Reintroducing a thing done away with when BS Sidhu was at the helm of State police, Uttarakhand Director General of police (DGP) MA Ganapathy said on Tuesday that as part of decentralisation exercise, district police heads would be empowered to transfer police officers up to the rank of deputy superintendent of police (DSP). However, at the same time, district police heads would have to account for such transfers, he said while talking with the media persons on Tuesday.
Stressing on decentralized policing, Ganapathy said that power concentrated in a centre often proves detrimental as far as quality of policing is concerned. “I am convinced that decentralising power would go a long way in making the police department more accountable from top down. There would be the least of interference from the police headquarters in the day-to-day working of the district police,” he said.
Dwelling more on the matter, the State police chief said that the district police heads would be empowered enough to take decisions independently. However, in the same breath, he said that they would have to account for their actions.
“They would be held answerable too for the crimes and other law and order problems that befall their districts. Such a plan would definitely encourage them to prove themselves equal to the responsibilities being reposed in them,” he said, adding that the mission with which he has been working is to make police more accountable and also to make people happier with policing.
“Empowering the district police heads is the beginning of a new process being set into motion. They would not just appoint police officers up to the rank of circle officers. They would also take action against any officer found indulging in irregularity in their jurisdictional limits. However, the district police chiefs would be accountable for their decisions. I have no doubt that the mechanism would augur well for policing as a whole,” he said.
Earlier, the power to transfer the DSPs rested with the police headquarters. Things happening now were due as some of the district police heads had earlier expressed reservation over PHQ’s power over the matter of the transfer of the DSPs. “This step was long overdue. We are sure, it would help police from the district to PHQ show more efficiency and dedication to their duties. It would definitely help the crime graph come down considerably in the districts,” said a senior police officer based in Haridwar.