Indian Police: An Introductory and Statistical Overview - Pondicherry

298 Pages·2011·1.02 MB·English

Chapter 1

Indian Police: An Introductory and Statistical
Overview

Introduction
1. Indian civilization is one of the most ancient civilizations of the world, and so are
its various systems and sub systems. Accordingly, the Indian Police has a long past
and has reached its present state passing through various social, political and cultural
vicissitudes. The existing police system in India appears to be a unique and peculiar
amalgam of various features of Ancient, Mughal and British police and policing
systems. The present police system structurally and functionally owes its existing to
the various Acts and Enactments promulgated by the colonial rulers. The Indian
Police Act, 1861 is the basic foundation of the present day Indian Police. It is,
therefore, correctly said that the present day Indian Police System, in the
contemporary contexts, has become old, archaic and out-dated. There is an urgent
need to replace this system. The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, has therefore, issued
directions to the Central Government and the State Governments to enact new Police
Acts. Consequently, a Model Police Act, has been formulated and circulated to the
various State Governments, and the State governments are preparing to enact new
Police Acts for their respective police organizations.

Features of the Indian Police
2. The State List : Police in India primarily belong to the State List of the
Constitution and, therefore, police, policing and various police matters basically fall
into the jurisdiction of the respective State governments. Police organizations are
identified by the name of the State to which they belong, and even their
nomenclatures are given after the names of the respective States, i.e. Rajasthan Police,
Assam Police, Bihar Police, Kerala Police etc.,etc.

2.1 Concurrent List : The police are organized, maintained and directed by the
States of the Indian Union. The Indian Police System is horizontally stratified like
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military forces and is organized into various cadres. The police in each State are
divided vertically into armed and unarmed branches.

2.2 The CPOs : There is no concept of federal police in India, though, the Central
Government maintains various Central Police Organisations (CPOs). The CPOs are
mostly Para-military in nature and are assigned specific nature of duties which are
peculiar and specific to their operations and functioning. The CPOs do not discharge
duties of civil police, but they help and assist the State Governments in exceptional
cases.

2.3 The Common Parameters and the Specificity : There are quite a number of
structural, functional and operational parameters, which are common to all police
organizations of the country indicating the element of universality of the Indian
Police. However, there are some aspects, which are specific and peculiar to each State
police organization, which establish its individual existence rendering it independent
and autonomous.

Ailments & Paradoxes
3. The Police in India suffer with a variety of organizational, procedural, personnel
and behavioural ailments and paradoxes. Efforts have been made to identify these
ailments and paradoxes for evolving remedial measures to remove them. Various
Committees and Commissions, at the State and Central levels, have been set up from
time to time in these contexts. Some of the ailments and paradoxes revealed through
these efforts are narrated below:
i. Colonial Stigma : In spite of their functioning in a democratic set up for more
than six decades, the Indian police have not been able to wipe off the colonial
stigma attached to them.

ii. Old and Archaic Blue Books : The operational and functional Blue-Books
(IPC, CrPC, Evidence Acts) and even the Indian Police Act, are basically
colonial in nature and in the contemporary policing contexts. Some of the
provisions have become old, archaic and out dated.

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iii. Poor & inadequate PCR : Police community relations in India are normally
brief, contextual and even negative in nature.

iv. Poor Image : The functional image of police in India is not satisfactory.

v. Over Centralization : Indian Police is a functionally centralized organization
and no efforts have been done to decentralize the police functions.

vi. Over burdened organisation : There is an extra ordinary workload on an
average policemen, which has adversely affected his efficiency and
performance

vii. Ailments and paradoxes identified : The findings of the various committees
and commissions constituted to suggest measures to reform the Indian Police
have indicated that the Indian Police suffer with a number of organizational
paradoxes, procedural, anomalies, personnel shortcomings and behavioural
deviances which have impinged upon their performance, functioning,
efficiency, image and public relations.

