New Delhi: The fear of a possible third Covid wave is failing to prevent residents from thronging to public spaces and market areas. The recent crime data has thrown up significant spikes in almost every type of crime in the Capital other than heinous ones.
But the Delhi Police now finds itself between a rock and a hard place — to perform Covid-related duties or to increase strategic deployment to curb street crime, burglaries and home invasions. The most recent data showed that compared to 2020, snatchings had increased by 56.2 per cent and burglaries by 39.8 per cent and house thefts by 7 per cent.
But at the same time, crowds at marketplaces in the city have been unavoidable, leading to the closure of many such markets in the last two weeks.
While the Delhi Disaster Management Authority has directed that Market Welfare Associations should be responsible to enforce Covid rules, the excessive crowds have now led to many markets throwing their hands up and pleading with the authorities to let the police handle the crowds.
Amid this, senior officials in the force have confirmed to Millennium Post that the Delhi Police top brass had recently met over this issue and officers were directed to persuade shop owners and market and resident associations to employ enough of their own guards to enforce rules and also be the police's eyes and ears to curb crimes.
"Officers were told that while they are engaged in COVID duties, and pandemic policing, the basic policing duties should not be left unattended," sources aware of the meeting said.
At the time of the pandemic, police personnel were deployed in various market areas to ensure COVID-19 guidelines. If market welfare associations enhance their security system and ensure COVID-19 behaviour, then policemen who are deployed there can be used on streets to curb crime, one senior official said, requesting anonymity.
In addition to persuading market and resident welfare associations to employ as many private security guards as possible to keep an eye on crime amid these rising numbers, the police are trying their best to persuade these associations to use these guards and other means to enforce Covid rules as well.
For this, one senior official said they have told market welfare associations to give a first warning to those people who were violating the guidelines and if they are not following despite it, then they should inform the police for further action.
And as for the rising crime in the Capital amid this pandemic, the Delhi Police have also had to seek as much help from neighbourhood watch schemes, market associations and resident welfare associations.
"MWAs, RWAs were also told to install anti-theft equipment, share information about suspicious activities in their WhatsApp groups in which beat staff should also be a part," another official said.
When asked why burglaries and house thefts had gone up, another senior official said the pandemic and lockdowns had forced many to leave their homes unattended for months together — which criminals took as an opportunity. "People were scared to come out from their houses, so they didn't bother to check what was happening in their neighbourhood. It allowed these criminals to commit crimes," the official said.
Hence, to curb home invasions and burglaries, the Delhi Police have for now decided to ask associations to strengthen the deployment of security guards, to implement the neighbourhood watch schemes, and curb crime together with the community.
Officers have also been told to expand the neighbourhood watch scheme to as many areas as possible.
Not only have house thefts and burglaries increased but street crimes, robberies, motor vehicle thefts and crimes have also gone up. This may also be a reason why the police have asked the associations to step up and help so that the police can focus on solving and curbing other crimes.