The Bureau of Police Research and Development has compiled data on the police force of the country. Almost 21% of sanctioned posts are lying vacant. That means there is one policeman for 663 people while the ratio should be 1:518. 56,944 police personnel are sanctioned for 20,828 VIPs. The list of VIPs is no doubt bloated. 150 cops for a population of 1 lakh-That is a lamentable situation. Conviction rate in India was 47% in 2015. The rate is just 21.7% in the case of crime against women. In the case of women, most accused are acquitted. All this shows the incompetence of our police. Take the case of prolonged and fruitless search for the murderer of Shashi Tharoor’s wife. The government is largely to blame. It is argued that there should be greater administrative autonomy in the IPS hierarchy. Even Police Commissioners and Inspector Generals have their hands tied with state Home Ministers pulling the strings. The way the rape in Kolkata’s Park Street was executed is a glaring example.
Failure to create a staff police force has made policemen on the job overworked and pitifully stressed. In a study done in 2014, the Bureau of Police Research and Development, 68% of surveyed SHOS reported that their subordinates worked more than eleven hours every day and 73% had to work on off days. Non-conviction, refusal to register FIRs, low conviction rates and above all, corruption are the result. Police reform is still just talk. Meanwhile, the police acted miserably in the recent outrage in Haryana and Bengaluru. No wonder kangaroo courts and khap panchayats rule the roost and deliver instant justice. But can a democracy have a police force that is still largely the rulers’ police? The question begs for an answer.