Get inspired: What was Ram Nath Kovind’s message for the Indian Police and how to apply it?

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Needless to say that the messages for civil servants are scoring to quote. Especially if it comes from the position of the highest authority. But our content should not be limited to the message. We must go beyond. Here is an attempt to substantiate the theme with the writings of IPS officers who have practiced the message in both letter and spirit. Do read the suggested articles for value enrichment. Utilise the points in answering the case studies or GS II answers.

What was Ram Nath Kovind’s message of the “ideal police system” for the police officers?

In his address to the 69th batch trainee officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS), former President Ram Nath Kovind had some important messages for the police officers.

— President Ram Nath Kovind asked police officers to encourage and create an “ideal” system where citizens are able to file their complaints without having to go to a police station.

— He added that the “ideal police system” was one where citizens got due service from the police without needing to visit the police station.

— He also spoke about technology and described it both as a challenge and a helping tool for the police.

“While it expands avenues for crimes, technology also allows the police to do its duties with greater efficiency. It allows the citizen to interact with the police force — and even to lodge a complaint — from the comfort of his or her home and computer or mobile phone.”

— The president urged the officer trainees to “encourage” this process.

Why according to Kovind, IPS is an important service and what is its mandate?

— Kovind said the IPS was one of the pillars of the national administrative system.

— As members of an all-India service, he said, they would serve in individual states but represent a national idea.

— Their mandate was to uphold a common concept of the rule of law and the democratic polity and in that sense, they were guardians of not just the public order and honest conduct but of the majesty of the law, he said.

— The president called upon the officers to discharge their duties without fear or favour, and without time delay.

— As professional civil servants, the president said, they should be unafraid to give the political executive honest and unbiased advice.

— He said their holy book and constant guide must be the Constitution.

Understanding the President’s message:

An ideal police system can have many dimensions. In order to understand in detail, let us refresh our perspective through two very relevant past articles from The Indian Express, written by officers who have first hand knowledge and experience about the police system — O P Singh and Meeran Chadha Borwankar.

Meeran Chadha Borwankar, who was Commissioner of Police, Pune and retired as DG, Bureau of Police Research & Development highlighted certain important points in How police can serve citizens better, which are worth noting.

Key takeaways 

Numerous tasks of Police Stations

— Along with prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of law and order, police stations in India undertake numerous daily tasks — for example, providing verifications and no objection certificates of different kinds to citizens. They supply crucial documents too. The Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) had identified 45 such tasks in 2017.

— In criminal and non-cognisable cases, police stations provide copies of FIRs, complaints and final reports. For commercial establishments, they issue no-objection certificates for opening/renewal of eating houses, restaurants, bars and cinema halls. Further, they issue permission to hold processions/fairs/exhibitions/circus and use amplified sound systems.

— Police stations also verify domestic help/employees of central and state governments/public sector undertakings/students going abroad for studies. Since a licence is mandatory for possessing a weapon, a no-objection certificate by the concerned police station is essential for the purchase, sale, transfer of a weapon/ammunition/explosives. In a few cases, the special branches are involved — for example, passport verification and issues related to foreigners.

Need for a time-bound service delivery

— Even as police reforms are pursued by the Supreme Court, a definite attempt can be made to ensure time-bound delivery of the above-mentioned services to citizens.

— The India Justice Report (IJR) 2020, supported by Tata Trusts, has studied the e-portals of various state police organisations that provide citizen-centric services such as requests for issue/renewal of various NOCs, verification requests for servants, employment, passport, senior citizen registrations and enabling citizens to download required forms.

— While some states are doing well, the report mentions that “despite the push for digitisation, no state offered the complete bouquet of services… Users face numerous problems of accessibility to these services.”

— Clearly, technology for service delivery to citizens has not been prioritised by the police leadership. The IJR 2020 audit confirms that states need to invest more resources to upgrade their e-portals for providing the 45 identified basic services to the citizens. This is a task that police leadership can concentrate on without any political interference.

— The Bureau of Police Research had worked out the timeline for each service and the hierarchy/levels involved. The recommendations have been shared with the state police organisations.

— Along with ease of use, the language of e-portals needs attention too. Citizens seeking clearances may not be very educated. IPJ 2020 found that “most sites were available in English or Hindi, but not necessarily in the state language”. It concludes that, “due to these gaps, the citizen portals in their existing form are falling short of their objective of enabling easy access to select policing services”.

