Southern States - Kerala   

Dept. handicapped by shortage of SIs: DGP

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Feb. 10. The delay in the direct recruitment of Sub-Inspectors has come as a major handicap for the police department, the Director General of Police, K. J. Joseph, said here today.

Interacting with media persons at the Press Club here, Mr. Joseph said that only 20 per cent of police stations in the State had directly recruited Sub-Inspectors working as Station House Officers (SHOs).

Describing the situation as a `calamity and a crisis' rolled into one, Mr. Joseph said that policemen promoted as Sub-Inspectors from the ranks were either handicapped by age or lack of training to discharge their duties as SHOs to the fullest measure possible.

Ideally, there should be direct recruitment of Sub-Inspectors every year to fill up vacancies in the department. However, there has been no recruitment of Sub-Inspectors for the past seven years. The last batch was recruited in 1995. The next batch is due in 2003. There is going to be a generation gap between the first and second line of middle level officers, he said. The DGP added that he had held discussions with the chairman of the Public Services Commission (PSC) to remedy the situation. The police have embarked on a scheme to separate crime investigation from the law and order wing. The scheme was being implemented on an experimental basis as a pilot project in Thiruvananthapuram. If found successful, it would be extended to Kochi and Kozhikode cities.

Mr. Joseph said the department has taken serious note of the incidents of suicide among policemen and an official assessment was under way. He said the suicide among policemen could be an extension of the high suicide rate in Kerala.

To a question whether the police were truly insulated from extraneous and illegal interference in the discharge of its duties, Mr. Joseph said that there has been an `optimistic change' in recent times. In response to another question, Mr. Joseph said the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, had at no point of time instructed the police on the brass stacks of tackling law and order issues. `It is not the Chief Minister's subject', he said.

Strategy and tactics are different when it comes to tackling law and order issues. On the basis of available information, the police top brass decides on the strategy while the tactics are best left to the officer on the field. The field officer makes an assessment of the evolving ground situation and adopts the necessary tactics as and when required, he said.

He said the police have no stock response for tackling law and order situations or agitations. Different situations merit different police responses, he said. The DGP said during an agitation the police should ensure the free and unimpeded movement of citizens and vehicles. ``But sometimes I have also felt that the police diversion of traffic and blocking of roads is working to the advantage of the protesters. Let us hope that we can address this matter conclusively at the earliest'', he said.

When asked why he was being described as a `military styled disciplinarian', Mr. Joseph said that officers who take decisions that are `correct and legal in themselves' need not impose discipline.

Asked whether it was right on the part of the police to intervene in labour disputes, the DGP said the police could not be excluded from incidents of criminal nature. ``An employee stabs his employer as part of a labour dispute, can you insist that the police should not interfere'', he asked.

Asked whether the police constabulary needed organisational freedom, Mr. Joseph said that it was an old subject and his view in the matter was that of an older generation. ``If senior officers are attentive and concerned about the welfare of the constabulary, there is no need for a police association. The police association is not of a trade union nature'', he said.

The DGP said that corruption has come down considerably in the police department and checking graft has remained one of his topmost priorities. The police have registered a high success rate in cracking down on offences relating to theft of property. The recovery rate of stolen goods, including vehicles, has been very high, he said.

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