NEED OF REVAMPING INDIAN POLICE

If policing is to be effective in the years ahead, specialization is crucial.

Creation of three distinct police services with separate recruitment and training
is the need of the hour.
a) Regulatory Police or Uniformed Police in charge of law and order and
other regulatory duties; (b) Mainstay police in charge of crime investigation,
crime prevention, security and intelligence operation; (c) Social police in charge
of prevention and investigation of all social offences and implementation of
social legislation. All three wings should have their own individual organisations
up to district level with independent Superintendents and staff as required:
functioning in tandem in much the same way as the army, navy and air force. At
the apex could be a specially constituted body called the State Police Authority
with Police Chiefs of all three wings as members and the Chief Secretary of the
Government as its Chairman.
At present, the growth of the Police Department is not really much more than
a spasmodic reaction to various stimuli and lacks the benefit of an integrated
approach. As a result, a structural chorisis is evident which places operational
facilities, counterbalances and counterchecks in jeopardy. The constitution of a
permanent cell of organisation experts under the direct control of the police chief
to redefine Police Organisation is required to make it more meaningful and need-
based. This could help in streamlining the hierarchy by identifying and eliminating
redundant posts, rationalizing workloads and preventing their duplication,
redefining duties and procedures and thus the rights and responsibilities at each
level. In consequence, police functioning would be made more cost-effective
and efficient.
The annual assessment of men and officers in the police has become a travesty
of what it was originally meant to be. In no way, under the present circumstances,
does an ACR reflect an officer’s qualities or capabilities or lack thereof. Any
reliance on this clavis to mischief is sure to demoralize the force. It is my strong
conviction that the department would be far better off without this pernicious
evaluation process that encourages corruption and favoritism in the force.
Though, it must be said that the evils of the ACR are not inherent in the process

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itself, but stem rather from the calibre of those who write them at various levels.
What characterizes the rite of the ACR today is a distinct lack of objectivity: it has
become a means to personal ends, a medium for the advancement of individual
interests and even settlement of personal scores. Servility is its inevitable
consequence and it would not be immoderate to say that, eliminating the ACR
altogether would be certainly a step towards commune bonum in the police force.
Police Officers who don’t opt to join the IPS must have the opportunity for
promotion provided by reservation of a suitable percentage at the next level.
New rules would of course have to be prescribed for such promotion. Similarly,
a minimum percentage of the total number of district and other coveted posts
must be reserved for these officers. As the KSPS and IPS are two distinct services
and nowhere is it stated that the latter superates the former, equal opportunities
should be given to officers of both services. There would be no harm in allowing
KSPS officers to grow in the service of their induction if proper avenues for
advancement are vouchsafed. They would also feel more of a sense, of
belonging in their own service rather than in an alien service, where a degree of
alienation is perhaps inevitable.
It is common experience that police officers on deputation land in jobs far
lower in rank than in their home departments. The tendency to only gradually
upgrade posts to facilitate promotion further complicates matters. Many posts
generally held by Deputy Commissioners in administrative service were held by
DIGs and then by IGs in the police department, with a consequent lowering of
the prestige and dignity of the ranks. Similarly, there are very high-ranking posts
in the Police with minor job contents, ipso facto affecting the dignity of the ranks.’
These matters require critical review by organization experts to have a more
balanced police setup.
The blame that no talent breeds and grows in the heath of the police setup
cannot be easily gainsaid. The Indian Police Service continues to be an
intellectually poor, unattractive, subsecive service in the spectrum of All India
Services with only misfits opting for the service. The constabulary that forms the
bulk of the service is largely constituted of people from the lower strata of society
who are psychologically handicapped to exercise their police powers against the
more enlightened people in society. The tendency to foul-up superior intellect
and excellence is another contributing factor for the atrophy of the police setup.
The general reluctance to adopt modern techniques of policing and
management, the dogmatic approach to man-to-man and public relations and
the lack of psychological insight to human nature are other factors responsible
for the unfortunate state of affairs in the force. Only capable police leadership

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at all levels can overcome these problems. The organisation is bound to

experience a glissade until the trend of donkey-judging-and-riding-horse is put
to an end in the police setup and a semblance of objectivity, reasonableness and
good judgment touch the core of police administration.

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