The Pre-Requisites
4. Some of the pre-requisites to bring about improvement in police efficiency are
following:
a) Organizational transformation
b) Procedural innovations
c) Personnel improvements
d) Behavioural transformation
e) Modernization of police
f) Decentralization of police function

a) Organizational transformation
The paramilitary, status-quoistic and colonial organization of the Indian police has to
be restructured to suit the democratic and socialistic needs of free India. The feudal
and alien mix of the past has to be transformed into a radical and dynamic blend of
citizen police. The transformation of the alien and colonially oriented police into
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citizen and democratic police will make the policemen friends of the people in
distress and need. The reformed and autonomous police, as friends of the people, will
be able to inspire love, esteem and acceptability in the masses.

b) Procedural innovations
The Indian police, structurally as well as functionally, happen to be an offshoot of the
centuries-old enactments promulgated by the colonial rulers. The Blue Books of the
Indian police are old, archaic and colonial. The very spirit of the Indian Evidence Act
is full of distrust for the police. The procedural quagmire tends to make police an
object of social distance and popular distrust. The Blue Books of police have to be re-
authored to make the police functioning simple, fast and trustworthy. The penal and
procedural police aspects will have to be reshaped according to the democratic,
secular and egalitarian aspirations of the Indian people and their Constitution.

c) Personnel improvements
Recruitment, training, service conditions, promotion and placement are some of the
basic personnel parameters responsible for the functional adequacy or otherwise of an
organization, Improper execution of these parameters is natural to cause efficiency
loss in the working personnel. Administrative experiences, unsatisfactory police
functioning, poor police image and inadequate community relations indicate that these
personnel parameters of the police have to be viewed with a new vision to make them
suitable tools for fostering cordial police-community relations. The National Police
Commission has delved deep into these aspects. Their recommendations have to be
implemented in toto. It will render the police efficient, democratic and humane.

d) Behavioural transformation
Behavioural reforms and attitudinal change at the individual and department levels are
required to be brought about with a view to developing professionally sound,
individually courteous, functionally democratic and morally strong people to man the
police organization.

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e) Modernization of police
Police being a non-development department get a second-rate treatment in the
financial allocation. The police department therefore should be included in the list of
'plan' departments, so that it may get due priority in the financial allocation for
modernizing itself in terms of men, money, material, machines and methods. A
modernized police organization will become progressive in their functioning and
democratic in their behaviour.

f) Decentralization of police functions
There has been a tremendous increase in the workload of police since Independence.
Because of this workload the department has lost its perspective in the lopsided
priorities. This has rendered police job complex and tense. Work overload causes
delay in the timely disposal of work. This is natural to tarnish the functional image of
police and obstruct their relations with the community. To improve and increase
police efficiency and to decentralize police functions to ease the workload on police,
various models of decentralization of police functions should be tried.

The Statistical Profile
5. In order to obtain a comprehensive structural, organizational and operational view
of the Indian Police the following data pertaining to the various above aspects are
presented for working out a statistical profile of the Indian Police.
a) Basic Data on Indian Police
b) Police Administrative Set up
c) State Police Strength and the Ratio
d) Representation of SCs/STs in Police Force
e) Police Budget
f) Police Housing

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a) Basic Data on Indian Police

1 Area (Sq. Kms.) 31,66,414
2 Population in thousands (1.10.2005) 110,70,64
3 Sanctioned Civil Police Force 1,183,665
4 State Armed Police Force 396,032
5 Total State Police Force 1,579,697
6 Population per Policemen 700.81
7 Police Ratio per lakh of population (one hundred thousand) 142.69
8 Police Ratio per hundred square kms.area 49.89
9 Number of Police Stations 12,702
10 Number of Police Out-Posts 7,284
11 State Armed Police Battalions 343+8Coys.

b) Police Administrative Set up

S. Police Administrative Office Number of
No. Police
Administrative
Office
1 Police Zones 43
2 Police Division/Zones 166
3 Police Districts 666
4 Police Sub-Divisions 1,701
5 Police Circles 2,457
6 Police Stations 12,702
(i) Rural 7,946
(ii) Urban 4,338
(iii) Railway 418
7 Out-Posts 7,284
8 Cities with Police Commissionerates 32

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c) State Police Strength and the Ratio

S. State Police Strength and
No. Ratio
Rank-wise Sanctioned Strength of Total Police Force 15,79,697
(Civil Police + Armed Police)
1 DGP 68
2 Addl. DGP 240
3 IGP 477
4 DIG 575
5 AIGP/SSP/SP 2,772
6 ASP/Dy. SP 9,989
7 Inspector 24,014
8 Sub-Inspector (SI) 85,628
9 Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) 85,279
10 Head Constables 2,48,385
11 Constables 11,22,270
12 Officers to Constabulary Ratio
(i) for Sanctioned Police Strength 1:6
(ii) for Women Police Strength 1:8
(iii) for Civil Police in Metro cities 1:5
13 Women Police 45,886
14 Police Stations in Metro Cities 1,073
15 Civil Police in Metro Cities 2,12,849
16 Armed Police in Metro Cities 48,899
17 Strength of Some CPFs (BSF, CRPF, CISF etc.)
(i) Battalions 737
(ii) Gazetted Officers 12,385
(iii) Non- Gazetted Officers 7,55,335

