Experts talk | Renuka Mishra, DG State SIT, UP: What does wearing a police uniform mean? (Part II)

Renuka Mishra is currently leading the State Special Investigation Team of the UP Police. She has thirty-two years’ experience in Policing in the areas of human resource management, recruitment and training, investigation of crime, maintenance of law & order, community policing and trans-national crime control.

Manas: The slogan to keep ‘politics out of policing’ is often heard. The general perception is that politics has always been embedded in policing and vice versa. Isn’t it true that the police, at times, work under the immense pressure of political masters, citizens, and media? How it affects you and your team during an investigation?

Renuka Mishra: I am not sure if the term ‘political masters’ used extensively has an impact on the understanding or misunderstanding of the term ‘public servants’. To set the record straight, we are servants of the public and if we are civil servants we are expected to be civil too. Politicians are also elected to serve the public. The media is mandated to present the news in actuality to the same public. If we all, including the citizens themselves, understand that we, police, administration, politicians, press, all serve the same society then we would try to work in tandem with each other and not as adversaries. It is when this understanding is distorted or then, personal considerations take precedence over public service that clashes occur. Yes, the police do work, despite this pressure.

In the fight to be seen first, some components of the media scramble over each other to sensationalise news and may end up creating further law and order situations for the police. Likewise in the effort to be seen as helping the public or even to appease followers, politicians may apply undue pressure to work out cases faster or then differently. But what we in the police need to understand is that both, the politicians and the media may also be doing their duty in calling us out when we deviate from the rule of law. I have also found that if you do your work sincerely there is no pressure. Politicians do have other options of posting people of their choice and so one does not need to succumb to undue pressure. But it is also a fact that until there are others who are willing to toe the wrong line, injustice to the public will persist.

In State SIT for the past one year that I have been here, I have not faced any kind of pressure to work out a case in any particular way or even frame an innocent person or overlook a guilty person. I do not expect to, in future as well. For the record, I have had altercations in my career and basic ideological differences with pressure groups in the past but only to express my opinion on what I thought was right. Everything comes with a price and if we are willing to pay that price, we continue to serve with our heads held high. The price may be a transfer or an enquiry but the truth always prevails, at least I live in eternal hope that it will. And that is enough for me. As for my team, if I am their leader, it is my bounden duty to absorb these pressures and insulate them completely, provided they prove themselves worthy of this protection and trust. Trust is my default and it is up to my subordinates to act in a manner that it is not violated. I have instructed them to inform me if they face any kind of direct or indirect pressure so that I can handle it from there.

Manas: Reforms in the examination selection and training process of police personnel from the bottom to the top level has always been a topic of discussion. You have worked on this subject in the past. Can you please throw some light? What more, in your suggestion, can be done in this direction?

Renuka Mishra: Extensive reforms in the examination and selection process have already been undertaken. In 2008, the UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board was formed and I was the first officer to be posted along with the Chairman and the Member Secretary. I devised a Transparent Recruitment Process which I presented as part of the National Police Mission to the then HM. UP was the first to adopt it in entirety and the other states were mandated to do so by the order of the HM. I was designated consultant for any state embarking on police recruitment. TRP essentially focused on transparency, integrity and accuracy with the use of technology to minimise human intervention and standardize measurements and processes. It helped the police to shed its tarnished image of partiality, corruption and malpractices in recruitment of police personnel. We have been successful in eliminating corruption in recruitment on the part of the police but we are yet to succeed in completing eradicating professional gangs working as solvers and hackers on behalf of candidates who look to resort to malpractices to get jobs.

It is time also that we focus on selecting candidates with the right attitude and values for the police instead of just focusing on eliminating those who do not qualify in laid down eligibility criteria of physical attributes, physical efficiency and fail multiple choice tests on current affairs and reasoning. Knowledge and skills can always be taught during training but unlearning bad habits, bad attitudes and dealing with the repercussions of lack of the right kind of values would prove far more difficult and end up with disastrous consequences for the public we serve and the image we aspire to uphold.

Manas: With modernization and technological development, there are new challenges in different forms that the world is facing. What are the new and future challenges, you think, the police services should be prepared for?

Renuka Mishra: Apart from the fact that cyber crimes of staggering magnitude have been on the rise, even the existing crimes have an element of cyber crime or use of technology that the police have to upgrade to. The nameless, faceless and border less nature of cyber crime makes detection and collection of evidence all the more tricky and cumbersome. Coupled with that is the lack of expertise of our existing police personnel on these emerging technologies and the lack of budget to hire technical experts to assist us in investigation. The question then arises that what should we do?

1. We need to upgrade in terms of mobility, firepower, technical and technological expertise as well as invest in professionally training our manpower to rise to the emerging challenges.

2. It is also a good time to do some stocktaking and reduce the burden on the police by outsourcing certain routine, time bound and service oriented activities to external agencies so as to save time, maximise efficiency and output while providing timely and cost effective service to the public.

Manas: Wearing a police uniform is a source of pride for many officers. What does it really mean for you? Also, unfortunately for the general public, the police uniform is still seen as a symbol of force and generating fear. Do you agree?

