in countries like the U.S., Japan and Singapore,” he said.

Winner of national awards for excellent service, Mr. Rizvi said that a criminal would also be professional with distorted values and he or she would do their job with sound planning. The criminal may also be a specialist who rarely goes beyond the area of his or her specialisation.

In most cases, it is the vulnerable who falls prey to the traps of the criminal, he said, adding that people should be made aware of the security risks in their surroundings and neighbourhood, and encouraged to provide tips to the police to avert major crimes.

Mr. Rizvi stressed the importance of research to identify local patterns in crimes.

C. Rajendran, convener of Frontier Lecture series, welcomed the gathering. T.M.A. Jaleel, head of the Department of English, proposed a vote of thanks.