Spare a thought for police reforms

As the Parliament Sessions are being adjourned and the hours are wasted mindlessly and unproductively due to petty politics, the control over the CBI by the Lokpal has garnered the focus of attention recently. The civil society, as they call it wants the CBI to be under the Lokpal, while the Government has reservations about it. While the Constitution of India has granted independence to the Judiciary, yet it is not believed to be immune from external interference, thus calling for a Judicial Accountability Bill, no one has spared a thought regarding the functional autonomy of the Police, who are basically the protectors of Law and Order in this country. The Reforms for the Police are equally an urgent need as Judicial Reform.


Unfortunately, the impression amongst the people regarding the Police is that of law breakers rather than law protectors. Going to a Police Station to lodge a complaint is taken as a last resort by any hapless citizen as he fears the Police as equally as a criminal. The witnesses to the crime are reduced to the level of the accused, subjected them to the questions having no relevance to the facts of the case. This disturbing mindset amongst the people regarding the Police should go, and this calls for an urgent need for Police Reforms. The control of the political forces on every part of the duty of a Policeman must substantially reduce, so as to insulate the Police from pulls and pressures – political and otherwise. There are many honest Investigating Officers in the Police force and hardworking constabulary, but they can perform only in a right kind of environment. Till then, it will not be surprising if we continue to hear the stories of senior Police officers falling prey to plum postings and outright promotions or honest officers intimidated by threats of transfer to remote posting. In such conditions, very few independent witnesses will come forward voluntarily to assist the police in investigation.
The witnesses are treated so shabbily that unless they are linked to the victim of the crime, any witness would do his best to keep away from the police as well as the court. Even simple crimes take months to get solved, even years. The Investigating Officer has no time for investigation as he has to attend to law and order duties, which takes precedence over anything else, including investigation. The courts remain closed on long vacations like schools and colleges and the Police is affected by sheer shortage of manpower. It is not surprising that criminals no longer fear of being caught by the police, only the innocent people fear so. In order to facilitate better investigation, there should be distinct wings in the Police force, one for hardcore investigation of crimes and the other for maintaining law and order. However, the fact remains that an average Policeman is heavily overburdened by statutory and administrative duties like Patrolling, Nakabandi, Standing Guard Duties, Traffic Checking, Specific Religious Duty like Durga Puja in West Bengal, Ganesh festival in Maharashtra, Ram Lila in North India, Bandobust duties, Escort duties, sentry duties, Wireless Duties, Naib Court etc. The inadequacy of manpower in the Police force and substandard living accommodation for rest and recuperation makes the life of a Policeman miserable, who puts in 24 hours of duty for many days in a year. This gets reflected in their behavior and temperament and affects their working performance.


The Police are made to deal largely with civil cases and property disputes rather than criminal cases and petty cases like Smoking in public, electricity theft, eve teasing, cheque bouncing, domestic violence, mobile thefts etc. take most of their time. Many of the complaints are even fabricated by the complainant with the sole purpose of harassment. In India, the number of policemen per one lakh of population is one of the lowest in the world, and the effective police strength gets further eroded, if you take into account their vacancies, that are left unfilled. States spend less from their budget for allocation to the Police Department to meet their operational requirements and there is no adequate system of rewards and incentives to boost the morale of Policeman. No wonder various constables get recruited into the Police force just because no other Government job was available. As regards the justice to the accused, the less said the better. A poor person will have to languish for long period in jails while a rich will buy his freedom very cheap. The jail term in default of fine ought to be so arranged that the poor and the rich both give it a thought as to whether pay fine or serve jail term.


At present, poor offenders are left with no options but to serve jail term. The policy is manifestly discriminatory, cruel and unjust. If default of say one lakh of fine invites a jail term of one month, then people will consciously decide whether to pay fine or serve jail term. But, if a default of 4000 rupees involves jail term of 3 months, the poor has no option but to serve jail term and the rich will not wink an eyelid before paying rupees four thousand. Human liberty is not so cheap. That is why it comes as no surprise that a first time offender for drunken driving but with permissible limits is charged with 25 days simple imprisonment, Rs.2000/- fine and 10 months suspension of driving license while the influential accused persons with a much bigger degree of crime get away easily with minimal or no punishment. Due to the inadequate courts and judges and the legal system that puts a person behind bars before conviction, the country's jails are packed with undertrials.


On an average, there are seven undertrials for every convict, according to a study by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management. The jails in India best look like unreserved second-class compartments. The purpose of sending a person to jail is to reform him. But we are making these undertrials even more hardcore criminals. Undertrials are kept alongwith the convicts in jails. Hence they come into contact with these convicts and become criminals themselves. These undertrials are forced to work by the convicted criminals, who enjoy the position of a 'senior' in jails. The caste system is also rampant in jails. The prison takes away all the liberty and dignity of an undertrial and contaminates him. Such an atmosphere prevalent in jails converts a petty offender into a criminal or anti-social.


The much maligned Police force ends up as being perceived as the cause and effect of all the above evils. Not many of us know that the CBI is only a monitoring body of anti corruption against Central Government Departments, Public Sector undertakings and banks, with just one or two branches in a state. It is the Police, that needs independence and reforms for minimizing crimes that include corruption. The socialist movements are prescribing a cure for the disease already caused in the form of a Lok Pal, but no one is pressurizing the Government to usher in the much needed Police and Judicial reforms and nip the problem in the bud itself. What we need is not new laws but effective action on the prevailing laws which are very much adequate to nail the accused and give justice to the victims. The Government has to usher in the much needed police reforms and allow the Police a degree of independence to operate within the law.

 

thanks and welcome sara

this blog is a result of my readings of various Police Journals and I have a wide friend circle among the Police constabulary
They are really hardworking

warm regards
Suresh

 

thanks maalti

for your comments
Go to any state, it is the Police which does ground level investigation and not the CBI
Sadly, this basic fact is ignored by many'

warm regards
Suresh

 

hi sree

thanks for your comments
Police Reforms is the need of the hour

cheers
suresh