MONTHLY FEATURE : POLICE AND SECURITY  APRIL, 1994

As a gregarious animal, man has a natural instinct to gravitate into groups and he finds assurance of safety, self-confidence and comfort, while being in them. Democracy, being the Government of the people, by the people and for the people, recognises this natural instinct by guaranteeing the right of peaceful assembly to all its citizens. Expression of dissent also being a democratic right, how a democracy manages dissent and handles large assemblies of citizens, judges the quality of that democracy. Since these are closely interwoven with basic Human Rights, the survival of democracy often depends upon its capacity to manage and deal with crowds without violation of Human Rights.

A mass of people going about their chosen business do not become a crowd. To become a crowd, a large assembly of people should have a common point of interest arousing in them similar ideas and emotions. Behaviour of human beings are conditioned by series of sets of instincts and emotions. Crowd behaviour is largely dependent on which sets of emotions or instincts are at work at a particular point of time.

Crowd control in a Democracy, forms an important part of the duties of a police officer. Law enjoins upon him to regulate large assemblies of people to maintain order and security; to keep the thoroughfares open; and to assure public safety. Maintenance of law and order and prevention and detection of crime also necessitate keeping a close watch on the crowds to take appropriate measures to control and regulate them to ensure that their activities do not result in breach of peace, destruction of property and loss of lives. Effective crowd control demands a clear understanding of the psychological dimensions of crowd formation, its behaviour, mentality, likely reaction, etc. Lack of such understanding will result in innocuous and routine police actions at control and regulation, resulting in a friendly crowd turning hostile. Unimaginative use of force on, and tactless handing of, sports fans result in peaceable crowds indulging in vandalism and destruction of properties in the sports arenas. Use of force at the wrong moment has resulted in stampedes among conventional crowds at religious festivals, melas, etc.

In police training, lot of emphasis is laid on the physical dimensions of crowd control like the drill formations; when and how to use force; what type of force will produce the desired result etc. The psychological dimensions of crowd control are lost sight of in the process. The distinction between control and dispersal gets blurred. Crowd control is a positive discipline and crowd dispersal is a reactive and restrictive discipline. When the reactive techniques are applied to a situation in need of proactive steps, calamitous results ensure. This results in police response to dissent in a democracy being violent and ferocious out of all proportion to the need of the hour. Why do crowds act in the way they do?

The basic ingredient for crowd formation is Novelty - something out of the ordinary. It could be traffic accident, a performing animal, presence of a Matinee idol or simply a quarrel. For instance, crowds do not gather to watch the vehicular traffic zoom by. However, if there is a collision, crowds gather instantly. Physically proximity of individuals create an emotional contagion in the crowd. it could be sympathy for the victim, anger against the errant driver, lapses on the part of the police or any other cause. The crowds react to any suggestion that meets its emotional needs. Actions are often undertaken which the individual in the crowd will not do, when he is alone. The crowd can not think collectively; it responds to external suggestions and acts collectively.

Anonymity and large numbers create a feeling of invincibility and omnipotence. It is virtually impossible to reach the mind of an individual in the crowds, unless something dramatic takes place to replace the initial novelty and divert the attention of the collective mind. Since the range of vision and hearing of an individual is greatly curtailed in the crowd, he is unable to make use of these facilities to arrive at a rational decision. He can only receive ideas and suggestions but can not transmit them. Thus, he becomes an unwitting victim of rabble rousers and fanatic leaders, who plant diabolic ideas in his mind.

The leader who wishes to make the crowd indulge in violence, stimulates the instincts of pugnacity and self-assertion which results in the crowd becoming angry and hysterical. A hysterical crowd seethes with frenzy and looks for an emotional outlet. Any tactless act done by the law enforcers at this juncture, converts the crowd into a mob which indulges in destruction to satisfy its emotional needs. It may be recalled that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest leader of men ever trod on the earth, called off the national Movement after the mobs burnt a calling off the movement after the momentum has been generated was wrong. But Gandhiji was, as usual, right. The National Movement at that point of time would have degenerated into a bloody anti-establishment carnage.

