There is a general perception in India that the cops cant be trusted. That they are corrupt and easily influenced. I neither want to support nor deny this claim. Coz it is exactly what i first called it,just a perception and nothing more. I think it would be more productive to explore the reasons behind such an opinion being formed in the first place.
If you ask anybody about why they think things are such a mess, they ll probably say that all the cops and politicians are thieves. I disagree with that because i believe human nature cant be dealt with in absolutes. We dont live in a black and white world. Shades of gray are more common. People are just people. A few are idealistic, the majority opportunistic and some amoral. Human nature is essentially the same across countries and continents. What we need is a system that takes into account the deficiencies of most peoples' moral code and work with it. I'm not saying this excuses any behaviour. I'm just saying we have to be realistic about our expectations about people. Hoping for a world where everyone is righteous and noble is just downright impractical.
When I talk about the system, I must first define what i believe the 'system' means. The system doesn't mean just the framework of rules of an establishment. It also includes the accumulated set of attitudes, practices and traditions concerned with it. These informal rules are the ones that actually get followed. Thus what generally dictates the conduct of people in any profession are the values and traditions that have been established in that profession over time. Most people who join the army consider it to be a profession of great prestige and status. Society views army officers as brave, honourable men. So people joining the army automatically fit into the mold because subconsciously they know they will be respected for it. An army man is treated well & paid well(comparatively). However wages for the police force still remains absymally low. The IPS officers may be paid fairly but do the constables get fair pay for the work they are expected to do? How many youngsters would view joining the force at a low to medium level as a viable career option? I dont think there will be many. The result is that either the ones joining will plan on making a few bucks illegally, or would have to be exceptionally righteous men who want to serve society for the pittance they are paid. And people wonder why there arent many of those. Its common sense. You recruit someone to do a job and if you expect him/her to do it well, first you pay them well and treat them well. You dont have a right to be critical about their shortcomings if you dont reward them for their good work.So the first step in improving the policing system is to improve the quality of life for cops.
Naturally we should crack down on corruption. But the only way a crack down would be effective at addressing the problem at the root level is if you present the people who are subjected to it with a viable alternative. Address their problems, improve their pensions, make sure they dont get transferred the second they do their job properly and then you can say that resorting to corruption will have consequences. Else you just appear to be like an irritating school teacher who always punishes the kids for breaking any rules but never acknowledges their good behaviour or care for them. I'm not saying any of this justifies going corrupt. But practically, you cant hope for an utopia where everyone is honest. We have to make sure that the system motivates the average person, who is neither exceptionally self-righteous nor the opposite, to be honest.
The other important reform that is required is the one which is the hardest to accomplish. I'm talking about making the force autonomous and removing the revolting amount of control the politicians serving in the govt at any point of time has over the police force. I'm not familiar with the exact technicalities but it seems ridiculously easy to transfer a police officer if he doesn't go by the politicians personal interests. Is it a wonder why no minister or ex minister ever goes behind bars for anything? and its a vicious circle. The opposition parties will cry "foul" when they are in the opposition but no one would dare try to make the police force an autonomous body. Nobody gives up that amount of power willingly, coz they are all hoping to wield it someday. The need of the day is a leadership with vision and virtue. Someone who can see beyond his/her own short term personal interests and see the long term interests of the nation. Up and until someone like that comes willing to take up that mantle, and more importantly gets a chance to do so, we will all just keep talking about reforms.
If you ask anybody about why they think things are such a mess, they ll probably say that all the cops and politicians are thieves. I disagree with that because i believe human nature cant be dealt with in absolutes. We dont live in a black and white world. Shades of gray are more common. People are just people. A few are idealistic, the majority opportunistic and some amoral. Human nature is essentially the same across countries and continents. What we need is a system that takes into account the deficiencies of most peoples' moral code and work with it. I'm not saying this excuses any behaviour. I'm just saying we have to be realistic about our expectations about people. Hoping for a world where everyone is righteous and noble is just downright impractical.
When I talk about the system, I must first define what i believe the 'system' means. The system doesn't mean just the framework of rules of an establishment. It also includes the accumulated set of attitudes, practices and traditions concerned with it. These informal rules are the ones that actually get followed. Thus what generally dictates the conduct of people in any profession are the values and traditions that have been established in that profession over time. Most people who join the army consider it to be a profession of great prestige and status. Society views army officers as brave, honourable men. So people joining the army automatically fit into the mold because subconsciously they know they will be respected for it. An army man is treated well & paid well(comparatively). However wages for the police force still remains absymally low. The IPS officers may be paid fairly but do the constables get fair pay for the work they are expected to do? How many youngsters would view joining the force at a low to medium level as a viable career option? I dont think there will be many. The result is that either the ones joining will plan on making a few bucks illegally, or would have to be exceptionally righteous men who want to serve society for the pittance they are paid. And people wonder why there arent many of those. Its common sense. You recruit someone to do a job and if you expect him/her to do it well, first you pay them well and treat them well. You dont have a right to be critical about their shortcomings if you dont reward them for their good work.So the first step in improving the policing system is to improve the quality of life for cops.
Naturally we should crack down on corruption. But the only way a crack down would be effective at addressing the problem at the root level is if you present the people who are subjected to it with a viable alternative. Address their problems, improve their pensions, make sure they dont get transferred the second they do their job properly and then you can say that resorting to corruption will have consequences. Else you just appear to be like an irritating school teacher who always punishes the kids for breaking any rules but never acknowledges their good behaviour or care for them. I'm not saying any of this justifies going corrupt. But practically, you cant hope for an utopia where everyone is honest. We have to make sure that the system motivates the average person, who is neither exceptionally self-righteous nor the opposite, to be honest.
The other important reform that is required is the one which is the hardest to accomplish. I'm talking about making the force autonomous and removing the revolting amount of control the politicians serving in the govt at any point of time has over the police force. I'm not familiar with the exact technicalities but it seems ridiculously easy to transfer a police officer if he doesn't go by the politicians personal interests. Is it a wonder why no minister or ex minister ever goes behind bars for anything? and its a vicious circle. The opposition parties will cry "foul" when they are in the opposition but no one would dare try to make the police force an autonomous body. Nobody gives up that amount of power willingly, coz they are all hoping to wield it someday. The need of the day is a leadership with vision and virtue. Someone who can see beyond his/her own short term personal interests and see the long term interests of the nation. Up and until someone like that comes willing to take up that mantle, and more importantly gets a chance to do so, we will all just keep talking about reforms.
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