Context:
A conference of the Directors General of Police of all the states and union territories was held, organised by the Intelligence Bureau which highlighted the increasing security related problems and need for reforms in policing model.
Highlighted concerns in the Conference:
- Increasing rate of Crime:Â The events of chain-snatching, kidnapping, robbery, murder, communal riot, terrorist outrage or any other law and order situation is increasing and police interventions is neglected in terms of reforms.
- Over-pendency of cases:Â The overburdening of police staff makes them inefficient and affects their working condition.
- Tougher conditions of work: Since Independence, 36,044 police personnel have died in the performance of their duties. Police duties in India are tougher than in any other part of the world.
Present condition of Police system:
- Working at police stations: Generally, visiting a Police station is a task for a citizen, as the staff, overworked and fatigued, is generally unresponsive. Police in India work at 77 per cent of their sanctioned strength and these personnel work for 14 hours a day on average.
- Lack of resources: According to the Status of Policing in India Report 2019, there are 70 police stations which have no wireless, 214 police stations that have no telephone and 240 police stations that have no vehicles.Â
- Inadequate Training and remunerations:Â The training institutions have not kept pace with the changing paradigm on the law or crime front and are manned generally by unwanted, demotivated officers.
Suggestive points:
- Crimes increasing faster: Terrorist crimes, cybercrimes, drug trafficking, crypto currency, etc. are all very important subjects. These must be discussed and strategies planned to tackle them.
- Allocation of proper resources at police stations: The police station must be reinforced with adequate staff and its infrastructure upgraded with better transport, communication and forensic facilities.
- Win the confidence of people: Impacts on the life and property of the common citizen tend to get neglected at local police stations mostly; it is high time that the basics are taken care of to gain confidence of people.
- Introduction with the increase in crime rates in India with suitable data.
- Analyze why the policing system needs reforms like modernization, increasing police-citizen ratio, enhancing technological capabilities, etc.
- Highlight some of the committee recommendations like 2nd ARC Report, Supreme Court Guidelines, etc. to deal with digital and cross-border crimes.
- Conclude with how police capability enhancement will ensure better Justice Delivery in India.