A new kind of police officers is visible on the streets of India. They are distributing food and medicine, escorting the sick to the hospital and singing songs on the streets. Moreover, this is being done without discrimination of caste, religion, region, class or any other personal characteristics. During the Covid-19 lockdown, the Indian police are displaying an image that was impossible to comprehend before the lockdown. Since 1861 when the modern police system was designed by the British to establish their Raj, the police have been a terror to the people. The lathi wielding khaki has been a common image of the police in the country. Yet, all these years, the police officers have been doing more than simply abusing their authority. They have been providing a variety of services ranging from conflict resolution to protecting the weak. Police officers have organized marriages in their stations to young couples facing the wrath of their parents and community. They have been jumping into rivers and lakes to save people from drowning and escorting thousands to escape from natural disasters. They have organized training centers to prepare students for competitive examinations and have gone to wish happy birthday to senior citizens abandoned by their children. They have used their personal authority to address social and communal problems and handled large crowds without use of force. The portly bedraggled and over-worked constable has been a constant presence in every neighborhood and has not always been presenting threatening behavior.
Yet, these actions of the police personnel have not been adequately acknowledged so far. The reason why such service functions of the police have gone unnoticed is because of the misunderstanding about their role in society. Right from 1861 onwards, the role was limited to the enforcement of laws and investigation of crimes. Some functions related to traffic duties and coming to the aid of civilian authorities suggested a wider role but these were not seen as the raison d’etre of the police organization. Even the National Police Commission identified most of the functions undertaken by constables to be “mechanical” in nature. In its recommendations, NPC acknowledged that many functions involve discretion and judgment of mind but did not envisage service functions as basic to policing operations. Thismisconstruction continues to guide the thinking of government and perhaps even senior police leadership. The basic idea about the role of police remains restricted to law and order and crime investigation activities. Even the Supreme Court has accepted this to be the reality of police functions and has asked for bifurcation of police station into two units, one for law-order and the other for investigation of crime. Serving the people in various ways, as described above just do not figure in any discussions about the role of police in the country.
The reality is that police are essentially problem solvers. They serve the citizens in various ways even when such services are not defined in the Police Act. Herman Goldstein coined this term in his conceptualization of Problem Oriented Policing arguing that all functions should be seen as ones emanating from the efforts of officers to address difficulties faced by the citizens. He pointed that it is mistakenly believed that the job of police is to regulate human activities by application of criminal laws. In fact, criminal laws are just one tool in the policeman’s box; there are plenty of others. Some of these tools have been seen to be applied by the police during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, much to the relief of everyone.. Goldstein called this “means to an end” syndrome where enforcement of the law is simply a method to the end of creating a harmonious society. What is not taken in account is the fact that the police are called to deal with a wide range of behavioral, social, economic, political and health problems, as being witnessed now. Policing involves dealing with these problems utilizing the legal and moral power represented by the officer.Ofcourse, common problems brought to the police range from theft, burglary, robbery, assault, affray, disturbance and nuisance of various types. However,there are others too–domestic trouble, errant child, eloping teenager, accidents, unnatural deaths, abusive behavior, intimidation and exploitation. Goldstein states that many of these problems become police responsibility because no other means have been found to solve them. They are the residual problems of any society but first brought to the notice of police officers.
The advantage of conceptualizing police as problem solvers is to go beyond the law-enforcement and crime investigation duality of police functions. If attention is directed towards end results of policing, of building a safe, secure, peaceful and harmonious society, then the colonial model of functioning as the strong arm of state must be discarded. The modern professional police of India need to be conceptualized as one that is engaged with the citizens in solving local problems and working with the people. The basic tenets of community policing, of making citizens as co-producers of their safety and security, becomes more meaningful and plausible in this conceptualization. India needs a police organization that accepts the sovereignty of citizens and works with them. Police, designed to address citizens’ problems will invariably need their support and cooperation. Such a body will customarily learn to honour their rights and realise the significance of due process of law. This could be the model of democratic police system in India which we see in action increasingly, though it has not been formalised, yet. There cannot be a better time to recast a police organisation that serves the people and perceives itself to be responsible for their welfare.
Arvind Verma is from Indiana University-Bloomington and Hanif Qureshi is IGP Haryana