To prevent the crowd from turning into a Mob, the basic cause for the frenzy should be removed through some dramatic gesture. A promise for action, appearance of a National leader with credibility at the spot, release of agitators from custody etc. But once the crowd becomes a Mob, the emotion of anger should be controlled by super imposing the emotion of fear. Fear triggers off the basic instinct of flight and once the crowd starts disintegrating, it loses its destructive potential. Use of force to create the emotion of fear should be done very carefully and judiciously. Excess use of force instead of creating the emotion of fear, will create the instinct of pugnacity and emotion of anger.

Police officers should know the distinction between passive and active crowds. Passive crowds are also known as conventional crowds. They assemble and disperse peacefully. They are to be guided and enabled to achieve their purpose of assembly through regulation, traffic control, prevention of petty crimes, eve-teasing etc.

Passive crowds become active only when something extraordinary happens - a wrong decision by the referee uncalled for violence by the police; collapse of a gallery; fire in the stands; presence of a snake, etc. When these take place, the instincts of pugnacity and flight are generated.

Active crowds depending on their state of mind, can be classified as Escapist, Expressive, Acquisitive; and Aggressive. The escapist crowd is propelled by the emotion of fear and instinct of flight. As long as it is able to flee the scene quickly, it does not create harm. It is therefore necessary for the police to provide avenues for quick dispersal, as panic can generate in a crowd without sufficient cause. The process of flight should not be interfered with. The acquisitive crowds are those who indulge in looting and vandalism. These are to be dealt with very firmly as Crime Prevention Measures and the emotion of fear should be instilled in them. Acquisitive crowds seldom clash with the police authorities, if Police are in good strength, as the emotion of guilt is predominant in them.

In popular democracies, police often deal with expressive crowds. They gather to express their grievance, disapproval, elation or sense of achievement. Tactful handling of these crowds by providing suitable outlets for their expression will ensure that they become harmless. Careful planning of responses and their implementation will enable the crowd to disintegrate. The danger of expressive crowds becoming acquisitive crowds should always be kept in mind. Prudence dictates that all precautions are taken to protect properties and lives, when expressive crowds are on the move. Expressive crowds always spoil for a fight. They would like to humiliate their political enemies or the losers, triggering off a counter offensive. This has to be taken care of in the preparatory stages. Dealing with expressive crowds calls for great deal of tact and political acumen. The credibility factor has to be established in the first place. Obviously, Police have no powers to fulfill any promises they may make to the crowds. Political and administrative leaderships should step in to deal with expressive crowds. Aggressive crowds are the ones we face during communal troubles, caste riots, student agitations and industrial strife. These crowds suffer from the phenomenon of transferred hostility. While their targets may be somewhere else, they seek to satisfy their emotions by causing damage to those who are remotely concerned with the original problem. These types of crowds require very firm handling and considerable doses of force. A communication offensive to reach the populace through electronic and print media and repeated announcement through mobile vans should be launched. Spreading of rumours and misinformation should be dealt with firmly. When aggressive crowds are holding sway, no signs of weakness should be displayed by the authorities.

The procedure and practices of Police and crowd control required to be reviewed and changed. As often the police will be dealing with expressive crowds, they should have lesser lethal means of crowd dispersal like water cannons, Mounted Police, Police Dogs and Rubber bullets. Less grievous injuries and fewer deaths are likely to prevent police drill for crowd dispersal in colonial and causes grievous injuries and avoidable deaths. Police should adopt and practice Japanese method of crowd dispersal. Modern means of crowd dispersal like high decibel ‘CURDLERS’; slippery foam on the roads; armoured vehicles to reach closer to the crowd to use tear gas etc. are to be adopted. To tear off the shield of anonymity, water canons should use water mixed with indelible dyes which would enable police to identify the miscreants later. While resorting to lathi-charge, shock batons could be made use of. Instead of normal fire-arms, stun guns could be used. The emphasis should be to deny additional reasons for the crowds to become aggressive and pugnacious.

Political parties have a positive role to play in this sphere. As crowd control is directly linked to the grass roots working of the political processes, a non-partisan approach to the subject should be developed. In the first instance, it should be realised that humane crowd control measures are the responsibility of all citizens in a democracy. ‘Defiance Syndrome’ is anathema in a Democracy. A Code of Conduct should be adopted by the political parties to express dissent with decorum and decency and without destruction of lives and properties. Cooperation and common weal should be the focus of all political action and confrontation should be eschewed. More than anything else, it should be realised by the people that in a Democracy crowd control is not a Police problem but the concern of the Society.

[ Back ] [Top]