When I joined the Indian Police Service sixty-two years ago in 1953, the British had just left our shores, and along with them the English officers who dominated the senior ranks of the police. But their legacy of integrity and justice continued for many years thereafter. Corruption, which is the biggest problem today that the country faces, did exist even in the days of the British, but it was confined mainly to the junior ranks. As far as the supervisory cadre of the Indian Police Service (IPS) was concerned, there might have been a few odd exceptions, and even in those rare cases there was peer condemnation, which made them cautious. Since the senior ranks were predominantly honest and just, the subordinates did not openly and boldly transgress the written codes for fear of the punishment that would automatically follow.
The changed values of today
These equations have changed now. The ‘Get rich quick at any cost’ value system prevalent among the young has spread like wild fire in the police force just as it has spread in all other spheres of public life and governance in the country. Many young entrants to the IPS, as in other services, join with the express purpose of amassing wealth by means that are far from legitimate. It is very fortunate that there still are officers of integrity and competence to whom people gravitate when rank injustice is perpetrated by elements, often patronised by political functionaries.
People ask me how I could enforce a measure of people-friendly policing thirty or more years ago. I reply that I was a leader, in charge of my own men, and I was responsible for their discipline and performance. No bureaucrat or politician interfered in my management of the force under my command. The politicians confined themselves to their role as the protector of the rights of the people who had elected them to office. If there was a miscarriage of justice or a rogue police officer out to make a killing, the politicians would bring it to my notice knowing well that I would carry out my constitutional duty of ensuring that the law is upheld and enforced, by disciplining of the officer who was misbehaving. Sometimes, a politician, eager to dispense patronage and garner voter support, would take the side of the rogue, but if I stood my ground and pointed out to him that I was merely upholding the law as enacted by legislatures of which he was himself a member, he or she would sagely retreat.
The most frequent interference in police administration comes in the form of requests for postings and transfers of subordinates who approach politicians either through influential contacts who can be expected to deliver a sizeable number of votes at the time of elections, or by other means which the reader can guess, but is best not spelt out on paper. If a senior officer stands firm and does not surrender to such demands, he is ultimately respected and left alone, particularly if the general public has faith in his leadership. Politicians would hesitate to pick on senior officers who enjoy the backing of the general public and of their own subordinates. And such support would come if and when the senior officer practices what he preaches, is honest in his dealings, and does not take sides. Such officers are always noticed and respected. They enjoy immunity from political machinations.
In my days, the head of the police force was a very respected and admired official who represented an Institution. His was the last word in all matters of discipline, transfers and promotions. The Superintendents of Police (SP) in charge of districts and Commissioners of Police of big cities wielded the power of making and unmaking careers of the men under their command. If these senior officers were themselves men of integrity and honour, just and fair in their dealings as they are expected to be, without subjective biases, the administration ran smoothly. It was the duty of the political class, aided by the bureaucracy, to choose honest and competent police leaders at the cutting edge. In my early career, I noticed that the Minister and his Secretary went strictly by the advice and judgment of the Director General of Police, who knew each of his men and what each was capable of. It was only after the politicians started meddling in transfers and promotions with the active help and connivance of the bureaucracy that things went awry.
In the old days which people still remember with nostalgia, all transfers and promotions up to the rank of Deputy SP were made by departmental superiors. The politicians did not interfere. Personnel issues relating to officers of the rank of SP and those belonging to the IPS were controlled by the government, which meant the Minister in charge of the Home Department, assisted by the Addl. Chief Secretary. Now, by law, this arrangement has been altered to enable the political class and the bureaucrats to decide, leaving the police hierarchy powerless and in shambles.
The political stranglehold
All recommendations of the National Police Commission on Police Reforms have been accepted, except the crucial ones curbing the powers of the politicians and bureaucrats to interfere in appointments, postings and transfers. But this is the real crux of the problem of command and control. If the subordinate ranks know that they can flaunt the decisions and wishes of their own bosses because the power to discipline them or even transfer them has been taken away, the whole gamut of police administration collapses like a pack of cards. This is exactly what is happening today!
People feel that policing today is in the grip of wide spread inefficiency, incompetence and corruption. I agree with the corruption charge. It has grown exponentially not only because of the fall in values widespread in society, but also because the grip of the senior officers on their own subordinates has loosened to such an extent that it will take years to reverse the trend. I partly agree about the inefficiency which is the direct result of corruption, though it must be admitted that those are times when the police has done very well even in difficult circumstances by rising to the occasion, particularly in law and order situations. I do not agree at all about the charge of incompetence. On the contrary, the officials and men today are of much higher caliber than in my days. They are better informed, better educated and better trained. They are also better equipped, and they have the clear advantage of advanced technology available for their assistance in all forms of policing duties. If they prove incompetent it is only because of the culture of corruption that has been allowed to take hold of a good institution because of the massive politicisation of that institution.
When I say that the entrants in the police force at every level today are better educated and informed, I must record a rider to that statement. All these educated and informed aspirants may not really be interested in the job of policing as such. Many join because of the absence of alternative employment. Old police officers send the least qualified of their children for recruitment. Other sons who are better educated or smarter are employed in more lucrative assignments in the corporate world. It is essential therefore to test not only the mental and physical attributes of aspiring recruits but also their suitability for policing, their attitudes towards the poor and the weak, their attitudes to women, to children, to the depressed classes and the minorities. Presence of biases that are ingrained and not capable of being dispelled during training should disqualify the candidates. In fact, I would even advocate that a diploma in police science be introduced at the senior school level, and a degree at the university level to qualify candidates for policing jobs at different levels of entry.
It is of utmost importance to ensure that entrants at all levels are not required to bribe selectors to secure such jobs. Our experience with the State Public Service Commissions and even departmental bodies entrusted with recruitment has been wanting at most times, though with some very noticeable exceptions. People who are required to pay for securing jobs are going to prey on the public as soon as they don the uniform. This is a sure recipe for encouraging corruption, and merits a show of public displeasure to prevent it from happening.
The bottom line is that the police force requires top class leaders who are not only competent, but are also men and women of unimpeachable integrity. Great pressure has to be applied on political leaders entrusted with the task of making such top-level appointments. Once good people are selected and appointed, they should be given operational independence to run the force, which includes appointments, transfers, promotions, punishments, as well as the prevention and detection of crime in accordance with the truth and the law of the land. About that there should be no compromise.