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International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, Vol. 6, No. 4, December 2013, 228-234

Police Corruption in India

____________________________________________________________________

Ravikanth B. Lamani1
G. S. Venumadhava2

Abstract
Police as a Law enforcing agency is an important institution of that social control which
existed in some form or the other in all society in all ages. Police is an integral part of the
present day society. A society in the present set up cannot live and progress without an
effective, sincere and honest police force. The Indian police have its roots in the ancient
period and the present day police are the outcome of an evolutionary process. The bad
things which it has inherited from the old system include corruption among policemen
today. Corruption exists in one form or the other in the police system. Corruption has
infected every sphere of modern life. It has vitiated the moral values of the society and the
police force cannot be an exception. In fact, corruption of police is not a new phenomenon,
but the irony is that the issue has seldom been seized by the organization with a sense of
seriousness. In this paper an attempt has been made to discuss the various aspects of police
corruption in India. The author has tried to discuss the various factors responsible for police
corruption and suggest some remedies to control the corruption among policemen. The
main objective of the paper is to discuss the extent, causes and remedies of police
corruption and explain the extent of distrust that create against police due to corruption. The
basis of the discussion is from secondary sources like police commission reports, books,
magazines, news paper, and other sources.

Introduction

“The frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives”. - American Indian proverb

The Corruption in India is all pervasive; leaving no section of life untouched. Corruption is spread over in
the society in several forms. Of these, the major forms are: bribe (money offered in cash or kind or gift as
inducement to procure illegal or dishonest action). There are about forty ways of embezzlement; what is
realized earlier is entered later on; what is realized later is entered earlier; what ought to be realized is not
realized. It is possible to mark the movements of birds flying high up in the sky, but it is not possible to
ascertain the secret movements of government servants”. The ancient lineage of corruption in India
sanctioned by tradition is evident by these words of Kautilya, the author of ‘Arthasastra’ provide an
important clue to the character of a political regime.3 India is no longer considered a soft state as political
scientists once used to call it. It has now become a kleptocracy, a consideration state, where everything to
be had can be had for a consideration. The police Department is said to be the most corrupt department
where bribes are taken by constables upwards to high status officers. What is surprising is that the police
take money both from the accused and the complainants. The powers enjoyed by the police are so wide

1
Department of Social Work, Karnatak University, India, drravikanthbgfatm@gmail.com
2
Department of Criminology and Forensic Science, Karnatak University, India, drvenumadhava@gmail.com
3
B.K.Prasad, Social problems in India, Anmol Publication Pvt Ltd. New Delhi. Pp.341, 2004. Vol.II.

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International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, Vol. 6, No. 4, December 2013, 228-234

