Date:13/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/13/stories/2007051317280300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Boost people's confidence in police: Venkatachalaiah

Staff Reporter

IN DEEP THOUGHT: (From left) Director-General of Police K.R. Srinivasan, the former Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachalaiah and city Police Commissioner N. Achuta Rao at a book release function in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: It is time for a social audit of the functioning of the Police Department that will tell us exactly how many unjustified and unnecessary arrests are effected by the law enforcers, and determine the consequential costs to the public, M.N. Venkatachalaiah, former Chief Justice of India, has said.

Mr. Venkatachalaiah, who released the book "The Police and Effective Crime Investigation" authored by police inspector R. Ramachandran here on Saturday said, "we must understand that today, society is in disarray. The manner in which the police are functioning is just one manifestation of this chaos."

The police, as law enforcers, must make human rights and dignity central to their functions, particularly in these times when society's perceptions about this agency had touched the nadir, he said. The reasons for this growing disenchantment with the police were disillusionment with democracy itself, and the alarming number of wrong acquittals.

"Though I sound pessimistic, the situation is explosive — the law-enforcing authorities have failed to convince the people that their actions are justified." Citing a report, he said 65 per cent of the arrests made in the country were unjustified, and 45 per cent of the costs of administering the jails were due to maintaining such arrests.

However, democracy remained the best option, even if the former Singapore President Lee Kuan Yew always maintained that if democracy succeeded, development failed. Mr. Venkatachalaiah said of the 48 high-income generating countries, over 40 were democracies.

Director-General of Police K.R. Srinivasan, Additional Director-General of Police (Corps of Detectives) Ajai Kumar Singh and City Police Commissioner Neelam Achuta Rao were present. The book has been published by Puliani and Puliani Law Book Sellers and Publishers.