Page 58 - EducationWorld January 2021

Special Report

ern police processes and protocols,
and their excessive use of third de-
gree and violence while interrogating
suspects dates back to the colonial era.
“Some states in India provide a
semblance of modern training but
the overall picture remains sad and
gloomy, and the legacy colonial pack-
age is still being used and applied.
There is more emphasis on outdoor
training and drills which have very lit-
tle practical relevance for a policeman
in his future expected delivery,” com-
ments former police officer Rajbir
Deswal, in an interview to Education
Today (Delhi) recently. A former joint
director in the Haryana Police Acad-
emy and Additional Director-General Deswal: gloomy training picture Singh (second left): political connection
of Police, Human Rights and Litiga-
tion, Deswal is now a practising ad- tion, his training lasted nine months of Police Research & Development un-
vocate in the Punjab & Haryana High and comprised a physical fitness regi- der the Union home ministry should
Court, Chandigarh. men and weapons training. be given greater importance. “The
bureau is doing good work in improv-
On the other hand, an IPS officer
C URIOUSLY, FOR recruit- is trained for two years, with inspec- ing the training and education of the
police but regular staff at police train-
ment at the lower levels
tor-level officers given a year’s train-
of the force in the states
state. Yet the plain truth is that apart
— almost 86 percent of ing and quality varying from state to ing institutions are less motivated. Of-
ficers have no growth prospects and
the state police comprises the con- from the approximately 8,500 IPS they end up teaching the same lessons
stabulary — only physical fitness of officers recruited annually, all other and skills,” he says.
candidates is tested. Typically, con- police personnel are provided mere According to K.V. Ravindra-
stables are promoted only once during basic training for challenges in the nath Tagore, IPS, Director-General
their service which could last up to 19 field. Human rights issues aren’t an (Retd.) of Police, Karnataka, the most
years, and they normatively retire as essential part of their training. urgent reform required in the police
head constables. With law and order Deswal, who has attended training countrywide is to mandate periodic
being a state subject under the Con- programmes in police academies in in-service training and exams for of-
stitution, apart from the IPS cadre, the UK, believes the role of the Bureau ficers and men/women. “Given the
other police personnel — constables,
sub-inspectors and deputy superin- Law, order & justice deficit
tendents of police (DSP) — are directly
recruited by state governments. Offi- Police Judges
cially, constables are required to have (per 100,000) (per million)
cleared Plus Two (higher secondary) Croatia 489 Slovenia 420
exams but the main consideration is Italy 462 Germany 250
physical fitness with chest size, height Argentina 416 Belgium 230
and stamina.
“I joined as a constable in 2012, Russia 416 Finland 196
and while there are written exams, the France 330 China 170
local MLA in Haryana, where I come Thailand 320 Spain 110
from, got me in without my exam re-
sult being considered. Most of us are UK 226 US 107
from rural areas and if you have some USA 207 Sweden 85
political connection, getting into the India 144 UK 51
police force is not a problem,” says
constable Ram Singh of the Delhi India 19.49
Police. According to him, after induc- Source: EW compilation

58 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2021