New Delhi: Police in India put up with long and irregular working hours without offs with more than 68 per cent Station House Officers (SHOs) and over 76 per cent supervisory officers and other personnel remaining on duty for 11 hours or more every day, a study has said.
According to the study sponsored by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, nearly 90 per cent of police station staff across the states and the various types of police stations, currently work for more than eight hours a day.
“Further, according to more than 68 per cent of SHOs and over 76 per cent of supervisory officers, staff members of their police stations have to remain on duty for 11 hours or more per day.
More than 73.6 per cent of staff indicated that they were not able to avail weekly offs even once a month.
Though the SHOs were guarded in their responses on this aspect, yet nearly 60 per cent of them confirmed that their staff were either not able to avail weekly offs even once a month or could avail do so, at the most, once or twice a month.
“What makes the situation even worse is that most (over 80 per cent) of the staff are commonly recalled to duty during their off time to deal with emergencies of law and order, VIP bandobasts or other matters.
The BPR&D sponsored study says that long and irregular hours have multiple negative impacts on efficient policing, since weary, over-worked and over-exhausted personnel cannot be expected to put in their best in their work.
The study establishes the resultant negative effects of the undue physical strain leading to cumulative physical as well as mental fatigue for personnel.
Nearly three-fourths (74 per cent) of the respondents among police station staff reported that the current working hour regime led to various kinds of health problems for them.
A large majority (over 76 per cent) of SHOs also felt that the current duty hour arrangement was deleterious to the health of staff.
Most of the health problems enumerated by the staff respondents in this regard fall in the domain of occupational hazards and can be directly attributed to long hours on the job.
The study also brings out that the current duty-hour regime is not found conducive by police station staff for attending to their personal/family needs and social life and commitments.
That a very large proportion (nearly 80 per cent) of staff has averred so, needs to be taken serious note of, the study adds.
The responses of staff clearly bring out widespread disenchantment with the existing working hour regime. This should ring alarm bells, the study says. (PTI)
