Police scheme may be shelved

By Roy Mathew

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 14. The Government will be reconsidering the People's Policing Scheme in view of widespread objections to it.

Already, a committee headed by the Home Secretary with the Law Secretary and the Director-General of Police is considering opinions and suggestions on the draft scheme published by the Government. The committee is receiving responses from people from different walks of life. However, it is objections from within the police force that have tended to dilute the CPI(M)'s resolve to go ahead with the scheme. The UDF had bitterly opposed the scheme. There was also protests from within the LDF.

Normally, the Home Secretary should be revising the draft based on the opinions and suggestions received by the committee. This should then go to the Cabinet for approval. However, now there is the likelihood of the scheme being shelved, at least temporarily.

The draft of the scheme, which had been widely circulated and published in newspapers, presents an outwardly innocuous looking scheme with laudatory objectives. However, many, including police officers, have raised apprehensions about the scheme. The Opposition has criticised that it would lead to further politicisation of the police and alleged that the CPI(M) was trying to reintroduce the ``cell rule'' which it practised during the first Communist Ministry. The CPI and other constituents of the LDF rued that they were not consulted.

From a professional point of view, the problem was that it was modelled on community policing in Western countries such as the U.S. where the police force is a highly professional body. There the people, especially the middle class, are basically law- abiding. Here, the people generally have not much respect for law and most would not mind committing minor offences if sure of not being caught. (This may be the result of three centuries of British Raj and the Civil Disobedience Movement). Besides, given the image of the police in the country, any law-abiding gentlemen with respect for law is unlikely to be actively associated with meetings of local communities proposed in the scheme. Consequently, politicians and criminals would be seizing the initiative.

The Government embarked on the scheme without addressing the major problems in the functioning of the police. There are many criminal elements in the force and most of its personnel have scant regard for human rights. Third degree methods are as common as during the British rule while commitment to duty has disappeared. The force is highly politicised and corruption is rampant.

The best illustrations of the attitudes of today's police was the recent happening at the temple pond in Thiruvananthapuram. An insane person drowned a watcher of the temple in the pond as the police and people looked on. The higher authorities tried to sidetrack the real issue by speaking about imparting training to policemen in swimming and proposing a special ``marine'' wing. The real problem was that there was no duty- conscious policeman among the onlookers who would give some leadership in apprehending the assailant.

The scheme now envisages thousands of head constables to acquire those missing qualities by undergoing some days' training by ``experts in professional matters, communication skills and public relations.'' In addition, the scheme specifies that the head constables who are to be the conveners for ward community should maintain a very high standard of personal conduct. They should not accept personal hospitality from any households unless it is a customary celebration like wedding or house- warming. Besides, under no circumstances they should take alcoholic drinks. They should not smoke in any public place. They should not have any financial dealing with any member of the ward community. They should not take part in any political discussion. The list is long and surely a tall order for the head constables that the people know of. As there are over 17,000 wards in the State, there is little doubt that the stated qualities would only be in paper.

It is feared that the new scheme would subject the police to duel control. Local politicians would use the community policing set- up to meet their ends. This can go against the State-level policies.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Regional
Previous : 4 die as crackers blow up
Next     : Irish Dy. PM sees scope for tourism