Safer Guwahati through police-public cooperation

Crime data released by the Police Commissionerate, Guwahati, revealed an encouraging picture of significant decline in crime cases in 2025. The official data shows that crime cases in the city declined by 38% as compared to overall crime cases registered in 2023 which is commendable. The shocking robbery on Monday night in the city’s Ganeshpara area by an armed masked gang and rising incidents of chain and cell phone snatching in different localities have sounded alarm bell that crime management in the city needs to focus beyond statistical accounts of registered cases, arrests, recoveries and seizures. As the city is expanding fast, both horizontally and vertically, efficient crime management is not possible with limited strength of police personnel. The citizens playing their part in community policing against suspected elements and anti-socials is crucial to facilitate the city police focus more on busting more criminal gangs to make the city safer. Ironically, the neighbourhood watch by residents of each locality did not evolve into an everyday practice despite initiatives taken by the city police from time to time, which allows the criminals to roam free even in broad daylight. The criminals are aware of the rising burden on city police stations on account of rising resident and floating populations, static guard duties for VIPs, crime investigations and production of arrested and charged criminals in courts, cybercrime investigation, etc. and indulge in crime. Despite a decline in cases, the city registered as many as 5,786 crime cases in 2025, which is indicative of the load of crime investigation and associated court proceedings on the city police. Many houseowners ignore the city police’s repeated appeal to owners of rented houses to inform the local police station about their tenants’ details. Keeping the local police station updated about the tenants is essential to help police detect presence of any suspects in the city from other parts of the state, region or outside the region. The busting of ATM card-swapping fraudster gangs and arrest of gang members hailing from different states from different areas of the city speak volumes about such gang members hiding in the guise of tenants. Neighbourhood watch activities can start from such basic responsibilities as updating tenant details at the local police station by owners voluntarily or neighbours reminding the owners to share the details of the tenants before they start living in the rented house. Often, some house owners fail to notice any suspicious activities of their tenants observed by other residents in the neighbourhood. In such a situation, it is the responsibility of residents in the neighbourhood to alert the landlord and local police station so that police can take timely action and house owners also take precaution to prevent crime by such suspects hiding in the guise of a tenant. Once the residents in a neighbourhood ensure that no tenant or resident is indulging in any suspected criminal activities, they can focus on the movement and activities of the floating population in their localities. Residents of a locality remaining vigilant against strangers loitering suspiciously or unfamiliar bike-borne individuals waiting idle along bye-lanes and alerting police about such suspicious movement can go a long way in preventing snatching incidents significantly, provided the local police station is also responsive and acts promptly. Such initiatives of pro-active neighbourhood watch by residents can be sustained only when city police intensify patrolling to cover arterial roads and different ward localities. Mere constitution of the police station level Nagrik committees or improving police-public liaison cannot make the city safer if every single resident is not vigilant against suspected individuals and groups. Confidence of city residents in neighbourhood watch role must stem from instances of police apprehending criminals by acting on information provided by conscious public in different localities about drug peddling, snatching and other crime incidents. Residents of gated, multi-storeyed apartment communities find night vigils easier with the deployment of trained security guards. In contrast, individual households in an open locality remain vulnerable to robbery if police patrolling is not adequate during evening and night hours. It is crucial for the city to find a pragmatic solution to this problem in order to make residents feel safer. In some areas, experiments of hiring trained security guards for night vigil were carried out, but the high fee charged by agencies made it difficult for many households to share the cost, and it could not be sustained. The pragmatic solution is to increase night patrolling by the local police station, but the police commissioner must get adequate funding from the government, for mobility is essential for uninterrupted patrolling. The residents strictly adhering to Dos and Don’ts periodically issued by the city police for household and neighbourhood security is  equally crucial.The residents keeping their eyes open during the day and the police intensifying uninterrupted patrolling after dusk can make Guwahati a significantly safer city.