Page 59 - EducationWorld January 2021

Attempted Police Reforms

National Police Commission (NPC) 1977-81 Established after the Emergency, NPC produced 8 reports suggesting
major reforms across a range of police issues.
Ribeiro Committee 1998 Established by the Supreme Court to review the lack of action taken to
implement NPC recommendations and to re-frame a new police act
Padmanabhaiah Committee 2000 Dealt with the issues of politicisation and criminalisation of the police
and police accountability
Malimath Committee 2002-03 Suggested changes in the Indian Penal Code and outlined ways of
improving judicial proceedings
Police Act Drafting Committee 1 2005 Drafted a new model Police Act to replace the 1861 Police Act
Supreme Court Directives 2006 SC issued seven directives to state police forces including setting
(Prakash Singh Case) up State Security Commissions, Police Establishment Boards and a
Police Complaints Authority
Second Administrative Reforms 2007 Noted that police-public relations were unsatisfactory and suggested a
range of reforms to change this
Justice Thomas Committee 2010 Highlighted the total indifference of state governments to police
reforms
Supreme Court Directives (On Centre’s 2018 New directives on police reforms and reviewed states’ progress in the
plea to modify 2006 verdict) implementation of 2006 directives

country’s adverse police-population training.
ratio, it’s imperative that officers The low priority given to the educa-
and men are given periodic in-ser- tion, training and technology utilisa-
vice training with special emphasis tion skills of the country’s 2.8 million
on upgrading their digital education police personnel is highlighted in the
and forensic skills. Currently, there Status of Policing in India Report
is excessive focus on physical fitness 2019, a detailed study conducted by
training and due to lack of cyber and the well-known Delhi-based NGO,
forensics training, there is routine use Common Cause and the Centre for the
of third degree to extract confessions. Study of Developing Societies.
This has given India’s overworked po- According to the study, 70 police
lice personnel a bad reputation which stations in 20 states do not have wire-
they don’t deserve,” says Tagore, a less facilities and 214 police stations
science, law and philosophy postgrad are without a telephone and 40 per-
of Mysore University who began his cent of India’s 16,098 police stations
career as a college lecturer, signed up Tagore: digital & forensics skills deficit cannot access forensic technology.
with the Karnataka Police in 1974, and “Institutional neglect of two key re-
served for 35 years. policed country with 144 policemen sponsibilities — of improving work
Undoubtedly the root cause of in- per 100,000 population against the conditions and orienting the police to
adequate training of the country’s minimum 222 per 100,000 recom- a more sophisticated, democratic and
estimated 2.8 million police person- mended by the United Nations (Russia humane work ethic — emerges as the
nel is the meagre provision made in 416, USA 207, France 330). Moreover, most striking finding of the study,”
the budgets of the Central and state 30 percent of police officers posts are write the authors of the report.
governments for maintenance of law currently lying vacant. Despite numerous committees and
and order and justice delivery. For Consequently in most states, police reports recommending drastic reforms
instance, the Union Budget 2020-21 personnel work for 10-16 hours, 24X7, in police training and recruitment (see
provides Rs.95,396 crore — a mere 2.5 a gruelling schedule which exacts a box), the fact that they are all gather-
percent of total expenditure — for the heavy toll on the health — mental and ing dust is clear proof that the colonial
pay and maintenance of the Central physical — of officers and men. There- culture is still alive and well in police
police (including Delhi and CRPF), fore, even if in-service education and stations across the country.
and state governments rarely provide training is provided, they have pre-
a higher proportion. The result is that cious little time for improving skills (Dilip Bobb is a former executive editor of
contemporary India is a hugely under- or broad-basing their education and India Today, Delhi)

JANUARY 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 59