that they can accuse, arrest, and harass even an honest person. Cases of beating the poor people(e.g.,
rickshaw-pullers, labourers, shopkeepers, vendors, etc.) on small pretexts and taking away all the money
in their pockets, accepting money from truck-drivers, taking ‘hafta’(weekly fixed amount), from
shopkeepers and the like are very common cases of corruption. In police department, the rate varies for a
constable from Rs.10 to Rs.2,000, for a sub-Inspector and inspector from Rs.2,000 to Rs.10,000, and for
deputy superintendent and superintendent from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000 or more.4 The corrupt situations
involve individuals and groups in singular and or plural, by and large it is a two way system based on
‘give and take’ principle assuring mutual interest devoid of any social considerations. In wider sense
“Corruption refers to not only all sorts of “improp or selfish exercise of power and influence attached to a
public office or to the special position one occupies in public life” but also includes bribers’ dealing.
“Corruption” is defined according to Webster’s dictionary, as inducement by mean of improper
consideration to commit a violation of a duty. This inducement is not necessarily mean that it should
include money only. This can be price rewards gifts or favour also. The Santhanam Committee Report
1964 defines corruption as “improper or selfish exercise of power and influence attached to a public
office or to a special position one occupies in public life”. The Santhanam Committee has also referred to
this trend and observed “we heard from all sides that corruption in recent years spread even to those levels
of administration from which it was conspicuously absent in the past… The general impressions are
unfair and exaggerated. But, the very fact that such impressions are there, cause damage to the social
fabric”.5 Corruption in simple terms may be described as “an act of bribery”. It has been also described as
“the public power for private profits in a way that constitutes a breach of law or a deviation from the
norms of society”. D. H. Bailey has explained it as “misuse of authority as a result of consideration of
personal gain which needs not to be monetary”. “Police Corruption is the misuse of police authority for
personal gain” The widespread corruption is not the problem of Indian police only. We find that in USA
the law enforcement agencies are full of major scandals. The widespread corruption in police dept in USA
even reported by Knapp Commission in 1972.6 The British police also suffer from this problem. The
Royal Commission on police in 1972 found that 42.4 % people a thought that there was some truth in the
suggestion that police sometime take bribes. The situation in India also is not too good. The corruption in
police has become a byword in India.
The word ‘Police’ or a policeman is supposed to be derived from the term ‘Peelman’ who had
been appointed in Britain for 1st time by Sir Robert Peel in the 19th century. The entire police system of a
police reflects the character of a society in which they are working. The corruption in the police cannot be
looked and explained in isolation. We cannot expect that a police officer should be honest when the whole
society is depending and employing corrupt means for its upliftment. The Indian Penal Code section 161
defines corruption as illegal gratification and includes in it not only the pecuniary benefits but other types
of gratification also.
Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits,
other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or
selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest.7 Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct
designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, and/or career advancement for a police officer
or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest. One common
form of police corruption is soliciting and/or accepting bribes in exchange for not reporting organized
drug or prostitution rings or other illegal activities. Another example is police officers flouting the police
code of conduct in order to secure convictions of suspects- for example, through the use of falsified
evidence. More rarely, police officers may deliberately and systematically participate in organized crime
themselves. In most major cities, there are internal affairs sections to investigate suspected police

4
Ram Ahuja, Social problems in India. Rawat Publication, Jaipur. Pp.450-452. 2006.
5
The Santhanam Report-1962. Govt of India. Available at: www.Google.com. Accessed on 04.11.2012
6
Radzinowics and Wolfgang, (Edited), Crime and Justice, Pp.162. 1977. Vol.II.
7
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_corruption. Accessed on 03.11.2012

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corruption or misconduct. 8 Article 7 of the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials says that ‘Law enforcement officials shall not commit any act of corruption. They shall also
rigorously oppose and combat all such acts’. The Value of petty corruption in Police (Crime/Traffic) in
the country is estimated at Rs 3899 crores per annum.9 The various police Commission reports have also
accepted and criticized police for corruption. The police Commission of 1902-03 found a strong evidence
of corruption among policemen particularly among the station house officer throughout the country. The
report discusses the extent of police corruption as under: ‘The police officer may levy a fee or receive a
present for an every duty he performs. The complainant has often to pay a fee for having is complaint
recorded. He has to give the investigator officer a present to secure his point and earnest attention to the
case.10 The various police commissions appointed in the states of Kerala (1960), West Bengal (1960-61)
Bihar (1951) Delhi (1967-68) UP (1990-71) Punjab (1961-62) etc had a unanimous opinion that
corruption is widespread in police force. 11 The UP police Commission 1960-61 is critical of police
corruption and observed “The police dept is no better today; there is little doubt that corruption is rampant
in the non Gazette rank of the police force. Imitation of corruption against Gazette rank is not wanting but
they are not so pervading in their character”. The national police commission 1980 is more critical about
the problem of corruption among the police. It has observed that “with more rampant corruption police
today with the active connivance of numerous local dadas and unprincipled man in public life. The
commission has underlined various situations in which the mal practice is common such as bribe
connected with arrest, fabricating false evidence, extortion of periodic payment or hafta. Bribe received
for registration of case etc”. Thus, Police Corruption is exists in India.

