There is need for more productive relationship among paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies, local police, Army, and local population. Police need to diversify its activities by inculcating technical and professional expertise in maintaining internal security
The recent direction of the Supreme Court regarding the appointment of chiefs of police in States through UPSC is a welcome move towards police reforms in India.
The direction came as a part of hearing on a 2006 verdict on police reforms (Prakash Singh vs Union of India) which recommended a fixed term of minimum two years for the head of police, and lesser political interference.
In past, many important suggestions and recommendations were made on police reforms but more is required to meet the new challenges.
Police are expected to ensure an environment that encourages every individual to feel protected and free to exercise freedom of choice.
Whereas globalisation has provided a concept of global village deeply interwoven in comprehensive view of society, market, freedom, choice, empowerment, peace, opportunities, linkages and politics, its impact has created a socio-political quagmire particularly in developing societies.
Against this background, there has been almost a consensus among nations across the globe to focus on vital linages such as:
* How to link old theoretical issues of policing to the upcoming myriad challenges faced by policeIJ
* How to develop a new analysis of various areas of concerns and tremendous pressure mounting on policeIJ
* What should be the role of police dealing with market forces and how to remain neutralIJ
* To demonstrate how new models of reforms and policing suggested by various commissions can be used in real life with democracy, environment, globaligation and governance.
* To show how new way of policing will drive change and instill confidence into the masses.
* How to emulate latest research in the field of policing across the globe so as to upgrade policing.
As the population grows in India, so does the nature of crime. About 6,692 cases of crime, such as criminal breach of trust, burglary and counterfeiting were registered a few years ago. In such cases, there have been many cases of juvenile crime. The sudden rise in corporate crimes leading to the accused taking shelter overseas, kidnapping, theft and murder, has made the job of police more difficult.
Police being a State subject under Article 246, at times the force becomes a matter of battle of wits. Apart from undertaking counter-terrorist operations, police also have to play a crucial role as protector of the day-to-day law & order. This has increased pressure on them to get quick results. Besides, the prevailing level of dissatisfaction among the subordinate level, police officers have adversely affected the attitude of police towards problems. Police are often asked to fight a low-cost war where the enemy is their own countrymen. Calling police to put down civil disturbances is a tedious job. Many scientific methods and modern changes have been introduced in policing in India ever since the police commission report drafted many years ago.
Police are extremely vital source of security for the community. But this alone will not benefit unless people are sensitised about the achievements of positive policing. Some experts on policing are of the view that the values, attitudes, methods, aspirations and commitment, etc, of these services need overhauling. Some are of the view that the quality and efficiency of the security forces largely depend on their service conditions, cooperation, training, practice, level of interaction with general masses and strict methods of appointment. It is, therefore, in the interest of the Government to recruit and attract personnel of high integrity and great calibre.
For successful training of personnel of paramilitary and police forces, it is important that certain parameters of pre-recruitment education, experience, proportion of insiders and outsiders, methods of recruitment, postings, length of service are reviewed. There is also need for more productive relationship among paramilitary forces, Intelligence agencies, local police, Army, and local population. The implications of certain cases of malpractices adopted by individual police officials have pernicious ramification on policing. But for a few individual cases, it is not good to blame the entire force. Indian police officials in general are known for honesty and dedication, and their love for country is beyond doubt. But in order to doubly ensure the credibility of the police force, the selection of its leaders is very crucial. The Government has made all efforts towards sensitisation of police by inculcating humane approach in policing and introducing study of human rights legislations in training. There are certain suggestions which can go a long way in driving better results for policing: (a) There should be initiative in implementing development plans in consultation with experts from various other branches; (b) Development of capability to anticipate foreboding and security needs; (c) This is possible by conducting specialised courses for monitoring security situations.
Over years, a great deal of literature has appeared on India’s police and need for reforms. Along with former police officials and experts, many scholars have made contributions to the research on the modernisation of policing. These studies have been carried out from various perspectives and aren’t devoid of specific ideologies, including prejudices and distortions.
Our strategic policies should be able to adapt to the challenging environment as well as efficiently implement recommendations suggested by the panels on reforms. But many “experts” hold lack of both political foresight and deep commitment.
Globalisation and its negative implications are putting forward challenging environment for policing. Therefore, police need to diversify its activities by bringing together technical and professional expertise based on many decades of experience in maintaining internal security. In this regard, the following suggestions may be worth considering:
* The need for brief training even during the security operations with a particular emphasis on sensitising personnel to issues relating to human rights, civil liberties, prisoners rights, etc.
* The better management of security development programmes for different levels of police personnel.
* Police officers trained to provide active but neutral leadership to their units.
* Police officers can be trained to take the initiative in implementing development plans in consultation with experts from various branches.
It is high time we realised that police alone cannot stop the crime, the entire society should make substantial efforts towards ensuring safety and security of fellow citizens.
(The writer is a Chandigarh-based Professor of Political Science and an expert on strategic affairs)