The Recovery Path
Project “Reclaming the subway System”
David Gunn was appointed the subway director. He was told not to worry about trivialities like graffiti but to focus on bigger challenges like crime. But Gunn was a different character.”The graffiti was the symbol of the collapse of the system” he would say. Gunn drew up a new management structure and a precise set of goals and timetables aimed at cleaning the system line by line, train by train.
Gunn’s graffiti cleanup took 6 full years. 84-90. The strategy cost them some money and effort. But it was worth it in the end.
At that point the Transit Authority hired William Bratton to head the transit police. Bratton was also like Gunn, a disciple of Broken Windows.
With felonies on the subway system was at an all-time high, Bratton decided to crack down on fare evasion. Because he too believed that fare evasion was a small expression of a disorder that invited serious crimes.
Bratton’s idea was to signal that the transit police was now serious about cracking down fare beaters and he did all that was possible to convey that to the law breakers. His insistence to run a check on all those arrested for fare evasion yielded a crucial byproduct. It gave lot of clues about the crimes committed by those ticketless commuters and helped in prevention of crimes.
Rudolph Giuliani, the Mayor of New York in 94 appointed Bratton as the head of the NYPD. As his style, Bratton started off with “quality of life” crimes and moved on to catch the big sharks. The result is there for all to see now.
This strategy makes lot of sense. It virtually prevents further degradation. And this helps in prevention of crime.
When we apply this to Indian context, this theory makes even more sense. When is the first time when an average Indian feels,’anything goes in india’? I bet its when he uses his roads. We can see the price we pay for using the roads the way we want here.
And mind you these are official figures.
Over a period of time, we get desensitized to the number of mistakes we make. First time an Auto driver jumps a signal, he should have felt a tinge of guilt. If only he was punished promptly then and there, he would not be jumping signals as a matter of routine.
Project Punjab
What was punjab in the 80s? How far has it recovered from those years of brutality?
The fact is Punjab is a normal place, the place it once was. For a more detailed, elaborate account of the Punjab crises, please read this
It certainly did not require a Gandhi to make this tranformation. One normal, sensible police officer who had as much to crib about about political interference, corruption, lack of infrastructure, inadequate weapons to the police force to combat terrorism could achieve this.
It is a misconception to think that India needs another Gandhi, JP to clean the system. If we are not ready to clean our toilet, why do we expect some Mahatma to do that for us?
Once the minor lawlessness are tackled with severity. The bigger crime dons will be deprived of new recruits. This can shake the very foundation of the rowdy culture.
But what is happening is the very opposite in India. A petty criminal is patted, encouraged, told through all the cues that he is the smart one who has figured out the way things work and then when he grows too big for the system, he is hunted using the name of “encounter”. He is seen as a martyr slain by the police. This, if anything lures more youngsters to the path of crime.
Is not a Veeramani and Veerappan a product of the system which encouraged them to go the way they wanted to and then were killed by the same system through the “encounter”. Is not the system responsible for letting them go scott free for so long? And it does nothing to prevention of lawlessness in the first place.
After 30 years, after losing valuable forest resources and after losing some 130+ people(again official figures), a criminal is killed in an “encounter”.
If those police officers deserved substantial rewards then every tax paying citizen for 3 years deserves a reward too. Why not?
For the long term solution, all the social and economic aspects should be taken into.
Law enforcement will have immediate effect but with no tactical approach, it soon losses its sting.
Those remaining honest Indians need some big time encouragement for all their deeds which goes unrecognised. When was the last time we celebrated some good effort by someone. “Ah, idhile yedho vishayam irukku, illene edhukku ivan ivlo velai seyyanum?” is the cynical response.
In a country where the black money economy is bigger than the accounted one, the government thinks nothing about increasing the taxes for the hapless salaried class but goes about with a VDIS for all those tax evaders.
I for one firmly believe in the power of positive reinforcements.
Both punitive measures and positive reinforcements - something to celebrate about should be celebrated, should go hand in hand.
Law enforcement brings immediate, visible change. Positive reinforcements brings about real change but it takes longer to manifest. One cannot exist without the other.
India is a system which continously conveys it does not pay to be honest and skilled but it pays rich to be dishonest and corrupt.
To sum up,
Petty crimes should be dealt with severely, to dissuade further degradation.
The honest lot, the invisible minority should be given something to cheer about.
Each of us are responsible to accomplish this change.
We need what Narayana Murthy calls the “Greater common good” factor in mind.
And the way to go is the carrot and stick approach.
Note:
I am obviously not an expert in criminology or social psychology or police. But this is my perception as a commoner. Rather than cribbing that everything is wrong in India, i did some reading to see how worse situations were tackled in a democracy and what can be done.
July 19th, 2005 at 11:08 am
prabhu karthik
I agree with you on the facts you have posited to advance your argument. it is true that indifference to lawlessness is tantamount to aiding and abetting it. how are we to get this across to people who are scared that they will pay dearly if they speak the truth? how do we get rid of the tentacles of organised lawlessness which hold the very apparatus of the law in a vise like grip?
you haven’t answered my questions completely ( of course you have stated that it is a part of your post)
what about generativve factors.
finding solutions to ultimate causes is easy but the proximate causes function always out of reach.
to bring about order in a democracy like India we need enlightened leaders who can clean up the mess left by their predecessors. even if each citizen were to reform there are chaps who think they are not ordinary citizens, what to do with those?
yes we need not another mahatma, why expect one man to solve our problems, when collective effort can achieve the results more quickly. good idea, something like the moral and legal equivalent of distributed processing I guess.
we can debate on and on without any actual change happening in the world
again I must quote the mahatam
you must be the change you desire to see in the world.
