Do Encounters Reduce Crime ?

Encounters cannot be substitute to a robust criminal justice system.

The popular perception and apparent common sense is that encounters,even if they are fake, help in reducing crime in a region as they instill a sense of fear among criminals and prospective offenders. People also support encounters as they believe that it serves instant justice,specially in India where the criminal justice system,the court procedures are too slow and time taking. Add to that the low conviction rate in India,most of the criminals roam scot free after a certain period.

 

Nothing can be farther from truth than the hypotheses that encounters reduce crime.Lets see why and how.

Prevention of crimes is a tough job. It requires strong vigilance by security apparatus and the police force. But there is no society in which there is zero crime,so the best thing to do is to reduce crimes as much as possible. For that well equipped and accountable police force is needed,which is lacking in India at many places. In a robust criminal justice system there is a belief that if one does a crime,he/she shall be caught and convicted. This fear prevents a prospective criminal from indulging in any delinquent activity. When there is no such apprehension, anti-social elements get emboldened to take a chance and they commit crime.

 

Always remember that-

Security of conviction is more effective than severity of punishment in controlling crime.

When fake encounters are done, public glorifies the police forces as they believe that justice has been served. People forget about the lack of accountability of police force in preventing the crime.

 

Consider the case of Doctor Priyanka Reddy rape and murder case in Hyderabad in 2020. Her parents tried to reach the police in the night when she went missing,but the police did not respond appropriately. Had the police acted in time, she could have probably been saved. Few days later the accused were encountered and the public made heroes out of policemen for delivering justice to the girl. What was forgotten was that such crimes could have been stopped at the first place,had the police in charge of the area been held accountable for negligence.

 

Encounters is an easier job than prevention of illegal activities,and a quicker route to glory and helps the system get away with its responsibility and duty. People forget to ask the police that why did they not act at the first instance itself.

Let’s consider another example of ‘Ankhfodwa kand’ ( Blinding scandal ) in Bhagalpur district of Bihar in late 1980s. The hit movie ‘Gangajal‘ is inspired from the same event in which its shown that the policemen blind the caught criminals using battery acid which they nicknamed ‘Gangajal’, synonymous with ‘Purifying Ganges water’,metaphorically used for water which shall purify the society by ridding it of crime.

But did it really rid Bihar of crime? People are aware of the lawlessness and jungle raj of Bihar in later decades. It neither rid the state nor the district from sinners.

Encounters do reduce crime,but its a very short lived phase.After a certain period of time, the lawlessness and violence of the police apparatus indulging in fake encounters catches up with the society leading to surge in violence.

 

No evidence left against the main conspirator

Cases have also been heard in which the main conspirator of a crime himself gets ‘supari killers‘ encountered, so that no direct evidence is left against him.

It serves as escape route for the main criminal from trouble and the police force from accountability in following ways-

First,  public anger is dissipated, and people assume that police has acted and delivered justice on the spot.

Second, the main conspirator remains free, no evidence against him is left. And he can hire another contract killer to get his work done next time.

 

What if innocents are encountered to dissipate public outrage?

Since there is no chargesheet and no conviction through proper trials in courts, the crime of the accused is not established in the case of fake encounters.

What if the police picks you up from a random place and  encounters you and tells the world that you were the criminal in a particular crime?

Public will celebrate the fake encounter without knowing the exact truth , your family will be stigmatized forever without any fault ,and you will be a dead man. All will believe that you were the criminal, because you won’t be there to prove your innocence. Out of anger against the crime, people will believe the details provided by the police. Public anger will reduce and there won’t be any accountability of the police,until and unless someone takes up the case with the courts. There have been many cases of fake encounters in India in which the innocents were killed.

 

Therefore, a society should never encourage fake encounters but should always demand a fair and faster criminal justice system and an accountable police force.