Push for Police Reforms

In News 

September 22 is marked as Police Reforms Day in the country. 

• On that day in 2006 the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgement on police reforms.

Overview of Policing in india 

• “Police” being a State subject in the seventh schedule to the Constitution of India,it is primarily the State Governments who have to implement the various police reforms measures.
• State Police Forces Police forces of the various states are governed by their state laws and regulations. Some states have modelled their laws on the basis of a central law, the Police Act, 1861. 

Responsibilities of centre and states with regard to police

Need for police reforms.

• Symbol of colonial rule: The Police Act of 1861, which governs substantially the functioning of police even today, is a symbol of colonial rule. It was promulgated to have a police force that would be “politically useful” — one which would ensure the dominance of the imperial masters over a subject people.
• Internal security challenges  :The police are not able to deal with the internal security challenges as effectively as they should. Jammu & Kashmir has been witnessing unrest for the last 30 years; the Maoist problem has been festering for more than 50 years and there have been multiple insurgencies in the Northeast for more than 60 years. 
  • Unfortunately, India has no internal security doctrine with the result that the problems are tackled as per the perception of the ruling dispensation at any given point in time.
  • The state police forces are in shambles and find themselves incapable of tackling these problems decisively.
• Economic development : India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world but this progress would have been even faster if the country did not have such serious challenges to its internal security, which sapped the economy of the country. 
  • Economic development depends on sound law and order and India can have good law and order only if it has professional police.
• Criminalisation of politics: : Democracy has been vitiated by the infiltration of persons of questionable background. The police, under the circumstances, feel hamstrung in taking action against this segment of people and their supporters who have a shady background and who may one day devour the very system that has placed them in power.
• Lack of  confidence in the police: People, in general, do not have confidence in the police. This is particularly true of the lower strata of society, who feel that there is one law for the poor and another for the rich and powerful. 
• Complex law and Order problem : law and order problems are becoming more complex with every passing year. Organised crime has acquired international dimensions. Arms trafficking and drug trafficking do not observe any borders. Cybercrimes are increasing in geometrical progression. 
• Poor infrastructure: The police are not able to deliver partly because of poor infrastructure. There are huge deficiencies in human resources. Overall, there is a vacancy of more than 5,00,000 personnel. There is huge scope for improvement in transport, communications and forensics as well.
• Work load : According to the Status of Policing in India Report, 2019, an average policeman works for 14 hours a day and does not get any weekly off. This takes a heavy toll on his mental and physical health. poor housing conditions and long working hours have an adverse impact on police performance. 
• Technological upgradation  : there is enormous scope for technological inputs into the functioning of the police. These inputs would act as a force multiplier.
• Different wings: Police reforms must extend to its different wings at the Centre also. 
  • It is very strange that the CBI does not have statutory support and the Intelligence Bureau, which was set up through an administrative order in 1887, also needs a statutory basis.

About  Supreme Court’s Prakash Singh judgement on police reforms 

• In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court in September 2006 had directed all states and Union Territories to bring in police reforms.
•  The ruling issued a series of measures that were to be undertaken by the governments to ensure the police could do their work without worrying about any political interference.
  • Fixing the tenure and selection of the DGP to avoid situations where officers about to retire in a few months are given the post. 
  • In order to ensure no political interference, a minimum tenure was sought for the Inspector General of Police so that they are not transferred mid-term by politicians. 
  • The SC further directed postings of officers being done by Police Establishment Boards (PEB) comprising police officers and senior bureaucrats to insulate powers of postings and transfers from political leaders
  • There was a recommendation of setting up the State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) to give a platform where common people aggrieved by police action could approach. 
  • The SC directed separation of investigation and law and order functions to better improve policing, setting up of State Security Commissions (SSC) that would have members from civil society and forming a National Security Commission.

Present Status 

• The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), in its report on September 22, 2020 that tracked changes made in the police force following the 2006 judgement, found that not even one state was fully compliant with the apex court directives and that while 18 states passed or amended their Police Acts in this time, not one fully matches legislative models.

Conclusion 

• The future of India is linked with police reforms. If the country is to progress and emerge as a great power, there is no alternative to radical reforms in the police.
• The policing system needs to be reformed to be in tune with present day scenarios and upgraded to effectively deal with the crime and criminals, uphold human rights and safeguard the legitimate interests of one and all.
• The Prime Minister in 2021, called for the setting up of a high-powered technology mission to adopt future technologies for fulfilling grassroots policing requirements. This needs to be taken up as a priority.
• Complex law and Order problems require a very high level of sophistication and expertise on the part of the police. 
• They need to have the operational freedom to carry out their responsibilities professionally, and satisfactory working conditions while being held accountable for poor performance or misuse of power.