Policing for a better future

The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have caused great consternation. One of the functions of the commission outlined there is to “indicate the factors which are tending to retard economic development, and determine the conditions which, in view of the current social and political situation, should be established for the successful execution of the Plan.” The commission started with undertaking planning for the core sectors such as agriculture, education and industry, but it has since moved on to other sectors that include information technology and women’s empowerment. While government plans have evolved to cover many fledgling sectors, there has been no effort to look into the social and economic security aspects of planning. This sector should set national objectives and provide assured resources—funds, manpower, equipment and training—for policing and encompass crimes, crimogens, criminal justice system, police organization, correctional services and judicial service. In most developed countries, an annual Crime Victimization Survey is conducted to give a more realistic and actionable picture of crime—estimate the number and types of crimes not reported to the police, identify people most at risk, and map public attitude towards crime and towards the CJS.