Reduce criminal tendency, stop murders and killings

There is a remarkable quote by world-renowned astronomer Carl Sagan: “Even if you hate someone, you cannot kill him, because even if you search the entire universe, you will never find him again.” There is another saying by someone else who said someone may be an object of hatred to you, but to his family, to his loved ones, that person is their whole world.

These words have largely lost their meaning in Bangladesh today. Where this cultivation of hatred that has begun will end, no one knows. Several recent murders have made the people of the country deeply concerned. In the past six months, incidents of murder, rape, robbery, mugging, and various types of social crimes have increased in the country—this information comes from the analysis of police headquarters' crime statistics provided by the Press Wing of the Chief Adviser. The Press Wing on Monday (July 14) presented statistics of crimes from 2020 to June of the current year.

The Press Wing stated that although various recent reports published in the media suggest that crime has increased this year, which is creating fear and insecurity among citizens. But the statistics do not fully support the claim that crime has risen sharply this year. Rather, incidents of major crimes over the past 10 months have remained similar in nature.

However, analysis of the crime statistics provided by the Press Wing shows that murder cases have continued to rise over the past six months. In January, there were 294 cases filed. In February, this rose to 300. Then in March, there were 316 murders, in April 338, in May 341. And in June, there were 344 murder cases.

Then why is the Press Wing not supporting this claim? According to the Press Wing, an analysis of the crime statistics shows that there is no current wave of major crimes sweeping across the country. Rather, the rates of some of the most serious crimes have decreased or remained the same. Only certain specific categories of crimes have increased. Citizens should remain alert, and at the same time, there must be confidence that the law enforcement agencies are keeping the situation under control—the relative stability in crime trends conveys this message.

It is also unclear to us what the Press Wing is referring to as major crimes. But there is no way to deny that compared to past years, public fear is intense during this time. The Press Wing cannot ignore this fear of the people. Everything cannot be proven by statistics alone. The type of murders and criminal tendencies ongoing now are beyond comparison.

Therefore, we want to tell the government clearly: do not categorise crimes as major or minor or judge them merely by numbers—identify all crimes as signs of dreadful social degradation and neglect by law enforcement agencies. And take appropriate legal measures to reduce these crimes—murders, killings, rapes—from society and the state. Identify the tendency of crime not only through statistics but also by observing the fear in the public mind.