COMMUNITY POLICING AS A PUBLIC POLICY

COMMUNITY POLICING AS A PUBLIC POLICY IN INDIA & LESSONS FROM THE   UNITED STATES

(Abstract)*

                                                                                                          Satyajit Mohanty, IPS

                                                                                                                      PGPPM, IIMB

The police system in India springs from the Police Act of 1861. This was a statute created by the British in the immediate aftermath of the uprising of 1857. The provisions of the Act were carefully drafted to make it an effective instrument to curb the voices of protest against the colonial rulers. After India became an independent nation and chose democracy as the form of governance in the year 1947 the role of the police has changed significantly.  Police have to function within the framework of rule of law. The basis of police authority cannot be mere law, it has to be the trust of the community as well. Political interference, police excesses and inactions, public hostility and corruption  as  some  of  serious  issues  the  Indian  police have  been  confronting  ever  since independence.

As an  alternative  policing  strategy  that  is  adopted  worldwide,  community  policing  advocates forging of  problem  solving partnership between the police and the public. Community policing revolves round the principle of pro-active policing  through people  friendly policing  practices, community participation and problem solving  leading to crime prevention and  maintenance of order.

 A number of successful community policing schemes have been launched in States/UTs of India,      either with the initiative of the State/UT Governments or with that of senior police officers. Individual initiatives, it is seen at several instances, suffer from successor-predecessor syndrome. There has been lack of uniformity in application of the initiatives. The best practices have never been compiled officially at a national level till formation of the National Police Mission in the year 2008. There has been lack of institutional support, legal framework to support, nurture and carry forward the CP strategies on a national level.

Since 1970’s   various police agencies in the United States have been adopting community oriented policing and problem oriented policing as a strategy to enlist the support of the commu nity in solving neighbourhood problems and reducing the fear of crime.   The passage of Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994/ Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Act of 1994 enabled the federal government to promote community oriented policing with institutional and financial support. The office of the Community Oriented Policing Services was created under the Department of Justice to coordinate the programs, nationwide. The Department of Homeland Security has been emphasizing the significance of community policing in its mission of protecting and preventing terrorist attacks.

So, what are the lessons for India?  Study of Indian police shows that a number of state and union territory police organizations have taken up various community policing initiatives suitable to their area and demography. Even the Trichy Commissionerate of Police of Tamilnadu and Adilabad District Police of Andhra Pradesh have been recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) sponsored community policing awards. The Indian police should continue to evolve initiatives that suit to the local conditions. But, sadly though, the initiatives do not survive the incumbent officer in the absence of any legal and institutional framework as in case of the United States. What lessons Indian police need to learn from the United States are these legal and institutional frameworks that have sustained, supported sand nurtured the community policing strategies. The National Police Mission, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India can play the critical roles, equivalent to that of COPS, Ministry of Justice of the United States.

*Paper Presented in 'VI International Seminar on Public Policy and Management' held at IIM, Bangalore on 29 December 2011