Mountain-making out of molehills by police

Minor offences are, by their very definition, minor offences. But the knack of our law-and-order authorities frequently making a mountain out of a molehill seems to be a feature that goes with the police's other frequent shortcoming: making a molehill out of a mountain - that is, not taking serious crimes committed seriously. Take the arrests of youngsters in Bihar and the separate questioning of a bunch of boys in Gujarat last month ostensibly for waving Palestinian flags ahead of a Muharram procession. The charge? 'Attempting to disturb communal peace.' Talk about the dangers of police straitjacket profiling.

The arrests and questionings were made not on the basis of threat perceptions but solely on a complaint against the video recording of the flag-waving. Supporting an 'international cause' by waving a Palestinian flag isn't even a 'minor offence'. No discord was fomented. But the police - themselves stating that the 'boys had no idea of the conflict in faraway Gaza' - overreacted against yet another set of 'soft targets' engaged in a 'trending' activity for many young people across the world.

Old-fashioned ideas of community policing and neighbourhood engagement makes sense. The police, across states, need to be more connected with the communities that they serve. It helps reduce antagonism between law enforcement and civil society, the two speak the same language, helps nip criminals in the bud, and provides young people with a safe space to blow some steam and engage in perfectly legit activities.