Most robbers this year are first timers

More than 1,500 people were arrested for heinous crimes like robbery and snatching this year. Of them 1,400 — 90 per cent — were first-time criminals.

More than 1,500 people were arrested for heinous crimes like robbery and snatching this year. Of them 1,400 — 90 per cent — were first-time criminals.

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To keep a check on crime, every Station House Officer (SHO) will have to prepare a list of 10 suspicious people in their area and keep a tab on their activity, police said.

Apart from the known criminals in their area, the police would identify people who have suddenly accumulated wealth and keep surveillance on their activity.

While replying to a query in the recently concluded monsoon session of the Parliament, Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs M Ramachandran said Delhi Police has been asked to make a list of 10 persons of “doubtful integrity” in every police jurisdiction.

“We would be keeping an eye on people who have suddenly become rich. With our ground-level intelligence, we would come to know whether this wealth was amassed illegally or not,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.

As a matter of routine, every police station maintains a list of people who have criminal cases registered against them. Depending on the seriousness of crime, an area deputy commissioner of police decides who are the people of doubtful integrity who need to be put on surveillance.

On Wednesday, a 17-year-old boy was arrested along with three others for stealing motorcycles in northeast Delhi. Barring one, all of them were first-time criminals, police said. One of them — Amit Nagar — was a student of Zakir Hussain College.

“Effective surveillance on criminals and anti social elements is a big deterrent in curbing crime,” said the officer.