Once again, the horrific incident of the brutal rape of a 5 year old is in news. But was even more horrifying was the way, our police handled the case. When the girl was missing, her parents went to the police station to file an FIR. But the police simply refused to do so. After 6 long hours of waiting in the police station, they finally registered a complaint. But what did they do after that ? The law says that once an FIR is registered, the police must go to the site of incidence and collect evidences and statement of witness/possible witnesses. Instead, our efficient Delhi Police, came back and said the door was locked. Are you kidding us ? If the door is locked, you won't do anything ? They did not even care to ask the neighbours, and record their statements. Finally, when the girl was found, raped and brutally tortured, police told the parents to be glad that she survived. Has rape become such a common thing that the police does not even care to register an FIR, and if the victim does not succumb to death, it's a victory for the victim ? But the story does not end here. Instead of catching the perpetrators of such an act, the police offered 2,000 rupees to the family, to forget about the incident and not involve Media and activists. The victim was admitted in a hospital which did not have adequate facilities to cater to her, so the activists reached the venue and demanded to shift her to a better hospital like AIIMS. And here, the police crossed all the limits and the ACP slapped a girl activist so tightly that her ear began to bleed.
After the Nirbhaya incident, amidst huge protest by the public, the government passed Strong(?) Anti-Rape Law. But did it serve the purpose. Clearly NOT. What we need now is a strong Reform in the Indian Police System. I am not saying, that it will stop rape. But a better police, who catches the perpetrators, does not blame the victim, acts swiftly, and ensures that justice is meted out, will definitely help in reducing the crime and better rehabilitation of the victim.
But what is the point of mere ranting on Blogs or Facebook ? Well what else can we do ? The government does not care about peaceful protests and we cannot resort to violent measures. Putting a black dot as our Facebook profile will definitely not serve the purpose. But what we can do is we can push for reforms in the Indian Police System. Not just for the cases of women safety, but in general.
Here is a presentation that I had prepared on the problems currently persisting in the system and the reforms needed. And I think its time now, that we all push for stronger reforms in the Police System.
Here is a text summary of the above presentation
1. Transparency in Selection, Promotion and Transfer
India has one of the finest selection processes for IPS officer which is backed by excellent training at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the selection system at the state level where officers below the ranks of DSPs are recruited.
Nearly 90 per cent of the police force in the country is comprised of the constabulary. This precious resource will have to be protected. This is not possible under the existing state of affairs, where obedience and servility to the senior officers and the political masters are the main criteria for advancement and placement in meaningful jobs within the police. If professional excellence has to be nurtured, we owe them the right working conditions in which they can give of their best. Such an ambience cannot come about without implementing the most crucial National Police Commission recommendations that are gathering dust in North Block and in State Secretariats. Hence, the recommendations made by the National Police Commission in 1979, aimed at insulating the police from illegitimate outside control, pressure and interference must be implemented.
2. Freeing the Police from Politics
Since the police is answerable to the politicians, they tend to wield their power over the policemen. Hence, there is an immediate need to make the police body, free from the shackles of the politicians.
3. Training & Sensitization
Crime by police officials and in police stations has been increasing with cases about custodial deaths and rape of women detainees making headlines. Often victims of crime, especially rape are treated with utter contempt as if they deserved what they had undergone. The police have also been very insensitive in handling the peaceful protests, as seen during the recent protests in Delhi. This is mainly due to the lack of awareness of human rights among policemen. Even during their basic training, policemen need to be sensitized about human rights and how to handle sensitive cases. They must also be trained in crowd management, to avoid cases like Kumbh Stampede.
4. Induction of more women in Police
At present, women comprise just 3.98 per cent of the country's total police force. The creation of women police stations will be a positive development since women police by their nature are better equipped to take a sympathetic approach in issues like rape, domestic violence, dowry harassment and child abuse.
In the recent budget, the finance minister announced a budget of Rs. 1,000 Crore for Nirbhaya fund. This fund should rather be used to induct and equip more women police officers to prevent such incidences from happening, rather than providing monetary assistance after the incident.
5. Increase the manpower of police
ost state police departments are woefully understaffed with a large number of vacancies. Fresh departments for anti-terrorism cell, VIP security, cyber-crime and human rights are created but are not manned by the right people. According to a recent article in Times of India, Indian Police needs 5 Lakh more policemen.
After the Nirbhaya incident, amidst huge protest by the public, the government passed Strong(?) Anti-Rape Law. But did it serve the purpose. Clearly NOT. What we need now is a strong Reform in the Indian Police System. I am not saying, that it will stop rape. But a better police, who catches the perpetrators, does not blame the victim, acts swiftly, and ensures that justice is meted out, will definitely help in reducing the crime and better rehabilitation of the victim.
But what is the point of mere ranting on Blogs or Facebook ? Well what else can we do ? The government does not care about peaceful protests and we cannot resort to violent measures. Putting a black dot as our Facebook profile will definitely not serve the purpose. But what we can do is we can push for reforms in the Indian Police System. Not just for the cases of women safety, but in general.
Here is a presentation that I had prepared on the problems currently persisting in the system and the reforms needed. And I think its time now, that we all push for stronger reforms in the Police System.
Here is a text summary of the above presentation
1. Transparency in Selection, Promotion and Transfer
India has one of the finest selection processes for IPS officer which is backed by excellent training at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the selection system at the state level where officers below the ranks of DSPs are recruited.
