What afflicts our police?

Time has come to have a fresh look at the way the police function in our county. PHOTO: STAR

Recruitment

During the last twelve years specially the recruitment of subordinate ranks of police from the Constable to the Sergeant/Sub-Inspector has been subject to extra-departmental pressures which some would like to describe as politicisation of the recruitment process. The alleged irregularities have necessitated enquires and institution of criminal cases thereby unfortunately creating doubt about the impartiality of the recruitment exercise. The irony of the matter is that in the not-too distant past complaints about irregularity in the recruitment were almost non-existent and the whole exercise used to be completed by junior officers at the district level without any supervisor breathing over their shoulders.

Under the circumstances, the district and divisional authority must have complete freedom in the recruitment process in order to ensure the visibility of an upright cadre of investigative and law enforcement officers. Branding police officers as favourites of one or the other political party is ruinous because the credibility of police as the principal investigating agency of the state will be open to question. No sensible citizen or well-meaning politician will want that type of a scenario to develop.

Let us, therefore, make concerted efforts to keep the recruitment process above question so that self-respecting persons are attracted to the job and allowed to develop as professionals.

Training

Policing has evolved into an organised, structured and specialised profession with a markedly visible proliferation of functions. This has brought forth multitudinous obligations, pressures and responsibilities on police. It is the non-gazetted level of the police that comes in direct contact with the people in the performance of their duties. It is being realised that at this non-gazetted level there is a need of requisite knowledge, favourable attitude and specialised skill. While police training is witnessing perceptible changes in different parts of the world, our ground reality is far from satisfactory. Not even one percent of the annual financial allocation of our police department is spent on training. To make a modest beginning, can we not at least make the police training centres attractive by giving incentives in financial terms to both the trainers and the trainees and productively spend at least five percent of the annual police budget on training of police personnel? Details of appropriate training curricula may be left to the experts.

The police Act

Our Police Force was organised to serve the interests of alien rulers under the Act of 1861 and that still remains so in the statute book. After independence the police are required to act as agent of the law and are expected to be citizens in uniform. Hence, the police in the present context is supposed to be a service and the idea should be spelt out in the Act. The term used in the police Act of 1861 is police force and not the civil police. Therefore, the civilian character of the police should be given statutory recognition.

With the growing emphasis on the concepts of social legislation and social defence in relation to the role of the police the idea of police activity has considerably widened. Prevention and detection of crime as detailed in the Act of 1861 should now constitute only a part of the work of the police and not the whole of it. Protecting the rights of the citizens, ensuring social justice and rendering service to the community must become a part of the conceptual framework. In this light the existing provision of the Act of 1861 should be reviewed. There should be a clear statutory recognition of the fact that the role of the police is not purely punitive. It is also protective, preventive and reformative. The police, apart from being the law enforcement agency, should be conceptualised as a welfare institution for the achievement of social justice. Such statutory recognition would strengthen the capacity of the police to cope with emerging problems of rapid change reflected in the enactment of social legislation. One would see the service role of the police statutorily defined. There is a need to redefine the approach of the police work with the appreciation that the police now should be a purposeful regulative mechanism for the purpose of maintaining a peaceful society with the cooperation and goodwill of the public and for upholding the rule of law to ensure welfare and security of people.

Time for experimentation

Time has come to have a fresh look at the way the police function in our county. The whole problem of law and order needs to be examined from a sociological angle as it is no more an administrative problem. Shall we dare, for purposes of experimentation, to select one small district wherein there will be no interference in the work of the police. The Inspector General should be free to select a committed, upright and hard working officer to run the district in a highly professional manner. The basic departure from the conventional approach would be that in the experimented district, the confidence of the community would be earned; physical condition of all police stations would be improved. Police stations would be like civilized places, where any citizen including women can go any time and seek help without any fear or harassment. Communities and other institutions would take up some of the responsibilities in consultation with the police. When additional funds will be required, the community including trade bodies, industrialists would be willing to contribute with an assurance that situation would improve.

Most often we have decided that any change would destabilise the system. In other words, the status quo is the best policy. There are reports of several commissions and committees receiving insignificant attention. The need as of now is to allow the police to perform their duties in a truly professional manner, without interference. We do not need new laws. What we need is updating of old laws and their free and fair implementation. For a long time we have failed to treat the policeman as a human being.

It is time to restore his dignity. Let him do his job without hindrance along with considered curtailment of his unlimited powers, accountability for commissions and omissions with stricter institutionalised controls.

There is no dearth of men of character, honesty and integrity even now. There is a desire amongst young police officers to bring about a change. Let's give them a chance. If we want reform we should experiment with new approaches and on the basis of their results, lobby for institutional changes. The next step could be to seek a consensus among the important segments of society and put pressure on ruling elite to support these changes. Once the process is started, it may not be easy to reverse it.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is former IGP and Secretary to Government.