Corruption: Historical Perspective

Corruption is a global phenomenon. It is found in every society in one or the other form since time
immemorial. In ancient times, the judges received bribes in Egyptian, Babylonian and Hebrew societies.
In Rome, bribe was a common feature in elections to public offices. In France, judicial offices were sold
during the fifteenth century. England was described as a ‘sink-hole’ of corruption in the seventeenth and
the eighteenth centuries. In the nineteenth century also, corruption was so rampant in Britain that Gibbon
described it as the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty. 12 Kautilya has referred in his
‘Arthasastra’ to embezzlement by government servants out of the state revenue. He has mentioned about
forty ways of embezzlement; what is realized earlier is entered later on; what is realized later is entered
earlier; what ought to be realized is not realized. It is possible to mark the movements of birds flying high
up in the sky, but it is not possible to ascertain the secret movements of government servants.13 During
Ashoka’s regime, Corruption prevailed on a lower scale.14 In medieval society, scope for corruption was
minimum because only few authorities existed for the collection of taxes. So long they amassed wealth;
they were praised rather than highly-placed British officials too. Clive and Warran Hastings were found
corrupt to an extent that they were tried by the parliamentary committee after their return to England. The

8
Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption# Executive System 28Police Corruption.29.Accessed on
03.11.2012
9
India Corruption study 2005.volume 9, corruption in Police Department 2005. Centre for Media Studies.
Transparency International India. New Delhi. Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption#Executive_System_.28Police Corruption.29.Accessed on 03.11.2012
10
Bailey D H, Police and Political development in India Princeton University Press. New Jersey: 1969.
11
Quadri M A, “Police and Law: A Socio-Legal Analysis”. Gulshan Publishers, Srinagar. (J&K), 1986.
12
Seminar, No.421, Looking back: a sampling of vintage. Paper. Sept. 1994
13
Samasastry R, Kautilya's:Arthasastra, Mysore Printing and Publishing House, Mysore,. Pp.15-17, 1967.
14
(1960) Manjumdar, Public Finance in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. Available at:
books.google.co.in/ books? Isbn =8170170729. Accessed on 16.11.2012

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expansion of the economic activities during the first and second world wars opened new vistas of
corruption in the country. The Bofors, HDW Submarine deal, Airbus deal, ABB Loco deal, Jain Hawala
Racket, Sugar scam, Security scam, Urea scam, Fodder scam in Bihar and Tehelka tapes, etc., are a few
instances. These scams, which surfaced were only the tip of the iceberg. Majority of these scams related
to “public expenditure” by the Central and State governments. Equally alarming are the cases of
corruption in the collection of public revenue and arrears thereof. The corrupt practices in the realization
of direct and indirect taxes, non-recovery of loans from industrialists, money-laundering in the banking
sector, etc., have resulted in the loss of thousands of crores to the national exchequer. Over the years, the
corruption has spread to other areas of police as well. This was largely due to the steady expansion of the
role of police in view of the enactment of a number of social and other legislations that are to be enforced
by the police. “The success of any social legislation depends on the effectiveness of its enforcement and
police have a protective as well as promotional role to perform in this sphere”.15 Corruption is a complex
problem having its roots and ramifications in society as a whole. Hence, police corruption exists in India
to the present day and continuing its menace affecting the rural and urban poor at large.
The sort of corrupt acts that have been committed by police officers have been classified by Tim
Newburn16 are as follows:

 Corruption of authority: police officers receiving free drinks, meals, and other gratuities.
 Kickbacks: receiving payment from referring people to other businesses. This can include, for
instance, contractors and tow truck1 operators.
 Opportunistic theft from arrestees and crime victims or their corpses.
 Shakedowns: accepting bribes for not pursuing a criminal violation.
 Protection of illegal activity: being "on the take", accepting payment from the operators of illegal
establishments such as brothels, casinos, or drug dealers to protect them from law enforcement
and keep them in operation
 "Fixing": undermining criminal prosecutions by withholding evidence or failing to appear at
judicial hearings, for bribery or as a personal favor.
 Direct criminal activities of law enforcement officers themselves.
 Internal payoffs: prerogatives and perquisites of law enforcement organizations, such as shifts
and holidays, being bought and sold.
 The "frame-up": the planting or adding to evidence, especially in drug cases.
 Police hazing2 within law enforcement.
 Ticket fixing: police officers cancelling traffic tickets as a favor to the friends and family of other
police officers.

