inperspective

Crimesbypolicemen,amatter
ofconcern
ByDVGuruprasad
Sometime ago, when Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made a
comment that "policemen are criminals in uniform", there was
outrage in the Delhi Police. A similar comment made earlier by a
judgeresultedinsimilarreactions.
RecentincidentsinBengaluruinvolvingpolicemen,bothservingand
retired, in criminal activities makes one feel that may be such
comments are not entirely unfounded. In the last week alone,
Bengaluru police arrested a retired deputy superintendent of police
(DySP) and seven serving policemen on charges of robbing
businessmenpostdemonetisationdrive.
Few years ago, some police officers in Mysuru allegedly stopped a
bus going to Kerala, detained a passenger and knocked off a huge
amount of cash he was carrying. On his complaint, an investigation
wasconductedandsomeservingpoliceofficerswerechargedforthe
crime.
Earlier in the past, crimes alleged against police personnel used to
centre around their corrupt activities or custodial violence. We had
evenheardofcaseswherestolenpropertyrecoveredfromtheaccused
weremisappropriatedbyunscrupulouspoliceofficers.
However,policementhemselvesplanningandplottingrobberiesand
dacoities were rare indeed. The fact that such incidents are now
occurringfrequentlyindicatesthatsomethingisseriouslywrong.
There is no easy answer to the question as to why policemen turn
criminals. Lure of quick and easy money, constant interaction with
criminals and inherent behavioural problems may be cited as some
reasons.
Butthelargerquestionishowdosuchpeoplegetintothepoliceforce
in the first place? Is there no system to screen such people from
entering the system? Police recruitment does not have a system of
identifyingpotentialwrongdoers.
Usuallyphysicalefficiencytest,writtentestandpersonalinterviews
are held for selection. Police departments of five states are now

incorporating questions related to assessment of a person's

psychologicalmakeupintothewrittentest.
But potential misfits are not flagged and removed based on their
answers.InpersonalinterviewsofpolicesubinspectorsinKarnataka,
apsychologistispartoftheinterviewboard.Butnocandidateseems
tohavebeenrejectedbasedonthepsychologist'sassessment.
Sinceitisdifficulttopreventapersonwithcriminalmindingetting
selectedintothepolicewing,itisincumbentuponpolicetopbosses
toinculcatevaluesduringinductiontraining.Whilesomestateshave
introducedethicsasoneofthesubjectsforpolicetraining,manystill
concentrateonsubjectslikelawandpoliceduties.
It is also a wellknown that police training does not get the
importanceitdeserves.Henceevenatthisstage,undesirablepersons
donotusuallygetweededout.
If a person with a criminal mind manages to get selected and gets
confirmed in the police force, the only way to make him pursue a
path of law is by constant supervision. It is a pity there are no
periodical assessments to gauge the mental makeup of a police
constableorasubinspector.
The department normally goes by whatever is written by seniors in
theAnnualAppraisalReports(ARRs).Moreoften,thesereportsare
writtenroutinely.Inthearmedforcesorinthecentralpoliceforces,
an assessment of a person's performance and mental makeup is
periodicallymadeandblacksheeparemercilesslyweededout.
AsperthedataoftheNationalCrimeResearchBureau(NCRB),the
total number of criminal cases registered against policemen were
1,989in20132,600in2014and5,526in2015.Ofthese5,526cases,
Kerala itself accounted for 3,080 cases, whereas Karnataka reported
only 84 cases. Considering that people in general do not make
complaintsagainstpolicemeninIndia,thisfigureisalarming.
Rarepunishments
Outofthe5,526cases,4,367caseswerechargesheetedandin1,512
cases police personnel were arrested. However, the total number of
police personnel convicted is only 25. These figures indicate that
wrongdoersrarelygetpunished.
Cansuchcrimesbestopped?Theansweris'no'.Therewillbeblack
sheepinthedepartment.However,suchcrimescanbeminimised.
Thiscanbedonebyscreeningtheapplicantsforpolicejobsbyusing
well established psychometric tests, instilling strong sense of values
duringtrainingandhavingperiodicrefreshertrainingcourses,taking
strictactionincludingdismissingfromtheserviceagainstthosewith
criminal bent of mind and constantly monitoring the activities of at
leastthosepolicemenwhocometoadversenotice.

Whistle blowers in the department need to be encouraged and

protected.Effortsshouldbemadetoseethatthosepolicemencharge
sheetedforseriouscrimesdonotescapepunishment.
MerelyhavingaPoliceComplaintsAuthorityineverystatedoesnot
solve the problem. A system of policing the police needs to be
introduced. If police leaders do not sit up and take corrective
measures,thesituationwillgooutofhand.
(ThewriterisformerDirectorGeneralofPolice,Karnataka)

APoliceComplaintsAuthoritydoesnotsolvethe
problem.Asystemofpolicingthepoliceisnecessary.
SPEAKOUT

"Your(Rahul's)glassisItalianmade.
SwitchtoIndianglasses,thenitwillbe
clearlyevidentthatIndiaischanging."
AmitShah,BJPpresident

Iwon'tinsultyourintelligenceby
suggestingthatyoureallybelievewhatyou
justsaid.WilliamFBuckley,Jr