Crime is the biggest bane that has existed in the society which has been prevailing since the beginning. Crime is a bewitch. Sometimes it is the indolence of the government but sometimes it’s the evils of society that bewitch crime and people get influenced to it. Crime has been defined under four stages as per the legal scholars that is it starts with the intention of the wrongdoer. This stage is also regarded as the very first initial stage of crime in which one develops the negative feeling for others to cause them any sort of harm that can result in Physical. Monetary or Emotional harm. To make the situation ameliorate in the society, the government has to take up modern solutions to curb the uprising and prevailing crimes and crime rate. It is not unfathomable to understand the mechanism of the criminal person. According to the legal studies and oxford dictionary, a person who performs a criminal act and is of sound mind is regarded as a criminal. What makes criminals rapturous to commit such acts? Why are they very fervent to commit crime?
Criminals are anaxiphiliac in nature with crime. Crime is that wrongful activity which might be done in fear, an compelled situation or any other reason but drags a person by giving him/her thrills of its nature. Government should adopt such measures that can develop rectitude in criminals. And through such measures the criminals can recuperate themselves. Therefore, crime is classified as frenemy.
What Makes a Person Criminal?
According to the report of NCRB {National Crime Records Bureau} the crime rate in India has escalated from 383.5 in 2018 to 383.8 in 2020. According to per 100k population the crime rate is 2.95. That comprises crimes of heinous and non- heinous nature.
Any ordinary man can convert his innocence to criminality as per his circumstances. There are various factors that affect and promote crimes. Sometimes it is the incapability of crime controlling authority that their inefficient efforts compel a person to take law in his own hand and sometimes a man commits a crime to get financial aid due to his poor living and sometimes it is his vigorous actions drawn out by any immoral act that makes him a criminal.
Delay in the justice system vandalizes life of many undertrial prisoners that are actually innocent and promotes the urge to commit crime to seek revenge from all the people whose actions that person is facing such a hard life. The Lives of such people come to an end because this mediocre society has prejudice against people who once get arrested and this society snatches every opportunity from them to start a new life. These victims of an inefficient judicial system not only undergo the false conviction but also undergo a punishment that is labeling of their image and name with a tag of evil of society.
Another factor that makes a person criminal is the urge of getting dominance and fame in the society and the urge of getting power equivalent to that of the constitution on their own. Committing crimes for money and fame is the oldest factor that makes a person criminal. Being brought up in a poor family and getting exploited by the privileged one develops the roots of crime in the person. Also, the surrounding matters a lot as in the case that a person is brought up in the family in which crime is prevalent then the person gets crime genes inherited into him but this is not absolute but exceptions do exist.
Uncontrolled hormonal mechanisms and boosting up of negative hormones can increase the urge of causing harm. Uneducated people have the urge of committing crimes as reported in the survey of NCRB report of 2019.
Types Of Crimes
As per the magnitude of crime it is classified under non- violent and violent crime. Those crimes which do not cause physical injury but any injury other than physical in nature are called non-violent crimes. This includes crimes like- assault, cybercrime, harassment, hazing, robbery, burglary, theft etc. According to the Indian Penal Code these crimes are punishable.
Those crimes which cause physical injury to any person are considered as violent crimes. Such crimes include- Murder, attempt to commit murder, culpable homicide, rape, riots, dacoity arson, dowry death, kidnapping, abduction etc.
Furthermore, there are various sections in the Indian Penal Code to punish these offenses and crimes. Irrespective of the nature one of the most appropriate functions is that any person other than the victim of such crime can report the same to the police authorities. And those offenses that are considered to be heinous in nature are seen as committed against the society and hence the case following the same has the first victim as the State.
In India crime against women is plaguing the society. There are numerous reported cases to the police and many cases are pending for the adjudication before the court in the matter pertaining to rape, dowry, dowry death, cruelty against daughter in law, unnatural sex and many more.
Reporting of The Crime
In India the overall number to report a crime is 100 which is used across the country. Secondly, digitalization can be seen as the new era where through its help people can register E-FIR through their home by reporting the crime. Also, they can manually go to the police station to report the crime. Some offenses can be cognizable and non-cognizable in nature. If in case police authorities are not cooperating to register F.I.R then the victim can seek the court of Metropolitan Magistrate to record his statement. Under section 154 of Cr.P.C the F.I.R can be lodged without any preliminary investigation.
Pertaining to crime against women-
In case of rape any women can seek registration of F.I.R under any police station as a way of Zero F.I.R in which the F.I.R would be transferred to the police station where the offence took place.
In case of quashing of the F.I.R one has to move an application before the High court to quash the same on the ground of settlement.
Measure for The Prevention of the Crime
In order to curb the crime in the society the government has to implement various strict and necessary measures. Such measures include various provisions as per types of crime.
Discussing non-violent crime then the government should provide strict penalties to the preparators that may include auction of their personal property or high rate of compensation as compared to current rate of compensation. Such crimes which cause loss to the victim which is generally monetary in nature have to be dealt with extremely exorbitant compensation by the wrongdoer and for rehabilitation he may be sentenced to be behind bars to learn ways to earn money. Such stringent actions will set an exemplary example for others to restrain themselves from doing such offenses.
Saudi Arabia has one of the stringent laws and punishment for the crimes and this reflects the positive outcome in their crime rate survey. Offenses pertaining to women should be punished with highest punishments but only when the investigation can be guaranteed as just and highly fast. Also, there must be no taboo in discussing sexual activities by educating school students about sex in teenage to avoid their eagerness to explore the opposite gender which becomes sometimes non-consensual and amount to rape.
Death penalties can never be the solution then letting people realize what they have vandalized. Granting of life imprisonment sentences may also preserve the further future thinking of the preparators but also will save some who have been prosecuted and convicted maliciously.
Starting up many social awareness programs in schools and colleges will lead to slow eradication of crime from society and also social education on stereotypical and prejudiced topics.
Installation of complaint boxes at colleges to report crimes will affect the crime rate as it will develop fear in the criminal mind people to stop such activities at the right time to avoid the trouble of being penalized.
By performing social awareness drives to avoid the corrupt government officials to misguide and seek unauthorized money from poor and unaware public. These drives may include the social discussion on how to file any F.I.R.
Establishment or expansion of lower courts which will lead to higher disposal of cases that will not only increase the belief of people in the judicial system but also will decrease crime rate and convict the real offenders and preparators.
Also, the government should provide free legal aid camps on a regular weekly basis at slum areas and schools to educate people and also if they follow up the same in schools then the children will know their rights prior to the actual time they know when any mishap happens with them and remains unreported.
Conclusion
For eradication of crime there is an urgent need for a proper mechanism of following the constitution and bridging the gap and fear of the public from the authorities and awakening them of the rights as soon as possible.
This article is written by Yuv Sharma of Hamdard Institute of Legal Studies and Research, Jamia Hamdard.