15
Aparna Sreevastava, Role of Police in a changing society, APH Publication, New Delhi. 1999.
16
Tim Newburn," Understanding and preventing police corruption: lessons from the literature”, Police Research
Series, Paper 110, 1999. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Police_corruption.Accessed on 03.11.2012.

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Reasons for Police Corruption

In fact, corruption in one form or other had always existed in the country. Corruption has infected every
sphere of modern life. It has vitiated the moral values of the society and the police force cannot be an
exception. In fact, corruption of police is not a new phenomenon, but the irony is that the issue has
seldom been seized by the organization with a sense of seriousness. There cannot be a single cause/factor
responsible for police corruption in India. The historical analysis of police working has shown that
corruption among the policemen in British India was wide spread. The reasons may be different. In India,
the recruitment policy of the government is defective. The first rate person did not like to join in the initial
stage of its development. The salary structures, nature and hours of duty, accommodation problem and
certain administrative and organizational problem are the other factors responsible for the police
corruption. It is also due to growing influence of unscrupulous public men and politicians.17 According to
a report, “the strength and the quality of the policemen have not kept pace with the demands of a rapidly
expanding economy and administration. This has resulted in supervision becoming low and ineffective
and in enlarging the scope of corruption proportionately”.18 Police have many limitations on the effective
enforcement of legislations. The ambiguities in many of these legislations coupled with the police
discretion “to act or not to act” in respect of certain offences under them give ample opportunities to the
personnel to resort to corrupt practices during the enforcement of such acts. For example, police
discretion would prevail upon all other factors when a question is to be decided whether the provisions of
the ‘Prevention of Sati Act – 1987’ can be attracted against the relatives of a widow who committed Sati
at her own will. Same is the case with a number of other offences like child labour, untouchability,
immoral traffic on woman, indecent representation of women, etc., which are brought under the ambit of
a plethora of social legislations. An equally disturbing trend is the mounting incidence of corruption in
police while dealing with gender issues like dowry deaths, exploitation of women, etc. Hundreds of
unnatural deaths, which fall under the above categories, are closed without proper investigation.19 For
instance, out of 714 unnatural deaths of married women below the age of 40 reported in Bangalore in
1997, 455 were death by burning. These cases were routinely classified as ‘stove burst’ or ‘kitchen
accidents’ and subsequently closed as accidents without investigations.20
The major source of corruption in the police is the vast power vested in a police officer in a day to
day working. Today police corruption is common feature in all situations where they have discretion and
where they are in a position to use that discretion. One such example is the enforcement of prohibition
laws.21 As the popular adage goes that “Power corrupts and absolute power absolutely” two cognitive
features of police viz. power and discretion give ample scope for the police personnel to indulge in
corruption. They enjoy wide powers while discharging the core functions of police viz. maintenance of
peace and order and prevention and detection of crime and criminal activities. Similarly, police discretion
is a double-edged sword that can be used or misused by the personnel on the mosaic of law and order
situation. Though the personnel are bound to exercise these unique features strictly in accordance with the
procedures that lay down processes and formalities, those intoxicated with tremendous powers and
dominated by selfish motives can misuse them with a view to attaining private gains. Such “deviant
behavior” of the personnel appears in different forms in many areas of policing. Payments of bribes for
postings and promotions are a well-known phenomenon in Police department. As a result, the Policemen
who have paid their way through try to recover the amount as soon as possible and corruption becomes a

17
Afzal Qadri S M, “Police Corruption: An Analysis”, Indian Journal of Criminology, Vol.22 (1). Pp.5-8, 1994.
18
National Commission Report, 1980
19
(2004) Thomas, “Corruption in Indian Police”. Available at: http//www.svpnpa.gov.inhtmlpublications.
OldJournalsupload Journals2004janjun.pdf. Accessed on 01.11.2012.
20
Deccan Herald – July 9, 1999
21
Rajan V N, Administration of Law and Order, Indian Institute of Public Administration, Jaipur. 1979.

