Terror threats in Jammu and Kashmir, cyber frauds and activities of pro-Khalistani groups are among the key issues to be discussed at the three-day conference of DGPs and IGPs in Jaipur, beginning January 5.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the country’s top police officers before addressing them at a formal session. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be present throughout the conference that will span several sessions.
Implementation of the recently-enacted three criminal laws, the Maoist problem, inter-state police coordination and issues to be handled during the general elections are some of the other major issues expected to be discussed during the meeting, a Union Home Ministry official said.
About 250 officers in the rank of Directors General of Police (DGPs) and Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) will physically attend the conference while more than 200 others are likely to attend virtually.
Many officers have been tasked with delivering presentations on specific subjects such as counterterrorism, online fraud, cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, activities of pro-Khalistani groups and Left Wing Extremism, among others, the official said.There will be detailed deliberations on how to face all these emerging internal security challenges.
Till 2013, the annual meet had been held in New Delhi.
The following year, after the Modi government came to power, it was decided to hold the event, organised by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Intelligence Bureau, outside the national capital. Accordingly, it was first held in Guwahati in 2014, Rann of Kutch in 2015, the National Police Academy in Hyderabad in 2016, the BSF Academy at Tekanpur in 2017, Pune in 2019.
In 2020, the meet was held virtually during the Covid pandemic and in hybrid mode in Lucknow in 2021. The conference was held in New Delhi in January 2023.
The number of business sessions and topics have increased significantly, with a focus on improving policing in the service of the people.
Before 2014, the deliberations largely focused on national security matters. Since 2014, these conferences have a twin focus on national security as well as core policing issues, including prevention and detection of crime, community policing, law and order and improving the police’s image, among others, another official said.
Earlier, the conference was Delhi-centric with officers coming together only for the meet. Residing on the same premises over two to three days has served to build a heightened sense of unity among officers of all cadres and organisations since 2014, the official added.
Direct interaction of the police’s top brass with the head of government has resulted in a convergence of views on crucial challenges faced by the country and the emergence of doable recommendations, the official further said.
In the past few years, the topics have been selected after detailed discussions with the highest echelons of the police service.Once selected, several interactions on presentations are held before committees of DGPs to encourage participation and incorporate ideas from the field and from younger officers.
As a result, all presentations are now broad-based, content-intensive and carry a set of cogent, actionable recommendations.
Since 2015, detailed follow-up of recommendations of past conferences has become the norm and is the topic of the first business session, attended by the prime minister and the home minister, the official said.