Renuka Mishra: Wearing khaki is a matter of pride. I am reminded of an old adage popularised now as the Peter Parker principle, “With great power comes great responsibility.” It is true, due to historical reasons, that the Indian police has always been seen as a symbol of power, force, coerciveness and essentially the strong arm of the State instead of the strong arm of the law. Kings were replaced by the British and then in a democracy by the State. During the British rule, barring the Superintendent of Police, who was British, the rest were Indians and were used by the British Raj to keep the public in check and in forced compliance of their directives many of which were detrimental to the person, property and dignity of the public. Some of the extreme sections of law being questioned today as colonial legacy were used by Indians in the police against fellow Indians at the behest of the British rulers. This laid the foundation for the police ethos and sub culture. It will need considerable reform to shed this. Hence the khaki suffers from this legacy and was able to create a positive image in the minds of citizens of independent India possibly only in crisis situations like disasters and pandemics.

With you, for you, always is still to be completely trusted by the public because our actions sometimes belie the words. Yes, the police yields weapons and have power invested in it by law to use them where warranted as per law. To be entrusted with the onerous responsibility to protect persons, property and reputation and the values enshrined in our Constitution is an honour but with only 193 policemen per lakh of population, it is a tremendous challenge, to say the least. If we can garner the support of the community then this challenge would serve both ends, one of being able to fulfil the mandated responsibility and the other of being able to work with the public instead of seemingly against it.

Perception is important and it is time we document and project the good work that we do, in order to improve public perception of the police. If there are two sides to a quarrel, at least one side will always disagree with the police action or inaction. So there are very few win-win situations possible in our line of work. But as long as justice wins, we can celebrate. As for me, I am proud to wear Khaki. I have a Twitter handle and have a set of hashtags I use regularly to highlight and applaud achievements and good work done by police. #GoodJobCop and #ProudToWearKhaki. As for fear, I believe police should be feared but only by those who have committed or contemplate committing crime. For those who go right, police should be trusted, supported and loved. But we have some work to do before we can earn that.

Manas: After almost thirty three years of service in different roles in one of the most challenging occupations, how do you define ‘job satisfaction’?

Renuka: I set my own standards and am my own biggest critic. Hence I strive for perfectionism and attempt to give my best in every assignment that I am entrusted or undertake. To achieve that standard or even to know that I gave it my best is satisfaction for me. People come to the police only when they are scared or in distress. If we can reassure the ones who are scared and protect them from being harmed by the people they fear or if we can wipe their tears of those in distress and provide succour to them, if we can rescue victims of trafficking, kidnapping and drug abuse and set them on the path of recovery, rehabilitation and re-entering into society, if we can find missing children and restore them to their families, if we can do justice to our own personnel, ensure their welfare, timely leave, pay and promotions and the list can go on forever.

In my view, there is satisfaction in every small and big deed that one does on the job. We just need to be grateful for the opportunity.

Doing something because it matters to the person you are doing it for, is so much more satisfying than doing something because we aspire for a post or a recognition because of it.

Renuka Mishra recommends for aspirants:

Movies/series aspirants may watch at leisure

To kill a mocking bird, 12 Angry Men, Cry Freedom, the Father, A beautiful mind, Forrest Gump, Dead man walking, Mandela, Long walk to freedom, Chariots of Fire, Escape to victory, Delhi Crime, Breaking Bad, Ozark, The last dance, Do ankhen barah haath, Gandhi, Manjhi, the mountain man, Udaan, Paan Singh Tomar, A Wednesday, I am Kalaam, Jaane bhi do yaaron, to name a few.

Book/s aspirants may read at leisure

Papillon by Henri Charriere, Animal farm, 1984 by George Orwel, To kill a mocking bird by Harper Lee, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, A thousand splendid suns, Kite Runner by Khalid Hossaini, The catcher in the rye by JD Salinger, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The wonder that was India by AL Basham, Inspector Matadeen Chand par by Munshi Premchand, Bholaram ka Jeev short story by Hari Shankar Parsai, Raag Darbari by Shrilal Shukla, to name a few.

Renuka Mishra’s messages:

For Aspirants who want to join Indian Police Services:

Success is where opportunity meets preparation. You are making the right choice. All you need now is the laser focus to prepare to achieve your target. When you do, then remember that becoming an IPS officer was only a target, a means to an end. The ultimate goal is to do the right thing for the people you don a uniform to serve. The right thing is what is mandated by law, in public interest and lets you sleep peacefully at night.

For Female Aspirants who want to join Indian Police Services:

My message would remain the same as above. An aspirant is an aspirant regardless of the sex it was born into and the gender it identifies with. I repeat. You are making the right choice. Stick with it. Labour on it.

Renuka Mishra’s motto of life:

“I will not allow what is not in my control to stop me from doing what is in my control.”

Renuka Mishra’s source of motivation:

I believe that motivation can only come from within. Inspiration can come from anywhere.

I draw inspiration as I go along, every day, from everyone, younger or older, junior or senior, male or female, from things that people do, higher thoughts, words and actions. I have two hashtags that I use on my Twitter often #MyInspirationForToday and #MyLearningForToday where I share who or what inspired me on that day, or what I learnt from something I saw or read. I cannot bring myself to restrict my inspiration to any one person. The smile on the face of the person whom I managed to help, inspires me to help the next one that comes along.

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