Do a good turn & note it down, PR cops’ style

Disclosing this, the North West Additional Commissioner Of Police Dr Satyapal Singh told Express Newsline that orientation programmes to inculcate commitment and dedication to duty are being conducted at various centres on a weekly basis. This three-point programme makes it mandatory for policemen to do at least one `good deed’ in a day. Details of this deed are to be entered in a diary, which will later be endorsed by an officer of the rank of an Assistant or Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The second point is based on the principles of karma: “What you sow is what you reap”. Police personnel are expected to behave politely with members of the public.

Lastly, they are expected to be dressed in uniform while commuting to their places of work. This would not only let them make their presence felt in public, but would deter criminals from committing crime, claims Singh. “The strategy is to get policemen to respect and feel proud of their job. By doing so, adversial behaviour towards and fear of the police can be avoided,” felt Singh.

The need for such a programme was felt to smoothen out the severe battering that the image of the force has taken over the last few years. This ablution, as it were, comes amid growing apprehensions that the police force is corrupt, apathetic and trigger happy, the latter perception almost justified by the killing of ten Dalits at Ghatkopar.

The police say notwithstanding their poor working conditions, meagre salaries and appalling living conditions, they toil on. Despite being the first on hand during calamities, both natural and man-made, they are blamed for everything, some lamented. “More than 50 per cent of policemen live in slums. They are paid salaries equivalent to those received by unskilled labour. Yet, they are expected to be expert investigators and skilled shooters,” said a senior police officer on conditions of anonymity. “It is like putting one’s life on stake for the state and getting a bad name as a reward.”

While some policemen say they would give it their best, others said the government should also contemplate improving their living and working conditions.