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tool for getting better return on “investment”. 22 A study conducted by National Council of Applied
Research (NCAER) about living and working conditions of constabulary in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh
reveals that 53% and 43% of constables in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi respectively were transferred from
one District to another or from one place to another in less than a year. Corruption seems to have become
a way of life in the country. Though the quantum of corruption in police is not as high as that in several
other departments, its extent is quite wide spread and the consequences are more serious. The cancer of
corruption in police very often jeopardizes constitutional governance and acts as catalyst in the violation
of Civil and Human rights of the citizens. The fact that bribe giver is often in distress and the capacity of
the personnel to use or misuse their powers and discretion to extort bribes leads to wide spread
propagation of the image of police as the most corrupt wing of the State. The lack of consonance between
the empirical existential reality of police and its cognitive perceptions in the public mind also contributes
to the crystallization of such an image, which to a great extent is the product of hearsay and media built
stories. A police force whose image is corrupt and partisan is bound to evoke negative feelings among the
public and cannot effectively enforce the role of the law in a democratic set up.

Suggestions for Controlling Corruption

The Corruption in Police can be controlled through the following ways:

Local policing – More Responsive and Accountable Enforcement

There are several policing functions that concern the day-to-day life of common citizen and are very local
by nature e.g. patrolling, traffic regulations, prosecution for offences like public nuisance or eve teasing.
The enforcement of law for these cases could be entrusted to a local force accountable to panchayat or
citizen committees. This local force will have a small area under its jurisdiction, resulting in better
interaction and involvement with citizen.

Making Transfers and Promotions Transparent

Payments of bribes for postings and promotions are a well-known phenomenon in Police department. As
a result the Policemen who have paid their way through try to recover the amount as soon as possible and
corruption becomes a tool for getting better return on “investment”. Also transfers are also commonly
used as a retribution tool against officers as a pressure tactic. However, if a system could be designed
where postings are automatically generated by software after a given time interval for each employee, a
big chunk of corruption can be eliminated. Similarly objective criterion for promotions could be
articulated and publicized so that individual judgment plays a limited part in promotions. This will reduce
the need for bribes in order to get promotion.

Use of Information Technology

Non-registration of complaints is the most common grievance of citizens interacting with Police
department. Since the registration of complaint or FIR is the first step in justice delivery, citizen is forced
to pay bribe. Use of technology for reporting and handling of cases can play an important role in arresting
corruption. Filling of cases could be done through Internet and if required detailed information can be
given later on. Case status could be made available online to bring in more transparency and make the

22
(CMS Study 2005). India Corruption Study 2005. VOL. 9, ‘Corruption in Police Department’. July 28, 2005.
Centre for Media Studies. Transparency International India. New Delhi

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Police force more accountable. FIR could be registered/ receipt issued through check posts or mobile
vans.

Performance Monitoring
Establishing a system for monitoring the performance of Police can substantially increase the
accountability of the force. Objective performance and efficiency indicators can be chosen and tracked
to monitor the performance of the Police force. This will lead to having clear improvement goals for the
force on objective and measurable parameters.

Minimizing Political Interference - Greater Functional Independence

As advocated by National Police Commission a Chief of Police of a State should be given a fixed tenure
of office so as to encourage functional independence. It has been commonplace in India for transfers and
postings of officers to be used as a kind of reward and punishment, as a result of which, many chiefs of
police have had allegiances to political parties. Also the selection of Police Chief could be entrusted to an
expert committee (may be headed by UPSC chairperson). The committee may be given a pre-specified
number of candidates, decided on the basis of seniority, to choose from.