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d) Representation of SCs/STs in Police Force

S. SCs/STs in Police Force Number of
No. SCs/STs
1 Schedule Castes in Police 1,75,124
2 Schedule Tribes in the Police 1,05,829
3 Percentage of Total Police Force
(i) Scheduled Castes 11.09%
(ii) Scheduled Tribes 6.70%

e) Police Budget

S. Police Budget Total
No. Expenditure
during 2005-
06 (Rs. In
crores)
1 Some CPFs (BSF, CRPF, CISF etc.) 11,387.79
2 State Police 21,070.60
3 Police Training 248.14
4 Police Housing 761.53
5 Training Expenditure as Percentage of Total Police 1.18%
Expenditure
6 Housing Expenditure as Percentage of Total Police 3.6%
Expenditure
7 Allocation of Modernization Grants 1135.61
(i) Central Govt 755.97
(ii) State Govt 379.64
(iii) Utilized for Modernization 851.58
8 Level of Satisfaction for Family Accommodation
(i) Gazetted Officers (GOs) 61.10
(ii) Upper subordinates 24.80
(iii) Lower subordinates 29.70
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f) Police Housing

S. Police Housing Number
No.
1 Number of Family Quarters Available for
(i) Gazetted Officers 8,627
(ii) Inspectors to A.S.Is 48,279
(iii) Head Constables & Constables 4,06,653
2 Police Housing Corporations of States 16

BPR&D : Data on Police Organisations in India
as on 1.1.2006

Crime Profile
6. India is a multi-ethnic, poly-normative, multi-religion and plural society with
geographical, social and anthropological variations. Demographic, industrial, poverty,
unemployment, migration, transport and communication dynamisms and a host of
other factors tend to make the Indian society crime sensitive and crime prone in a
number of ways. Following are some of the basic parameters, which articulate the
crime profile of the Indian Police.

a) The General Crime Profile
b) Incidence of Crime
c) Violent Crimes
d) Crimes against Women
e) Crime against Children
f) Crime against SCs/STs
g) Property Crimes
h) Cyber Crimes
i) Custodial Crimes
j) Disposal of Crime cases
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a) The General Crime Profile

One crime under IPC is reported every seventeen seconds in India. One crime is
committed against women every three minutes and a molestation case is committed
every 15 minutes whereas a case of rape is committed every 29th minutes. A case of
sexual harassment is reported every 53 minute whereas a case of dowry death takes
place in every 77 minutes and a case of cruelty by husband and relatives is reported
every 9th minutes. A crime against Schedule Caste is reported every 20 minutes
whereas a crime against Schedule Tribe is reported every 92 minutes. A crime against
children is committed every 35 minutes. A case of murder is committed every 16
minutes and a case of CH not amounting to murder is committed every 2 hours,
whereas a case of attempt to murder is committed every 29 minutes. A crime of
criminal breach of trust is committed every 39 minutes and a cheating case is
committed every 10 minutes. A counterfeiting case is committed every 4 hour, and a
burglary case is committed every 6 minutes, whereas a theft case is committed every
2 minutes and a crime against property is committed every minute and an economic
crime is committed every 8 minutes. A kidnapping or abduction case is committed
every 23 minutes; a case of preparation and assembly for dacoity is committed every
3 hours, whereas a robbery case is committed in every 30 minutes. A riot case is
committed every 9 minutes, an arson case every hour, a dac
oity case every second hour and a violent crime is committed every 3 minutes

Crime Clock - 2005, Crime in India,
NCRB, New Delhi

b) Incidence of Crime
A total of 57,33,407 cognizable crimes comprising of 19,89,673 Indian Penal Code
(IPC) crimes and 37,43,734 Special & Local Laws (SLL) crimes were reported in
2007 showing an increase of 12.4% over 2006 (51,02,460). IPC crime rate in 2007
was 175.1 as compared to 167.7 in 2006 recording an increase of 4.4% in 2007 over
2006. The IPC crimes reported a lower growth rate of 15.7% as compared to the fast
pace of population growth of 1 9.0% in the decade. Madhya Pradesh has accounted
for 10.2% of total IPC crimes reported in the country followed by Maharashtra 9.8%.
Cases under Railways Act declined from 224 in 2005 to 189 in 2006 and further to
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