Why Policing Fails in India?

Policing is a specialized job and requires deep concentration, planning and strategy. Therefore, in order to have effective policing, it is utmost important that professionals be inducted in the Police Force.

All along we have seen that the Police Officers are shifted from Local Policing to Traffic Police and from Traffic Police to Crime Branch and from Crime Branch and from Crime Branch to Special Cell.

Without meaning any disrespect to the serving police officers from the rank of Sub Inspector onwards we had sought for educational qualifications of the officers posted in the Traffic Police Delhi. Apart from seeking details of professional qualification we had also sought for details of professional Qualification of the officers deployed with Traffic Police Delhi under Right to Information Act 2005.

On perusal of the details it was observed that the Educational Qualification ranges from Matriculation to normal Graduates. A few are found to be holding degree in B.Sc or M.Sc. or Post Graduate. It is also observed that a simple Arts Graduate is handling legal Cell of Traffic Police in Delhi. Now the question arises when an Arts Graduate is faced with the Planners who are Engineers while planning the City Roads or the Lawyers in the Courts who practice law day in and day out, a simple Graduate cannot compete with the competence levels of the those Engineers or Lawyers. Therefore, the Police are bound to fail.

Now the question arises when the same officer is transferred to other branches of Policing, again the situation is the same. Once again by virtue of lack of professional qualification, he simply cannot match performance by a professional lawyer thus prosecution is bound to suffer seriously impacting the prosecution rate which is very low. Last but not the least out of these Cops some are posted to premier investigation agency of the Country i.e. Central Bureau of Investigation and all of us know the prosecution process, prosectution rate and the favouratism.

Now the Home minister has announced Special Task Force on National Level. Again, the moot question arises that from where he would draw the trained officers. Obviously hand pick from local Police Force. Thus once again there would be a crisis within Local Police. Who cares for common citizens in India?

During British regime the Police force was deliberately paid low salaries so that they can be used in any manner the way they wanted at that time. The Professional Qualification at that time was never the criteria. Unfortunately post independence once again we find that the Police Constabulary or junior officers continue to be low paid jobs with almost 24 x 7 duty hours for days together without any leave. Once they do not have time to relax where is the time to train them?. Whatever they learn is hit and trial method even during so called training programs. The constabulary being the first face of the police that faces common citizens is suffering not only from stress and fatigue but is also suffering from the financial losses but also is being ill-treated both by the Legislature as well as the Executive. A constable gets Rs. 30/- p.m. as Cycle Allowance, Rs. 20/- p.m as washing allowance. There is no budget for creamation of unclaimed bodies. In case any unclaimed dead body is found in anay constable's beat he has to perform last rites and spend out of his own pocket a minimum amount of Rs. 2000/-.

In case professionals are inducted in the Police Force in India as happens in other Countries, the cop would not cook food in the house of senior cops or would not take the family of the Senior Officers for outing in Official cars. Similarly such cop would also not succumb to the pressures exerted by the Politicians.

I had been watching on Electronic Media very often after every incident, the way it has happened in Mumbai today that rocks the nation both Politicians and Bureaucrats allege Intelligence failure or failure of Policing in India. But the moot question that why no steps have been taken to professionalize and modernize the police force in India.

Unless immediate steps are taken in this regard both the Civilians and Police officers would continue to be soft targets as the civilian does not have capacity to protect himself and the Police Officers cannot perform after wearing Bullet Proof Jacket weighing 35 Kgs. thus would continue to die like Inspector Sharma or Hemant Karkare and his colleagues in Mumbai.