Vijay argues individual crimes should not be equated with law and order situation

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Monday argued there was a difference between individual crimes and the overall law and order situation in a State, and that not every crime could be characterised as a law and order issue.

“The outlook towards crime should change. One cannot fix responsibility for a crime on a government, because not all crimes were committed in the last 100 days,” he said while responding to the debate on demand for grants for the Police and Fire and Rescue Services departments in the Assembly.

According to Mr. Vijay, every crime had a reason, which could include family and property disputes, personal enmity and vendetta, drug use, loss of fear of the law during the previous government, the performance of the police under the control of certain individuals, caste identity, inter-caste marriages, and local and political struggles for power.

“That was why, while addressing the SPs’ conference, I said the role of the police should not end with arresting the culprit. The police should act to prevent crime. Each police station should work closely with the people in its area of jurisdiction,” he said.

Mr. Vijay said as society had entered the digital world, cybercrime had become a major challenge across the world. “It is not adequate to equip the police to deal with cybercrime; we also need to create awareness and provide digital skills and education to all,” he said.

Expressing concern over the involvement of students in criminal incidents, the Chief Minister said there was a need to work with their families and provide proper guidance. “Circumstances, lack of care and affection from families, bad company, the impact of social media, lack of awareness about drugs and the urge to project oneself as important were the reasons behind the crimes.

But I do not want to join issue with the Opposition, which seeks to pass the buck and reel out data from 2001 to 2025,” he said. He also contended blaming “drug culture” for the behaviour of students was not a sign of good leadership.

“Our government will not do it. Students have not realised that it has affected their families and they were not properly guided. We have chopped off the branches of drug culture that had grown into a tree. We need to root it out,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said the police had been advised to take immediate action in cases of crimes against women and children.