Praveen Kumar Police Policing 1 > Innovative Techniques

INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES IN POLICING

Indian Police of the post-independent vintage is deeply mired in the maelstrom of inaptitude and unprofessional indulgences non obstinate rare exceptions. It is impaled in the skein of self-seeking objectives and amblyopia. Motivation is the first disaster in the process. Excellence suffers in the ambience. Those in police in India are familiar with this mephitis. But, sadly as unenlightened as they are, they think that they are doing a service to the police by denying the reality. Such people have not realized the fact that a sound reconstruction presupposes demolition. Unfortunately, these people are perpetuating the glissade of the Indian police. Talks of innovative techniques presupposes a sound foundation. In the situation of a crumbling foundation as in India Police, talks of innovative techniques appear rather cosmetic. The singular panpharmacon convenance for the malady of the India Police is packed in just two words:

MOTIVATION

and

PROFESSIONALISM.

Bring it, all other matters

including organizational restructuring, administrative skills, control mechanisms, long term perspectives, accountability, efficiency, innovative techniques, cost effectiveness, creative input, response time etc inter se fall in line. Anything done sans the two attributes as the backbones of the gestalt is an operose labour of carrying to a bottomless avernus. As motivation and professionalism constitute independent subjects for exhaustive deliberations inter se and beyond the scope of the extant paper, I attempt a brachypterous propaedeutic on what innovative techniques are en regle for the India Police within the given limitations. 1) CREATION OF A DISTINCT DETECTIVE CADRE : Policing of the ancien regime was basically identified with crime investigations. Even now, popular perception of the Police is associated with

CRIME INVESTIGATION.

The image of

the Police is largely dependent on the standard of the performance of its investigators. The pandemic tragedy of the present Indian Police is that the investigation ingredient of the policing is accrescently palliated by apparently more important policing pressures. The prevarication is a major factor in the degringolade of the police and policing standards in India postliminary to independence.

Indian police can cover the achilles’ heel by carrying out a separate detective cadre upto the rank of Inspectors with recruitment and training processes more suo conforming to the needs of the detective cadre. The cadre should be treated as a distinct entity for the purpose of seniority and promotions. Inspectors from the detective and general streams have to be absorbed to higher ranks on the basis of seniority cum merit with a clear advantage of one or two years to the detective cadre so that the best brains are illaqueated to the fold. Periodical in-service training and tests in investigation skills have to be an essential ingredient of the cadre management and conditional to gain eligibility for promotion at every level. The demarche may revert Indian police to its pristine gloria in the vital expanse of the crime investigation. Creation of the distinct detective cadre ncessiates perforce the creation of investigation centres parallel to the police stations in the process of the division of policing responsibilities at the grassroot levels. 2) POLICE STATIONS AS GRASSROOT POLICE SYSTEM:

A system is a functionally independent unit of mutually dependent entities that constitute the whole with or without an amblical chord connecting to the materfamilias for sustenance. Extant police stations can hardly be a system as per this definition. Police stations as of now are dependent on ectogenous factors for its functions leading to dilation of effectiveness and professionalism. On the other hand, police stations as an ideal system must infuse credibility and compel public co-operation. The police Inspector in charge of a police station in the new system must have a legal Inspector trained in law and a panel of local representatives as statutory aides. For this, the police department must create a new cadre of legal officers trained in law to staff the police stations and senior police offices. On the other hand, the district police superintendents must prepare a panel of two or three law-abiding and distinguished nonpolitical locals of his choice for each police station under him as democratic representatives. All major decisions and actions of a police station must originate only after formal discussion between the police inspector, the legal Inspector and any one from the statutory panel of the locals and on majority decision among the three in writing as a statutory requirement. The process helps

the democratisation of the policing at the grassroot level consectary to the zeitgeist sans the negative aspects of the democratic process. The opus musivum brings the advantage of a collective decision and a touch of legal expertise and local-sense to the policing decisions and actions. The systemic change may take away the apollyon of corruption immanent in the ancien regime and also oppilate it too. Indeed, much depends upon the avizefull selection of the locals by the district police superintendent. After all, he is responsible au fond for the perficient policing in his district. Two techniques that constitute the bedrock for transforming Indian police to an efficient outfit in the absence of motivation and professionalism at higher levels are touched upon here. The Indian police must learn to live with the cul de sac of such an absence and consectaneous maelstrom and adapt as it is well-nigh impossibel to breach complacency. Ergo, if anything, it must be at lower levels. And the grassroot level is the most ideal candidate to take something pro bono publico. Hence, a couple of isagogic techniques that I think innovative to restructure policing and police administration at the grassroot level are dealt in brachys here. If the new fangled techniques are imprimis incorpsed assez bien in Indian police system, I obsign that that contabescent Indian police is bound to experience considerable face-lift.