I do not know whether you’ll agree with my point of view but this is what I feel.
another solution would be a strong drive to eradicate poverty by conducting a complete check on what’s causing it in a country like ours, and of course once this is done inculcate respect for dharma in all members of the next generation.
July 19th, 2005 at 11:26 am
anand,
i agree that i did answer yr queries fully. koncham velai.no nerayave velai.
i thught i’d out up this post.
innnum unga comments fulla olunga padikalai.
more on this later.
July 19th, 2005 at 12:24 pm
it shud be “i did n’t answer…”
July 19th, 2005 at 1:49 pm
PK, ppl like jp or gandhi we don need, but we need someone who has balls (sorry for the usage) someone who can stand up to the system,
guilliani is credited wit turnin NY round. he is a man like u n me. a man on the street. if we will take the trouble to fight the system then itll change. (why restrict ur arguementto criminals)
simple question, how many of us wud be willing to get work done from a government office without paying a bribe? even if it means goin to tat office 10 days for somehting tatll get done in an hour?
frankly id rather pay the 100 bucks and leave the place, id probably spend more than 100 bucks on just travelling.
that is where the problem is, no one wants to take the intiative. and if one person refuses to pay the bribe, things mite not change, but if a majorit refuse things ll change.
the question is how to make a majority whod rather pay a bribe even though it hurts their conscience, not pay the bribe. this is where an external force is needed in the form of a leader.
PK, oru personal question, will u stop bribing a cop, or in any govt office? even though it may take 10 days to get the work done?
just like they say charity begins at home, change also begins with the self
July 19th, 2005 at 2:45 pm
there are clearly some areas, where law if it can be enforced, will bring a visible change.
believe me, there are N number of good police officers. traffic eduthukko, seargent niruthina stop pannraanga, fine potta katraanga. it hurts. they crib. but still they do. most of the guys go. my point-is make it strict and fair.make it zero tolerance. routine measures olunga panninaale 50% lawlessness kurayum.
i talk abt crime and lawlessness bcos there are no grey areas in it. first adhai handle pannina, we can stretch it to all walks of life in due course.
if u go against a corrupt hi fi big politican first thing, u will be tranferred.
if u ask me, for the sake of greater common good, i will not put down my life. but if it will require a few hrs of waiting, a few simple punishments i’d take.
i had taken it.i can support someone enforcing the law. at least i wont disturb anyone.
i am not alone. there are lot of guys like u and me who want do that. but its just that we might look stupid in these days.
So we dont follow the rules.
there is always a first time. afterwards it bcomes a practice, a tradition.
this is the way it works.
dont be under the impression that if we join politics or if someone really good comes india will change.
first point, if some one enters without a strategy and perpsective, he will be sucked into the system no matter how good he r she is.
A strategy, a history of how things have been reversed elsewhere can be really helpful.
i have assumed that there are eager people like u and me who are in positions of power and who are frustrated. I think by and large thats a fair assumption.
they can impplment small changes for hughe better results.
July 19th, 2005 at 3:11 pm
sometime back,
the police cracked down on RTO office across the state. can anyone go on a fast for a raid in an RTo office?
well at least no one did.
straightaway bihar, laloo laam thirundhanum na thirundhaaddhu.
make states which are already good even better. slowly start moving towards real issues. by that time u can build a sizeable public opinion.
sehwag ada vanda udane bowl poanna McGrath kupduviya or new spinner kupduviya?
it took 50+yrs for india to rot. recovery is also going to take some time.
July 19th, 2005 at 7:45 pm
there is still some hope..the invisible minority will carry the torch…lack of discipline is the main concern and also that the law favours only the rich….
uma
July 19th, 2005 at 7:58 pm
uma,
lets hope for the best
July 19th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
excellent points Karthik
And thanks for your kind words.
(I have blogrolled you, Mukund aka Thennavan unngala pathi neriya sollirukkar)
July 19th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
hey…i liked ur views on cho trying 2 offer solutions and the parallel’s u draw…loved the one on manjarekar esp…just one slight suggestion…make ur posts a little shorter…otherwise they are awesome!!!
July 19th, 2005 at 8:11 pm
Ganesh
kind words ellam illai. that work was awesome i say.
i am never diplomatic/generous with praise unless something truly deserves praise.
hope thennavan did not say any facts about me. chey chey irukaadhu, irundha neenga comment ipdi panna mateenga:)
July 19th, 2005 at 8:12 pm
siddharth
thanks man.
sometimes i get carried away.
after writing for hours, when we should cut some paragaraphs to make it shorter.. er its like cutting a fully grown tree.
but i agree it shud be trimmed.
July 19th, 2005 at 10:37 pm
Good thoughts PK.Do u remember the flash back court scene in “Anniyan” where Nedumudi Venu lists the people who are all should be punished? We should have a law system that deals with the core of a problem.Obviously that should be implemented
July 19th, 2005 at 11:09 pm
Good points PK, It is difficult to strictly enforce any law in a big democracy like India. I know a good IPS here, he was a former DIG of Hydrabad. He used to tell how hard it is in the profession. He often used to get “transfers”. What can one do if there is a hole in the middle ? I always believe reform should come from the root. Trying to close the hole in any other place than the root will only make it to appear in some other place.