Khaki takes a beating

A taxi driver was pushed to suicide allegedly after being abused and manhandled by traffic police personnel. A techie was assaulted for merely standing outside his home late in the night. Even for a force that is much-derided for continuing to remain in the colonial mould, recent incidents in the state capital have lowered the image of the state police department to a certain extent. 

The personnel involved in these cases were either suspended or shunted out of the station. But that these punitive actions came only after the matter became public has not helped build credibility. “The colonial rulers raised the force not for crime detection, but primarily to put down any kind of people’s dissent, to maintain law and order in favour of an illegitimate government,” noted K Chandru, a retired judge of the Madras HC, pointing out how the image of the police among people has always been negative. 

It is their interpersonal skills that determine people’s reaction to police, added V Sithannan, former principal, Tamil Nadu Police Academy. “Even when someone is found violating the law, it is a policeman’s duty to treat it without contempt. There are many countries where the policing system is functioning that way. But here, the personnel feel they can call anyone by name when in uniform, do not conduct themselves impartially and let go of violators if they are politicians, lawyers or people with influence, fearing pressure from higher officials. These irk the common man even more,” he said. 

Such instances of high-handedness are continuing despite repeated instructions from senior officers about the dos and don’ts while on the field. “While being inducted to the force, we are warned about behaviour pattern of people in different districts. For example, public in Tirunelveli behave and react in a particular way while people in Chennai may have different way of responding to a particular situation. We are even told about the slang of language to be used when posted in particular district,” said a policeman. A section of the personnel often attributes such flare-ups to reasons including long and stressful work hours. However, their own colleagues add that a majority of the personnel knows the importance of behaving properly in a public place in this era of smartphones and viral videos. Sithannan, who has authored several books on the police force, said the personnel undergo training in as many as 22 subjects that cover various aspects of policing. This apart, there are periodic workshops. “Yet, they come out of training with the attitude that they are a force and not a service, as though they are still in the British era. Only when this attitude changes will the system change,” he said.

Hidden under innumerable complaints of police high-handedness are instances where the men and women in khaki who are finding themselves at the receiving end now. 

In just the last few weeks, Chennai alone has seen at least five cases of police personnel being manhandled by the public. What is worrisome is that in many of these recent cases, the personnel were confronted while they were doing their duty. Compounding their troubles, any video that has either police high-handedness or personnel being manhandled goes viral on social media and elsewhere, giving a knock on the image of the force. 

Vary about this negative perception, the police top brass has asked the men on the field to maintain their composure even in the face of provocation. “We are asked to walk away from trouble and not trigger trouble in public places. We do not expect our superiors to defend us; we will have to handle the consequences by ourselves,” said a police constable, summing up the situation. Senior officers said they cannot advise the personnel to retaliate even if they are confronted while on duty. “They can always book the troublemaker for assaulting a government servant,” an officer noted. “If a policeman asks a person to wear a helmet while riding a two-wheeler, what is wrong in that? However, motorists have started questioning the policeman these days,” pointed out another police officer. Such conflicts, the officer added, have become common nowadays. “There are conflicts everywhere. It also reflects on public-police interaction as well,” officer added. 

The increasing number of altercations is due to a combination of factors, said V Sithannan, former principal, TN Police Academy: personnel not discharging their duties fully, lack of awareness among officials and public about the changes in law, and the constant pressure that the personnel are made to face. “Every personnel has been vested with absolute powers, irrespective of whether he is attached to the Law and Order, Crime or Traffic wings. These divisions were created for effective functioning, but that does not mean that their roles are restricted,” he said. 

Amid the growing number of incidents of the personnel facing bullying from lawyers, students and unruly elements among public, the state police chief has advised them to follow the book: charge the miscreants and bring them before law promptly. Because, explained DGP TK Rajendran, one wrong cannot set right another. “Retaliation is not an answer to the problem. If we retaliate, it would be termed as police excess. So, my advice to the personnel is to book violators and take them to court. Let courts decide the punishment,” Rajendran said. However, preventing such cases and improving the efficiency of the force require structural reforms from within, pointed out experts. 

BODYCAMS: Can bodycams, sophisticated cameras fitted on uniforms, prompt the officials and public to behave? 

A few in Tamil Nadu police do believe so. It can livestream visuals from the ground to the senior officials, which could act as a deterrent for both the personnel and public from crossing the line. A pilot project was launched about a week ago in Madurai, where the police are planning to increase the number of bodycams. “It would make the police operation more transparent besides giving confidence to public. It will make both sides behave,” Madurai city police commissioner Mahesh Kumar Agarwal told DT Next. “Kerala police had recently launched bodycams in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, using which, senior officers can see what is happening on the ground. They will be able to determine if there was any mistake on the side of the police personnel,” a policeman pointed out.