On why police are a joke when it comes to catching thieves

KOCHI: While the city police are cats in catching those who drive without seat belts, helmets or indulge in drunk driving, when it comes to the real thing, the men in khaki will even put Tom in the Tom & Jerry cartoon series to shame.
Take the case of housebreaks in the city: Compared to the first five months of 2013, the number of burglaries in houses has seen an 82% jump this year.From 34 cases in 2013, the figure has climbed to 62 in the five months in 2014.
For the same period in 2014, the city reported 40 such cases. As per data provided by the police, 88 housebreaks were reported in 2013 as against 90 such cases the previous year.
The number of housebreaks and thefts at night has doubled in the city in the last five months. It went up from 22 cases till May 2013 to 45 cases this year. Meanwhile, only 29 such cases were reported in the first five months in 2012. Housebreaks during daytime have also registered a minor increase, from 12 cases in the first five months of 2013 to 17 this year. The city had witnessed 11 housebreaks in 2012.
In the last 45 days, two major housebreaking and theft cases occurred in the city, in which a total of over 42 sovereigns of gold were stolen. While the first case was reported from Palarivattom in May, the second case happened in Nettoor on June 13. In the first, 30 sovereigns of gold were burgled from a house in Palarivattom at night, while in the second, 12 sovereigns of gold were stolen during daytime. So far, the city police have not made any progress in both cases.
City residents blamed lack of patrolling by beat officers of the Jana Maithri project for the increase in house thefts. "Patrolling should be intensified. It won't be possible for the police alone to check housebreaks and thefts. It requires a coordinated effort by the police and city residents. But police should take the initiative for the same," said K G Panicker, general secretary, Residents Association Apex Council, Ernakulam.
According sources with the police, most cases of housebreaks involved mostly thieves from Tamil Nadu. "Earlier, it was easy to identify those who were involved in thefts by examining the modus operandi. But it has become difficult as culprits are mainly from Tamil Nadu," said a police officer.
Meanwhile, city police commissioner K G James denied that there was any spurt in housebreaks and thefts in the city. "In a bid to check theft cases, we have been conducting regular night patrolling across the city and vehicles are being checked strictly at night. Activities of those who were involved in theft cases in the past are also being monitored," he said.