Bhubaneswar, July 21: Police will screen documentaries at educational institutes, especially the engineering colleges, to sensitise students, so that they refrain from committing crimes such as theft and robbery.

The decision was today taken at a meeting among the cops and officials of various colleges.

A police official said that though they had been conducting cop-student meets, it was not possible on part of the police to conduct such programmes in every college. "So, we will be screening short documentaries, which will tell the students the implications of being involved in crimes and the kind of impact it would have on their future," said the cop.

Students, especially the technical ones, involving in crimes have become a serious issue for the police. On June 15, the police had busted a vehicle-lifting gang and arrested five persons, including two technical and one management student.

The police officials urged the college authorities to maintain a database of students staying in hostels. They also advised the authorities to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the hostels. "We have also advised them to conduct counselling programmes for students at regular intervals. Awareness is the need of the hour to prevent students from committing crimes," said police commissioner R.P. Sharma.

The police have found that students staying in rented accommodations such as paying guests in the city are often found involved in petty crimes. Hence, they also asked the authorities to prepare a database of students staying outside the hostels.

According to the data available with the police, the city has more than 120 educational institutes with more than 1.7 lakh students, of which around 40,000 have come from outside the state.

Last year, the police had released eight short films based on themes such as domestic violence, eve teasing, motorcycle lifting and bank robbery.

The college authorities assured the police of their support. "Most of the time, students get involved in crimes to support flashy life styles. We would conduct counselling sessions for the students to sensitise them," said Ashok Kumar Mishra, head of a private management institute in Cuttack.