Taking note of growing instances of crime in metro cities, including against women, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday called for institutionalising community policing.
He said the concept of community policing "not only helps in the prevention and detection of crimes but also encourages citizens to associate themselves voluntarily with the local police in solving neighbourhood problems…."
Addressing a conference of DGs of Police here on Saturday, the Prime Minister, referring to the December 16 gang-rape in Delhi, said there were rising expectations of the people from the police in preventing such crimes. He called for putting in place more institutional mechanisms to ensure the safety and security of women and children.
Extending greetings to members of the Intelligence Bureau on completion of 125 years, Singh congratulated officers for various achievements leading to key arrests in terror-related cases.
However, noting the rise in communal incidents, the Prime Minister urged the State DGPs to ensure that their police forces act in the required manner in preventing communal tensions and dealing with them once they take place. "I expect all State DGPs to discharge this responsibility fully," he added.
Pointing at the misuse of social media, Singh cited instances of the clashes in Muzaffarnagar which were fanned by pictures from another country and the disinformation spread through these means leading to the mass exodus of people belonging to the North-East from Karnataka.
"It is widely accepted that social media facilitates exchange of knowledge, information and ideas and can be used for constructive purposes. Therefore, in preventing its misuse we need to find creative solutions which do not unreasonably curb the freedom of expression and the ease of communication that social media does provide," the Prime Minister said.