Given the current uncertain circumstances, a ‘safe’ city is a prerequisite for all the countries in the world to foster and create an attractive socio-economic and political environment for a citizen.
Access to Safe living is a fundamental human right for every individual. The World Bank and the United Nations, both assert high crime rates as one of the significant barriers to any country’s development. Crime, of any sort, creates a never-ending vicious cycle of instability, misery, economic downturn, and unemployment.
Safety and Security; A Global Concern, India Already Struggling With Security Management
The United Nations records 195 countries at present. Well, no country is free from Safety and Security Issues. However, the crime rate is less or more. If we talk about India, it is one of the top one-third of countries that have the highest security threats.
Presently, India ranks 65th, considering the highest crime rate. The position is fluctuating, but the country could never go below the post. For controlling crime and ensuring safety, a country must have the best Security Management.
As per the reports of January 2020, India was slightly safer in 2018 after the highest security issues in 2017. Since then, it is the same, but the condition is not acceptable to date.
An Insight To Safety and Security Issues in India:
Safety and Security Issues in India were the highest in 2017 when the crime rate was 237.7 ( incidents per lakh population). There was a little dip in the records with its reduction to 236.7. However, there is no improvement in the condition of women or children; it remains the same.
If we compare the results of three decades, the crime rate had a peak in the year 1991. After that, the conditions were getting better until the year 2005. However, the results are disappointing at present. After 2005, the Safety and Security Issues is a rising concern.
The surveys reveal that the crime rate is higher in urban cities compared to rural areas. There are over 53 cities in India, with a population higher than 1 million. Here, the average crime rate is 345.9, which is 58% higher than the overall rate of crime in the country which is 236.7.
Due to the increasing trend of urbanisation, and the rise in population in the megacities, Public Safety and Security are at risk. The issue needs urgent attention, as it is degrading the quality of life in the developed cities of the nation.
List of Crimes and Threats in The Country:
There is not a single crime that we can say does not exist in our country. The list of the prevailing crimes includes:
- Murder and Culpable Homicide (CH)
- Attempt to murder and CH
- Crimes related to document and property
- Significant crimes due to property conflicts
- Theft, burglary, robbery
- Women assaults
- Death due to dowry
- Crimes that physical impact human body
- Infanticide, trafficking, and child labour
- Rapes
- Other Safety and Security Issues as per the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
Not only the list of crimes is high, but the data that reveal the count of actions every minute, hour, day, month or year can break you deeply. Today, we might be safe, but tomorrow??
Several Security Management agencies are working together for public safety and protection, but this is not the responsibility of any individual. Each one of us has to be alert.
Everyone who thinks of social welfare or has the responsibility for the safety of the Citizens of India is progressive. We have:
- Police for the safety of the public
- Disaster management agencies to handle disaster issues
- Fire safety departments
- Public and private firms for healthcare management
- Rules and regulations to ensure road safety
- NGOs working for women and children Safety and Security Issues in India
- Several local, state and national agencies taking care of different sectors
Still, we are lacking. However, the fact is the complaints will never decline until each one takes responsibility of Security Management.
Why Safety and Security Issues is a Primary Concern in India?
Every individual has the right to live with freedom. Be it a child, youngster, or an adult; they should not fear stepping out of their home, irrespective of their gender.
Forget about stepping out; the crime rate in India is so high that we are not even safe in our homes. Females are pushed to death for dowry, lust, and other selfish reasons.
Living in a democratic country, there exist invisible barriers that are still holding us from our freedom.
A father has to think 1,000 times whether or not her girl will be safe after marriage. A mother worries whether or not her teen will return home safely after school or college.
Forget about teens; there are cases that reveal the rape of a 1.5-year-old, a 3-year-old molested in school.
After reading such instances in the newspaper every day, Do we think Safety and Security Issues are not at an alarming stage?
MEASURES TO IMPROVE SAFETY:
It is imperative to take decisive actions to improve safety and security in India. Here, are a few steps that can be helpful for crime management in any country.
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Education:
Imparting Education on safety management against crime of any sort will positively enhance the statistics of people affected annually. Educating families and kids will not only change the mindset of society, but it will also generate profound harmony all around.
- Fast Track Judiciary:
Further, fast-tracking the judiciary system is another efficient way of ensuring timely justice. In doing so, the judiciary will set a strong example and discourage others from committing a crime. Only strict laws with timely implementation of them can solve this grave problem of safety and security issues in India.
Transforming Public Safety:
Security Management initiatives are essential to support the safety of the general and keep them in good health. Within the smart-city industry, there is a brilliant proposal for integrating public-centric services for safety and security into one massive security infrastructure to provide an integrated response against crime.
These safety management services range from traffic management and mass-transport management to policing services, to monitoring the safety and security of critical infrastructure and the safety of people in public spaces.
Here is a list of initiatives already proposed by the smart-city program which could enhance the security framework of Indian society. Some of them are already active in a few cities if not all.
- Video surveillance cameras: Video cameras monitor the city movement to ensure safer public spaces for citizens, especially women and the elderly. Video analytics has the power to detect suspicion, raise alerts and use the video footage for post-investigation purposes.
Given the current progress in technology, it is also possible to integrate the city command operations centre to monitor emergencies and disasters and provide a useful collaborative experience to the user.
- Panic buttons and SoS Apps for smartphones: Provision of panic buttons to trigger alerts to the police authorities in case of danger in public spaces in a novel innovation aimed at helping the common public. These panic buttons can be provided in critical public areas and can be routed back to the police control room depending upon the postcode. Additionally, SOS apps can trigger a similar alert to the police control room and make the authorities aware of the victim’s exact location for further action.
- Remote FIR centres: The first step in making stricter laws are improving the problem at the grassroots level. A lot of times, FIRs (First information reports) are not registered for a range of reasons. Independent kiosks can be placed remotely and irrespective of the location of the crime, the authorities at these kiosks are responsible for taking down the complaints, printing, signing and scanning documents to proceed further to the respective police stations.
- 24×7 Helpline: An emergency 24×7 helpline to raise any issues/concerns or threats to a centralised call centre which can further trigger the police stations or hospitals can save a lot of lives and prevent crime from happening.
- Community Network Platforms: Using social media as an effective platform for creating awareness and educating people against crime is a great way to reach out to the mass and engage with community networks.
Everyone expects more safety and security from the largest democracy in the world. The Indian constitution enshrines safety and security as fundamental human rights for everyone. The country can do absolute wonders in safety management if the political agendas make safety a central focus.
Rework policies, further enhancing democracy and development can introduce a drastic social change. It is time we break the silence, come together and take a firm stand against crime and violence, for a safer civilised society.
Neither you nor I can introduce social upliftment until we consider that Safety and Security is a duty of every Indian citizen.