Introducing greater accountability

In today’s scenario, there is very little accountability of Police to the citizen with regard to satisfactory
delivery of services e.g. if a Police officer refuses to register a complaint. Unlike in other services like
electricity or telecom, where if a citizen is not satisfied with the complaint redressal by the department, it
has the option of going to the independent regulator, there exist no such mechanism in case of Police. It is
very essential that accountability of officials at different levels be defined and a degree of immediate
proximity to the people and third party intervention introduced. Public hearings could be an effective tool
for this purpose, as shown in experiments with other services. A system could be introduced where; a few
complaints against police are picked up every month (or some pre-decided time interval) for public
hearing. The public hearings could be conducted by a panel of retired judges and prominent citizens.

Conclusion

Unlike the other executive wings of the government, the police, which has maximum visibility in the
society, their omissions and commissions rapidly attract public attention and spread like a wild fire
through gossip and hearsay. As the police wear a mantle of defensiveness and many of their functions are
shrouded in secrecy, there is a tendency to mythicise or sensationalize such lapses like corruption. The
image of police so created in the minds of people always remains poor and sullied. No doubt, public
awareness of policing has risen tremendously, but issues like corruption are such hidden areas where
facts, fiction, myth, perception and reality are very intricately interwoven. The defaulting policeman
becomes a symbol of the entire organization and his misconduct would be used as a powerful weapon to
tarnish the image of the force. Thus the major task of the police in the new millennium is to refurbish its
image for which reforms at and personnel levels are imperative. Ronald Segal aptly said that “Corruption
like sacrifice, starts at the top & percolating down, colours the whole society”. Hence, nationwide
determination to combat corruption and a strategy of well designed action and follow-up is needed to
control the menace of police corruption in India.

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Q ) Critically evaluate the problem of corruption in police system in India.

India’s existing police system suffers a series of deficiencies from problems relating to a
police organization, environment, infrastructure, and understaffing, to obsolete weaponry and
intelligence gathering techniques to a shortage of manpower to corruption, the police force in
the country is not in a good shape.

Underreporting of crime in India

An expert committee under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has
noted that there is significant under-reporting of crimes under the NCRB .
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs annual report
called Crime in India, that records crime on the basis of the FIRs registered in the police
stations across the country.
There could be suppression of data and low registration of crimes because the police know
that their work is judged on the basis of this information.
Sometimes victims of crime may decide against reporting the incident with the police
because they are afraid to approach the police, or think the crime is not serious enough, etc.
Major Deficiencies
Understaffed and overburdened police force: The police-population ratio, currently 192
policemen per lakh population, is less than what is recommended by UN i.e. 222 policemen
per lakh population.
There are only 144 police officers for every 100,000 citizens (the commonly used measure of
police strength), making India’s police force one of the weakest in the world.
Policing in India is a state subject which means there is significant variation across states.
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal’s police forces are all extremely
understaffed with less than 100 police staff for 100,000 population.
The only states with police forces that meet the global standard are the insurgency-affected
states in the North-East and Punjab.
Even as states have increased the sanctioned strength of their police forces, their populations
have increased by even more -especially in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Understaffing in turn results into overburdening of work that not only reduces the
effectiveness and efficiency of the police personnel (leading to poor quality of investigation)
but also leads to psychological distress (which has been held responsible for various crimes
committed by the policemen) and contributes to Pendency of cases.
As a result of the overburdening of work, Police personnel discharges a range of functions
related to:
Crime prevention and response (e.g., intelligence collection, patrolling, investigation,
production of witnesses in courts)
Maintenance of internal security and law and order (e.g., crowd control, riot control, anti-
terrorist or anti-extremist operations)
Various miscellaneous duties (e.g., traffic management, disaster rescue and removal of
encroachments).
An overburdened police force: A high percentage of vacancies within the police forces
exacerbates an existing problem of overburdened police personnel.

86% of the state police comprises of the constabulary.

