Tricky tricky bang bang

Though I find the idea of giving policemen powers that we do not give even to judges and legislators completely appalling, it is asecondary consideration. To begin with, what is disturbing is that nobody has questioned the assumptions on which this debate has been waged. The premise, as I understand it, is basically this: a loophole-ridden judicial system and unequal resources weigh matters so firmly in favour of the accused that the only way for justice to prevail is to allow cops to eliminate them. This argument has been repeated so often over the last decade that it is assumed to be true. But is it really true? In the course of researching a series of articles on organised crime a few years ago, for which I met gangsters, policemen, lawyers and ordinary people whose lives were touched by crime, I found a very different picture emerging.

Myth 1: The law is inadequate. Delays and loopholes repeatedly allow criminals to get away. This is a common belief and most policemen will tell you this is so. To some extent it is true. The judicial system is prone to being misused. Yet lawyers who routinely appear in criminal cases however,claim that arrests often do not reach conviction due to the lackadaisical attitude of the police. Poor investigation, inadequate preparation and collusion with the accused they say, are common factors leading to acquittal.Myth 2: Gangsters are powerful, the police are helpless. This is a joke. Gangsters are not born powerful. They become so. Tracing the growth of various gangs I found police co-operation to be a vital element. Criminals that had contacts with the police or resources to buy immunity from the law were more likely to survive than others.

Myth 3: The fight between gangsters and cops is a fight between the bad guys and the good guys. Even the movies don8217;t seem to believe this any more. But as far back as a decade ago, it was the city8217;s top cop who said, quot;the nexus between the police and criminals is as old as the hillsquot;.

Myth 4: Encounters are good because the number of criminals decrease. The large number of encounters8217; over the last decade has not diminished crime or the number ofgangsters.

Myth 5: Gangsters have access to the latest technology, the police are poorly equipped. Gangsters do have sophisticated arms and communication equipment but the police are neither helpless nor clueless. Many of the officers I met were shrewd men who kept themselves remarkably well-informed through a network of khabris. More than weapons or equipment, their power, I found, stemmed from their authority. There was nothing gangsters dreaded more than being in jail and out of commission.

All of this seems to suggest that the image of the police force as a weak entity, in need of extraordinary powers to ward off the powerful enemy, is in need of some serious debunking. The power to search, to question, to arrest, and to protect themselves if need be, the power of the uniform all these are considerable powers in themselves. That they have been weakened over time is beyond doubt. To my mind, it is more important to understand why this has happened and to deal with it rather than to encouragepolicemen to play God. It will end up creating a new monster for society to deal with.