Nearly 90 per cent of the police force in the country is comprised of the constabulary. This precious resource will have to be protected. This is not possible under the existing state of affairs, where obedience and servility to the senior officers and the political masters are the main criteria for advancement and placement in meaningful jobs within the police. If professional excellence has to be nurtured, we owe them the right working conditions in which they can give of their best. Such an ambience cannot come about without implementing the most crucial National Police Commission recommendations that are gathering dust in North Block and in State Secretariats. Hence, the recommendations made by the National Police Commission in 1979, aimed at insulating the police from illegitimate outside control, pressure and interference must be implemented.
2. Freeing the Police from Politics
Since the police is answerable to the politicians, they tend to wield their power over the policemen. Hence, there is an immediate need to make the police body, free from the shackles of the politicians.
3. Training & Sensitization
Crime by police officials and in police stations has been increasing with cases about custodial deaths and rape of women detainees making headlines. Often victims of crime, especially rape are treated with utter contempt as if they deserved what they had undergone. The police have also been very insensitive in handling the peaceful protests, as seen during the recent protests in Delhi. This is mainly due to the lack of awareness of human rights among policemen. Even during their basic training, policemen need to be sensitized about human rights and how to handle sensitive cases. They must also be trained in crowd management, to avoid cases like Kumbh Stampede.
4. Induction of more women in Police
At present, women comprise just 3.98 per cent of the country's total police force. The creation of women police stations will be a positive development since women police by their nature are better equipped to take a sympathetic approach in issues like rape, domestic violence, dowry harassment and child abuse.
In the recent budget, the finance minister announced a budget of Rs. 1,000 Crore for Nirbhaya fund. This fund should rather be used to induct and equip more women police officers to prevent such incidences from happening, rather than providing monetary assistance after the incident.
5. Increase the manpower of police
ost state police departments are woefully understaffed with a large number of vacancies. Fresh departments for anti-terrorism cell, VIP security, cyber-crime and human rights are created but are not manned by the right people. According to a recent article in Times of India, Indian Police needs 5 Lakh more policemen.
6. Training
for better interpretation of laws
Indian police
system, especially when it concerns those like Sub-inspectors and constable, are
very weak at interpreting the law. In the recent controversy where two girls
were arrested by the Maharashtra Police over a Facebook status, the Court
rebuked the police officers for their poor interpretation of Section 66 of the
IT Act. In the name of moral policing even law
abiding citizens are made to appear like criminals by some overzealous cops. Hence,
there is a need for constant up gradation of knowledge and skills.
7. Modernization
of Police Force
Indian police
remains one of the most ill equipped in the world in spite of our country among
the worst to suffer due to terrorism. Our police needs fast vehicles,
communication equipment and even proper weapons. They appear like comical
figures carrying their outdated .303 rifles whereas their adversaries are armed
with AK 47s.
India was the first country in the world to have a finger print
forensic laboratory in 1897. But today there are only 23 labs in the
country compared to 203 in the US. Currently
there are only three Central Detective Training Schools in India. The low
number of schools causes a problem to ensure continuous training for the Indian
police force. Greater resources need to be allocated towards enhancing the
capacity of forensic laboratories.
8. Reduction
of Policemen for VIP/VVIP Security
In India, we have three cops for a VIP
compared to one cop for 761 ordinary citizens, while this ratio is 200 in
countries like South Africa and UK. More Policemen should be employed for the
citizens of this country, rather than the VIP’s who can even afford private
guards.
9. Judicial
backing to the Police
We need forceful laws to back our
policemen. Outdated laws, judicial
loopholes and adequate legal safeguards for witnesses have resulted in many a
confirmed criminal walking free without conviction. In the famous Jessica Lal case, the eye
witnesses turned hostile due to which the police were unable to prove his
guilt. We need to have strong laws against perjury, as in Britain, which would
make witnesses think twice before retracting their statements.
Many of our laws
drafted to fight crime also need to be modified keeping in mind, the changed
conditions of the society and modern techniques of the criminal. For instance,
the juvenile law could be modified to remove a hard line of 18 years of age,
and the punishment should be decided based on the crime committed.
10. Grievance
Redressal
In a study on the
"Image of Police in India”, (The National Police Commission, Government of
India, Fourth Report, June 1980, p.1) over 50% of the respondents mentioned
'non registration of complaint' as a pervasive malpractice in police stations. To
tackle this problem -
·
A Toll Free Number should be made available to
all the people to complaint against the police officers.
·
The call should be recorded, a complaint
registered, and a notice should be sent to the concerned police officer to
explain his inaction to file FIR within the next 24 hours.
·
Failing to reply to the notice, they should be
fined/ suspended based on their record.
· A local police ombudsman, i.e., an Independent
oversight body that will have jurisdiction over complaints of obstruction of
justice and abuse of authority by the police, needs to be set up.
To substantially improve the functioning of Indian
police force and enhance its public accountability there should be a three way
division of functions into:
- ™ an independent crime investigation mechanism,
- ™ maintenance of law and order and
- ™ local police force (district level) units.
The prescription
for carrying out police reforms already exists in the form of findings of
various police commissions, judicial pronouncements and advice of retired
police officers. What we need is the political will to implement them.
Good efforts Nishank.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion:
your reform ideas lack comprehensiveness. (please read 5th report of second ARC).
secondly, hafeez saeed was never arrested by any Indian athaurities. (i wish it was true)
Thank you.. I have corrected the Hafeez Saeed point. It was other Saeed who was released at the time of Kandhar Hijack..
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