Has functioning during Covid lockdown transformed policing in India?

The “War on Covid” as many describe the response to the continuing pandemic is a deadly struggle that has claimed almost 350,000 lives so far. All of humanity is on one side, and a sub-microscopic pseudo-organism on the other. Nations prepare for wars by committing huge resources to build up needed military capacities.The then Army Chief Sam Manekshaw told the Prime Minister in 1971 that he needed six months to prepare his plans and troops to ensure victory. The rest, as they say, is history!

In the case of the Covid lockdown, the police in India had four hours’ notice to enforce a national lockdown covering 1.3 billion people spread over 3 ½ million sq kms. There were no precedents or SOPs, to guide personnel on the ground. There was no time for even the most basic training on the most complex public order role. The police were expected to make sure that everyone stayed at home, to prevent movement of people or traffic, prohibit gatherings–in short, shut down all human activity is normal in any contemporary society. The objective was to prevent the country reaching the community transmission stage of the pandemic. There was and remains conflicting scientific advice on what is the best response to minimize fatalities. At the time what was known is that India’s testing capacity was limited and clinical facilities inadequate to treat a mass spread.

Neither were there guidelines to share regarding health issues like spread of the infection, not even rudimentary training on safety for police personnel deployed, and little provision for Personal-Protective-Equipment. The far-better resourced and organized armed forces and CAPFs were not called out in any major scale to help in this unique national emergency. It was the state police who are the worst resourced, the most overworked and least trained–at the bottom of the national security food-chain–who across the country unquestioningly implemented the government’s directives. They faithfully did what was required, but at a cost. About 2,500 police personnel are known to have tested positive, more than 20 have died.

There was no global policing template to follow. China has a different political system. The way that Wuhan and other cities in Hubei and neighbouring provinces were fully sealed off is not possible in India. UK and the US are democracies, though with very different policing systems and traditions. In the UK, Chief Constables of several Counties had to rein in over-assertive enforcement and urge the use of “common sense”. The so-called “Coronavirus Act 2020” in the UK gives emergency powers to the policeto detain and screen people suspected of being infected with the virus, order them into quarantine and impose punitive fines for violation of lockdown orders. In other countries even wider and more invasive emergency powers have been assumed. In the US where states have considerable autonomy, different states have responded to the pandemic differently. Yet there are few reports of aggressive police enforcement of restrictions, possibly because of fears of future legal liability for damages that are freely awarded by US courts for abuse of legal authority or excessive use of force. The fact that corona deaths in the US are almost 100,000 makes it clear that this is not an example for India to follow.

In the first phase of the lockdown in India, hundreds of thousands of cases were registered against lockdown violators, tens of thousands of vehicles seized, andthere were reports of egregious use of force.

In the next phases, hundreds of instances were reported across the country of “compassionate policing”–helping the elderly and those needing medical help, using creative communication to convey the whys of the lockdown, social distancing and other precautions. Many district local police officers with the support of local philanthropists helped stranded out-of-state workers with food and shelter. Technology platforms were used to facilitate application and issue of movement passes or to contact the police for other help. In some states, local communitieswere effectively engaged to ensure quarantine. SOPs, good practices were compiled at operational level, despite the challenges ofproviding black-and-white guidance for the multiple and varied situations faced by the police at ground-level.

Lockdown 4.0 is a differentiated system of colour-coded zonal enforcement that will call for even more judgment and discretion. It is now imperative that other government departments step forward, that communities build up capacityto self-enforce, and that the police intervene only when public health and safety are endangered. With the easing of restrictions, the conventional role to control crime, manage traffic andmaintainpublic order will once more be the focus of policing.With the economy in poor shape, there are concerns of an upswing in crime and increasing social tensions.

Key issues highlighted during the lockdown enforcement that relate to policing in India are:

• Without preparation and without additional resources, state police forces across the country enforced the national lockdown. Some experts are of the view that the relatively low spread of the virus in India so far is because of effective implementation. For this it is the state policewho deserve to be commended.They have paid a price, with thousands testing positive and more than a score dead.
• Greater engagement with the community and more visible presence of other government departments is a requirement for a prolonged lockdown. Local communities whether Panchayati Raj Institutions or Urban Local Bodies need to play a greater role, with the police only assisting as needed.
• The use of technology during the lockdown facilitated police-public interface without the need for personal presence at Police Stations. Developing platforms for the online application and delivery of several services needs to be pursued as also grievance redressal. Similarly, developing digital tools both for outreach to the community and capacity-building of field police personnel, who may not have the opportunity to attend formal training courses.
• The police cannot have the primary role with regard to managing interstate migrant labour. The experience in several areas reveals a need to sensitize them to respond appropriately even when faced with the anger of those who have faced immense hardships.
• This experience has once again underscored the need to invest greater resources to building capacity of the state police. Though a Union mandate under the Constitution, thetrend of the past 30-40 years is of continuously enlarging and spending limited national resources on Central Armed Police Forces. The first responders to any crisis are the local community and the local police. Building up capacity at this level will not only be cost-effective but make a difference to the quality of policing services delivered. Moreover, it is by skill-building and bringing about behavioural changes at the level of constabulary who were in the front-lines of the lockdown exercise and are over 80% of the force, that policing in India can be transformed.