Yawning trust deficit

The Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR), 2018, places the Punjab Police at the bottom of the ladder (number 22) insofar as perception is concerned. Regarding trust in senior officers, Punjab fares only slightly better, having got the 20th spot. Though shameful, unfortunately the finding is not surprising. It will find an echo in the common man’s experience. Rather than looking up to the cops for help and a fair deal in the redress of a grievance, an aggrieved party is apprehensive of approaching the men in khaki. Looming large behind this fear are two tags attached to the law-enforcing agency. One, of corruption and the other of violence, made worse by the policemen’s knack for hiding their misconduct and brutality.

This is borne out by successive reports of the Punjab State Human Rights Commission which year after year reveal that most human rights abuse cases have been recorded against the state police. The latest study refers to custodial deaths, torture and false implication by the police and jail authorities. Any hope of justice being delivered is dashed as senior police officials are seen to be protecting their subordinates accused of violations even when facts indicate culpability of the latter, as per the report. 

Politicisation of postings and transfers give them an armour of protection from the powers that be. When Suresh Arora took over as the Punjab Police chief in October 2015, he said his top priority would be to restore the lost trust in the police. The force’s image had slid after two men protesting against the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib were killed in police firing a few days earlier. The complicity of cops in drug trafficking cases plagued the beleaguered agency as the public increasingly fell prey to drug addiction. Arora, who stepped down from the post this February, had some success, but more needs to be done, as is evident from the SPIR. It points to the state’s indifference to systemic improvements in the police. Not only must the police uphold the rule of law, it must also be seen to uphold it. There’s a long way to go in becoming the people’s police.