Crime per lakh population has increased by 28% over the last decade (2005-2015). However,
convictions have been low.
In 2015, convictions were secured in 47% of the cases registered under the Indian Penal Code,
1860. The Law Commission has observed that one of the reasons behind this is the poor
quality of investigations.
Pendency: 30% of all cases filed in 2016 were pending for investigation by the end of the year
(this combined with the pendency in the judiciary means securing justice in India can take a
very long time). Pendency in the police is driven by lack of resources.
Decreased Expenditure on police in recent years is adding to the resource crunch. Between
fiscal 2011 and 2015, states spent 4.4% of their budgeted expenditure on policing on average
but this has reduced to 4% over the last four years.
According to PRS Legislative Research, an under-resourced, overburdened police force means
that both core police activities (enforcing daily law and order) and more long-term criminal
investigations are compromised.
Police accountability: As per the police laws, both the Central and State police forces come
under the superintendence and control of political executives. Police priorities are frequently
altered based on the will of political executives.
In this context, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission in 2007 had noted that
politicians were unduly influencing police personnel to serve personal or political interests.
Police-Public Relations, which is an important concern in the effective policing is suffering
from the great trust deficit.
2018 survey across 22 states on perceptions about policing, found that less than 25% of
Indians trust the police highly (as compared to 54% for the army) and the reason for the
distrust is that interactions with the police can be frustrating, time-consuming and costly.
The Second Administrative Reforms Commission has noted that police-public relations is in
an unsatisfactory state because people view the police as corrupt, inefficient, politically
partisan and unresponsive.
Criminalization of Politics: improper implementation of police reforms could be attributed to
lack of political will, which in turn could be linked to the growing criminalization of politics.
A large number of lawmakers in the Parliament with serious criminal charges imply little
incentive to professionalize the police force.
In each successive Lok Sabha election over the past twenty years, the proportion of
candidates with serious criminal charges is rising.
Low police salaries increases the vulnerability of police personnels to form a deep nexus with
the criminals and the politicians.
History of Police Reforms
Way Forward
SMART Police: Police reforms are needed on three fronts:
Improvement in capacity and infrastructure of police forces.
Revisiting the constitution of police forces in the country through legislative/ administrative
changes.
Technological scaling-up.
Independent Complaints Authority: The Second Administrative Reforms Commission and the
Supreme Court have observed that there is a need to have an independent complaints
authority to inquire into cases of police misconduct.
This may be because the political executive and internal police oversight mechanisms may
favour law enforcement authorities, and not be able to form an independent and critical
judgment.
Community Policing Model can help in reducing the trust deficit between police and public as
it requires the police to work with the community for prevention and detection of crime,
maintenance of public order, and resolving local conflicts, with the objective of providing a
better quality of life and sense of security.
Various states have been experimenting with community policing including Kerala through
‘Janamaithri Suraksha Project’, Rajasthan through ‘Joint Patrolling Committees’, Assam
through ‘Meira Paibi’, Tamil Nadu through ‘Friends of Police’, West Bengal through the
‘Community Policing Project’, Andhra Pradesh through ‘Maithri’ and Maharashtra through
‘Mohalla Committees’.
Binding powers must be conferred on State Security Commissions and the Police
Establishment Boards as many of these Commissions did not have the power to issue
binding recommendations.
Constitute Police Complaints Authorities at the state and district levels to inquire into
allegations of serious misconduct and abuse of power by police personnel.
The CAG and the Bureau Of Police Research And Development (BPRD) have noted that
modern policing requires strong communication support, state-of-art or modern weapons,
and a high degree of mobility.
Proper utilization of center and states funds allocated for modernisation of state police
forces as these funds are typically used for strengthening police infrastructure, by way of
construction of police stations, purchase of weaponry, communication equipment and
vehicles.
Internal security is very much a prerogative of police and efficient policing is needed in order
to tackle threats arising in the form of cyber-attacks, bank frauds, and organized crimes,
which need to be tackled in a more specialized manner But for that, the police system needs
to be efficient, effective and technologically sound.