Modernisation of Police

— The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) earmarked about Rs 20,000 crore for the modernisation of police (2017-2020), for schemes such as crime and criminal tracing networks and system (CCTNS), police wireless and e-prisons. States can take up this crucial service delivery mechanism.

— We have a large number of young technology enthusiastic police officers who can lead cost-effective initiatives. In Pune Police Commissionerate, we had an additional commissioner, an engineer from BITS Pilani, initiating and monitoring “technology for citizens” effectively.

— E-governance is an effective way to help the overburdened beat and police station officers as well as harried citizens. User-friendly citizens portals for obtaining passports and driving licences have been game-changers.

Meeran Chadha Borwankar’s advice

—Adhering to a defined process with a timeline and clear delineation of the levels of police officers involved can ensure transparent and non-corrupt service delivery of various NOCs/verifications to citizens. It will reduce the number of fruitless visits a citizen makes to a police station chasing different officers.

“Police made a good start at the beginning of the millennia but probably lost interest midway. I see two reasons for it. One, police leaders do not understand the difficulties that citizens face at the police station level and two, citizens fail to hold us accountable for non-use of technology. This has to change.”

O P Singh, IPS in How to be a good cop gave advice to IPS officers on increasing credibility and prioritising communities while cracking down on crime.

Key takeaways

People’s expectations from police

— People expect the police to control crime so that they can breathe easy and sleep well. Interestingly, they want you to be as fearless as a tiger, quick like lightning, selfless like Mother Teresa and submissive like slaves, all at the same time. So, the challenge is humongous.

— Delivering a sense of security is not limited to effective crime control. A big thorn in the flesh is the entertainment sector. Even you are not immune to it. It unabashedly glorifies violence. Hypercritical mass media and unbridled message-sharing platforms have added fuel to the fire. Together, they have created an echo chamber where even well-meaning people cry for instant brutal reprisals against acts of violence.

Resources

— You don’t have unlimited resources to meet people’s romanticised and often exaggerated expectations. With multiple entry levels, your unit has a split organisational personality. Educated and articulate at the top, it gets less so as you reach the other end. Teach them to be like you, not the other way around.

— You have uncertain tenures. Hit the ground running, work through volatility, marshal meagre resources and take control of the situation in no time. And do resist being clones of fictitious movie characters. They are not real. Nor helpful.

— Forget that you will get additional budget or manpower. Or that your men will master new skills. Your best chance is your ability to devise problem-solving models. You will have complete project ownership and zero gestation period.

— For example, a visible police presence is key to a sense of security that people feel at any point of time. Instead of doing it all by yourself, host listening sessions with community leaders and vulnerable sections, inviting their opinions on how best to deploy available police resources that would give them the maximum sense of security.

— Along with crime hotspot analysis, work out a more assuring preventive police deployment plan. This collaborative decision-making can be extended to other areas of police work, too, giving people a sense of participation in how their place is being policed.

— If anyone reaches out to you with complaints of police inaction, tell your station house officer to call them and take any of three actions in a week’s time — register a case if it is about a cognisable offence, re-route if it concerns other departments and file it if it is false. If they fail to do so, tell them to appear before you with the complainant.

Communication strategy

— People have a vast appetite for police stories. They are curious about what you are doing to keep them safe. The ongoing narrative is like the Tom and Jerry cartoons — nimble criminals giving tardy policemen torrid times. Reinvent your communication strategy. Tell the people how hard and successfully your unit is working, and how tough the criminals are having it.

Rebranding

— Economic offences and cyber crimes have gone through the roof in recent years. You need to commit a good number of your posted strength to catch up with this new breed of criminals, looting people at will from remote and, most often, untraceable locations.

— Rebrand your beat officers as family police officers, very much like family lawyers and doctors. Tell them to visit the families on their beats with prior appointments and advise them on safety matters. Task them to home-deliver challans, copies of FIRs and verification reports. It would endear them to communities like nothing else.

Point to ponder: What key elements will you suggest to have an “ideal police system” in the country?

Suggested articles you must read:

How to be a good cop

How police can serve citizens better

Democratic system will collapse if police reforms are not carried out, says former IPS officer Prakash Singh

UPSC Ethics Simplified: Indian Police and Ethics

(sources: Empower citizen to file complaint from home: President Kovind to cops, How to be a good cop, How police can serve citizens better)