The Goa government on Monday, divided the two existing police districts in the state to four, carving out two new police districts for administrative convenience and maintaining law and order more efficiently. Moreover, this step was undertaken to tackle crimes related to tourists, floating migrant population, as well as dealing with the infrastructure stress caused by constant VVIP arrivals to Goa. “The government of Goa has decided to create two new police districts namely Mapusa and Ponda. Hence, there will now be a total of four police districts with four district Superintendents. This decision will enable better and effective control over law and order, and prevention of crime,” the Chief Minister of Goa stated on Monday.
Tourist arrivals leading to related crimes
At present, Goa has two police districts- North Goa and South Goa. The two additional police districts which have been set up by the state government are Mapusa, in North Goa and Ponda in South Goa.
A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office stated, “The large number of tourist arrivals has resulted in tourist-related crimes and other issues. With Goa hosting many international events and the participants and the visitors coming from the higher echelons of the society, it has put a tremendous strain on the police machinery. Likewise, frequent visits of VVIPs require elaborate police arrangements involving large scale police deployments during their visits.”
The statement further added, “Therefore, in order to handle these situations and keep crime and law and order under control, it is necessary to increase the number of police districts in Goa, so that there is effective control over the crime and security situation and better supervision over the police force during exigencies.”
“The overall security scenario and the upward crime graph needs increase in Police Districts in the state of Goa. Over the years, the role and tasks of Goa Police have expanded and its functioning has become highly complex calling for a higher degree of professional skills and expertise. Moreover, the work opportunities to the people have led to migration which has resulted in the influx of migrant population,” the CMO mentioned further.
With inputs from IANS