Experiential learnings suggest that in order to be effective there are at least two attributes that can be regarded as the minimum essentials in any given environment. One is, dexterity in performing the tasks that any professional has been detailed for and the second being appropriate behavioral responses in diverse situations. Given the historical legacy, the socio-political subcultures and resource constraints, the police in India has yet to cross the bench mark of being a behaviorally sensitive, people friendly force. There are a few officers in the police force who have been innovative and have evolved some generic models of community oriented policing which hover around the behavioral skills of front line cops. Some of the state governments have also taken cogent steps in this domain. Such models have often been cited as good practices during professional deliberations. Friends of Police in Tamil Nadu, Jan Maitri Suraksha of Kerala, Trichy Community Policing and Suraksha Setu scheme of Gujarat and Civic Action Programs of CAPFs are some of the prominent initiatives. Police reforms, though enforced by the apex bodies at the national level, have been obviated by some of the stakeholders at the federal or cutting edge levels. Whereas the professional index of the Indian police has been gradually rising, given the occupational demands emanating from a more informed and conscious society, the inbuilt behavioral response have yet to make a mark.
During the Pandemic, as prominent covid warriors, the police has shown a high level of sensitivity and assisted the community in various ways including policing in containment zones, enabling people to access medical care and generating similar compassionate responses. Even during various disasters the police forces have enthusiastically joined hands with other agencies and proved their mettle as foremost responders. That means that segment of society that has taken upon themselves the mantle of performing the duties of a policeman have their inherent behavioral values intact, which are further honed by rigorous training modules and ground level experiences.
The questions that becomes contextually relevant here needs to be thoroughly looked into. How and why have the deflections crept in? Is it a derivative of wrong demonstration effects of the police leadership or of those at the helm of affairs managing the police as well its policing systems? Or is it a reflection on the systemic paucities that fail to set right the psycho behavioral configurations of our police brethren who constantly exposed to the negative forces of life day and night without getting sufficient personal time to recover? Or is it that we need to further empower the police echo system in terms of technical and structural capacities so as to help upgrade policing skill sets as well as the tools? Would our police be more efficient and effective with an assured career progression and professional autonomy? We need to provide the answer to all these questions as well as provide for a cogent set up as would be required since all these domains have an impact on ‘police responses’.
While the government of India has circulated the Model Police Act, envisioning various provisions related to configuration of the overall policing system, accountability, community service, autonomy and such other systemic issues, the appropriate implementation on the ground level still has many glitches. The role and goal conflicts as well as state holders’ dissonance in some areas have been surfacing time and again. Meanwhile, professionals have been emphasizing upon improving the quality of policing. Our Prime Minister too has repeatedly focused upon the essential features of SMART policing. This has been followed by the replacement of outdated laws and infusion of a more scientific investigation through forensic infrastructure and expert based assistance to the police in the medical, financial , cyber and other pertinent domains. Despite the multifarious efforts that are being made, instances of police laxity and misbehavior are continuously being reported. Reports in the newspapers also highlight cases relating to the misuse of law or the police powers. Whereas police reforms are progressing at their own pace, we cannot deny the fact that improving the quality of policing is more of a managerial issue than systemic. Police must learn the art of winning difficult situations through more and more constructive participation of the community. This is almost an indispensable onus that needs to be operationalized in the present scenario where proxy war situations have shifted the center of gravity from border war zones to the civic society turf. Now every citizen needs to assume the role of a policeman without uniform. He needs to scan his locality as well as his work place to pick up any tell-tale signs of the miscreants infused by a perpetrator who may be sitting miles away in today’s technologically linked global society. The radicalization tactics and mutations through local crime cartels is the new normal in such proxy wars. Similarly, various adversaries find their way through developmental channels or via those migrants from India who are working abroad.
With global cultural consciousness, the issue of victim oriented policing, witness protection, corruption free delivery of services, online disposal of grievances, zero response time of police patrols, integrated control systems and synergetic responses are emerging as the focal areas where our police agencies are striving to augment their response capacities. The police behavior cannot be seen in isolation to the demands of the job and the supporting echo system that is required to deliver the congruent services.
The reasons for discussing all these issues is to drive home the point that all the gaps which we are perceiving can be abridged to a great extent, pending the systemic interventions, if police behavior is used as a force multiplier . The community will then move closure to the police. The synergetic outcome through such a confluence will be tremendous. Society has all the resources in the form of expert-volunteers as well as material resources. The responsible people in the society do help police whenever they find good intentioned committed personnel with a genuine concern for the community. Having been in UP Police, CRPF,BSF and having worked in all the major conflict zones right from North East to J&K; ,areas affected by Maoist violence and sensitive land borders, besides major sensitive towns of UP; the tactical moves of drawing synergetic out come in these conflict ridden areas through congruent behavioral responses has been a great experience as well as a sustainable goal on the Human Terrain Management grid, with a huge multiplier effect. Even the intelligence and investigative leads or expert opinion on varied issues have their roots in the silent communication nurtured by the faith and confidence local society reposes in the police officer or his team. This definitely emanates from the core behavior of the sentinels of peace. To me the police behavior has proved to be a great Force Multiplier.
AP Maheshwari IPS (retd)
(Formerly: Advisor Lt Governor PY & DG, CRPF)
