But things must improve in some other areas also for the law enforcers to achieve their goals. First, illegal arms have to be recovered to blunt the firepower of the criminals. Here, success will depend on whether the supply lines of the lethal weapons can be cut off. Recent reports indicate that the arms trade has grown very big in the country. Obviously, the issue has a direct bearing on the crime situation. So police must concentrate on recovering illegal arms and closing the sources of their supply.

Second, the clout of the godfathers has to be curbed as these godfathers are the ones who patronise and protect criminals. The political parties have to initiate the process as most godfathers have political connections which they use to neutralise the law. This has been going on for many years, but the political parties have not yet embarked on any clear plan to deal with it. The problem stems from the fact that musclemen and hoodlums have a role in politics, regrettably though. There is reason to believe that law and order will never improve unless the parties reach an understanding on clearing the political arena of undesirable elements.

Then the limitations of police are also far too conspicuous. The parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry has admitted that criminals outnumber police and outclass them in firepower. However, law and order cannot improve under such circumstances. Then the committee has also pointed out that financial constraints stand in the way of modernising police. But the decision-makers should realise that the slide in law and order is creating insurmountable problems for people, and, as such, the constraints have to be removed with a sense of urgency for the law-enforcing mechanism to perform better.