• Dr. S. Subramanian, IPS (Retd.)

It is a sad fact, that even after 138 years of legal existence (since 1861), Police in India are neither able to give satisfactory service to the people, nor able to win public approbation. Compared to other wings of Public Administration, Police have a very poor image. Not withstanding the fact, that since Independence, Police have stood as a bulwark against the Forces of disintegration and faced successfully the threats to National integrity and Sovereignty and thousands of Policemen have sacrificed their lives in the process, in public minds, the `dark and dirty' image of Police remains.

It is a truism that the quality of life in a Democracy is directly related to the quality of Police Service it has. An ethical, lawful and people-friendly Police service is the hallmark of a liberal Democracy. Judged from this standard, India has miles to go before she can proudly proclaim herself as a liberal Democracy.

Volumes have been written about the constraints that prevent Police from meeting the needs and aspirations of people. Legal infirmities like the Constitutional provisions which makes the Police a State subject: Police Act of 1861: Defects in Procedural and Evidence Acts and so on and a non-cooperative Executive Magistracy and Judiciary: Lack of Functional Autonomy and Resources are being cited as reasons for poor performance. There is lot of truth in all these, Statistics prove that Police have increased in numbers in a great deal and allocation of resources has also been abundant. Yet, we find Police have not been able to achieve their goals and objectives. In all humility, it is suggested that even if all these impediments were to disappear overnight, Police will still fail to perform. Reasons are lack of clarity in goals and objectives and infirmities in Police Administration.

In a Democracy, the Mission of the Police should be to serve the People, unfortunately, in India, the Police have adopted a contrary Mission namely `Establishment Protection'. Considerable resources of the Police organisation are being spent not on Public Order and Prevention and Detection of Crime, but for protecting and perpetuating the ruling elite. In the process, democratic dissent is stifled and Human Rights of people are trampled upon. Therefore, in the first place the Police organisation should define its Mission as `Service to the People'.

The Ethos of Police organisation should be changed from `Enforcement' to `Enablement'. This will make the Police service a proactive social service organisation. Instead of being on the look out for violators, Police should look for victims and take steps to remove the causes for their victimisation.

The Philosophy of the Police organisation should change from achieving their ends using all dubious and illegal means to achievement through ethical and lawful policing. To a large extent the mistrust of the Police by the public and the Judiciary is due to the fact that the Police do not apply ethical standards to the means adopted by them.

Police can not succeed in enlisting the cooperation of the people and make them Police-friendly, without respecting the dignity and Human Rights of the people. Not every one, who comes in contact with the Police, is a criminal. People approach Police only when they are in distress and in need of official help. One can compare a Police station to a good Hospital. People expect from these places, sympathy, empathy and compassion. Unless Policemen learn to acquire and nurture these basic human qualities, people will neither trust them nor respect them nor give them willing cooperation.

Needs of the People for Order Maintenance, Prevention and Detection of Crime etc. vary from place to place, making policing essentially a localised function. Police organisation at present sets its goals and objectives without any consultation with the people. Consequently, since their needs are not reflected in Police activities, people generally ignore the Police. Only where their legal involvement becomes necessary, people approach the Police. The growing Private Security Industry is standing testimony to the lack of confidence of the people in the capacity of the Police to protect their lives and property. Instead of behaving as a self-perpetuating bureaucracy, Police organisation should decentralise decision making and provide functional autonomy to local units to enable them to set goals and objectives to meet the local needs. After all, it should be realised, the law speaks only of the Officer-in-charge of a Police station as the decision-maker to launch the Criminal Justice Process. Instead of being an `inverted pyramid' the Police organisation should become `broad based'. The supervisory levels should be drastically cut down and more Officers of appropriate rank capable of taking decisions on the spot, should be available in the field to serve the public.

Instead of being a `Civil Service' Police organisation in India resembles a Military Formation. We certainly need Armed Police Forces organised and structured on the lines of Military to fight terrorism and anti-national elements. But these are to be confined to Para Military Forces, Special Armed Police Battalions, District Armed Reserves, etc. This type of organisation has no place in Civil Police. As a corollary, Civil Police should shed the mentality of stressing on `Quantity'. More Policemen do not assure good service to the Society. For example, people hardly get any worth while service from a Police station, which has 50 personnel, and only 2 Officers of the rank of Sub-Inspector. Constabulary is not authorised by Law to do any original work concerning investigation etc. For prompt attention to Public grievances, more Officers of the rank of Sub-Inspectors and above are required in Police Stations.

`Teeth to Tail' Ratio

Today, for every hundred Police personnel sanctioned and on the rolls, less than 25 are available for public service. Most of the personnel are deployed on `Fetch and Carry' jobs which do not required a trained Police Officer. Civilisation, Computerisation, and Multi skilled Personnel would reduce the number of people presently deployed on the non-field jobs. In Civil Police Stations it is not necessary to do all the jobs by the uniformed Police Officers. For the same reason, there is no need to `Combatise' civilian jobs in Para Military Forces. Plenty of scope exists for `Privatisation' and `Farming Out' of jobs in Civil Police. Such a rational deployment will make trained manpower available for duties that give satisfaction to the public.

While people demand Human Rights from Police, paradoxically, Human Rights are denied to the Police Personnel themselves. Similarly, no sincere efforts are being made to attend to the welfare related problems of the Police Personnel. Only a contented and happy Police Force can give the People `Service with a Smile'. Police leadership should pay serious attention to these areas.

As we march into the next Century, there is need to introduce the reforms in Police Administration on the lines indicated here. What has been suggested is only illustrative and not exhaustive. We are aware, experienced Police leaders can identify many more problem areas for attention. Till this is done Police, will remain anathema to the public at large.

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