- Reams and reams have been written on the unholy nexus between the political leaders and the police personnel. Even fictional and non-fictional storybooks have exposed the connection between the executive and the law enforcing agency which only gets stronger by the day. Even movies in every vernacular language have explicitly dwelt on the bane of corruption that invariably finds political class in close cahoots with policemen taking the society for a ride. No wonder, the Indian citizenry is not only cynical, apprehensive, and disbelieving when it comes to the issue of honest discharge of responsibilities by the police force but also is convinced that there are no ways things will change for good in the near foreseeable future as well.
PC: Gotoltc
- Not a day passes without one or the other reports, either from the print or electronic media, on the incidents of disgraceful association of politics-police greatly inconveniencing the common man who is at the receiving end time and again. Of course, the last resort is the judiciary where citizens continue to repose faith in getting relief and solace to a varying degree. Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong pitch for police reforms during his recent Gujarat tour assumes importance. Understand, police reforms are workable only if state governments join their call for change as policing is a state subject limiting the Centre’s ability to force reforms.
- In a telling remark, the PM mentioned that even now, the perception about police is that one should stay away from them. Unfortunately, how true the statement is like each one of us would recollect our experience concerning the police where the overpowering emotions of mistrust and apprehension overtake rather than a natural sense of reassurance and confidence. We know that the incentive for reform is missing because state governments often rely on the police to carry out improper jobs, including setting the course of politically sensitive cases. The government in power always holds the reigns of police to further its cause needs no further elaboration.
PC: Kristina Guzikova
- As you are aware, political control is primarily achieved through dictating postings and transfers, which put tremendous extraneous pressures on officers. As such, the Supreme Court’s 2006 guidelines for police reform in the Prakash Singh judgment would have ideally provided the much-needed direction to the law enforcing agency. Sadly, the police reform recommendations are gathering cobwebs for want of political willingness and lack of credible attempt to implement them. Nonetheless, there are now political costs in failing popular expectations on law and order. The UP election showed how Yogi’s free hand to police to act against lawbreakers without being hampered by local party bigwigs, despite allegations, worked electorally in his favor.
- Delving further, besides not meeting bare minimum yardsticks like functional autonomy for cops, political leaders are also depriving policing of qualitative improvements. Sexual offenses, which need better forensics and sensitive handling of witnesses, have abysmally low conviction rates. Women suffer as a result. Rising cybercrimes demand that police must simultaneously upgrade both tech and physical interfaces to ease reporting of these crimes. The Status of Policing in India Report 2019 reveals that 44% of cops work over 12 hours a day, one in two don’t get a weekly off day. Astonishingly, around 5.3 lakh sanctioned posts (20%) lie vacant nationally. Mind you, such pathetic work conditions aren’t amenable to fostering a humane or well-trained police force. Ultimately, policing may not get the kind of reforms the PM spoke of unless politics too undergoes palpable changes.
