Current mood:

distressed

Is it too late or can we still do something?
The recent incident (http://in.news.yahoo.com/050421/48/2kw4w.html) of a drunk constable of Mumbai Police raping a minor college girl in a police chowki, on the busy Marine Drive in Mumbai has caused a sense of shock and outrage among all sections of the society. No words will be too harsh to condemn this person, who abused his authority to give effect to the machinations of his warped mind. In one stroke, he has nullified the effect of the contribution made by his fellow policemen, who, day in and day out, perform more than their fair share of extremely drudgerous hard work and who brave harsh working conditions, to ensure law and order in the society.

This is the kind of incident which would have seemed beyond the realm of possiblity two days ago, but now that it has happened, we as leaders of our policemen, need to understand as to why this incident happened and how similar incidents can be prevented in future. It is tempting to write off this kind of a happenstance as a freak occurence, but it may amount to ostrich-like behaviour. According to the news report, the constable "was recently served a memo by Senior Inspector Isak Bagwan for drinking on duty" and "always got away with rude behaviour and drinking on duty because his brother-in-law, a police inspector in the Crime Branch, shielded him."

Also shocking is the inaction of the friends of the victim girl, who were accompanying her, during the time the constable was doing his despicable act. They must have had an inkling of what was happening and still did not have the courage to call for help, which would have prevented the unfortunate event. Our citizens shirk all contact with police, being unaware of their own rights and the limits of power the law enforcers wield. We need a massive outreach programme to educate the citizens to know more about police, their work, their constraints and seek their involvement in police reforms. We need to understand the principles of social marketing and use them in planning and executing this education drive.

The issue of moral policing also has been thrown up again. The ostensible excuse the constable could have exploited in this case, would be that it is "not OK" for a boy and a girl to be seen together in a public place. We need to remove this misconception among our officers and men that it is our primary duty to maintain moral order in the society and that we have the legal authority to do so. There should be a more structured and involved debate on these issues of display of certain behaviour in public places and the role of police in regulating it.

The various commercial entities in the entertainment world are purveying and promoting a culture of complete permissiveness and are, in fact, dishing out sleaze. 'Give in to your temptations' is the message. Sexuality is being exploited to peddle all kinds of products - take the recent campaign of Walls ice creams. The television serials are gleefully showing lack of fidelity in relationships and pronouncing it as the new norm. That the society consists of people of different ages, backgrounds and sensibilities is being conveniently forgotten and there is a monotonous uniformity in the overexposure of sexually-loaded advertising. Consensus should be evolved among the stakeholders and opinion-makers such as social scientists, media professionals, policy makers, educationists and political leadership through structured interactions and the recommendations given effect.

In such instances, the police authorities have a dual role. The first is that of law enforcers: investigation of the rape case must be done with speed and competence and the case sent to the trial court in a matter of days. The second role is that of an employer, who wants to demonstrate that such employees have no place in the organisation. Swift dismissal of the delinquent constable will send a strong signal about the organisation's commitment to the ideals pronounced from time to time.

We also need to reach out to our constabulary and help them cope with the rapidly changing times. They live in crowded and unhygienic conditions, especially in the cities. Due to long working hours, they are living virtually on the streets and are denied basic facilities, where they can rest or eat their meals. More empathy is required to understand their thought process and behaviour. This can be done through an intra-organisational communication mechanism and also an culture conducive to ventilating of grievances, suggestions and ideas.
Alcoholism has always been a problem in the lower ranks and we should involve professionals for deaddiction and recuperation measures. NGOs should be encouraged to work with policemen's families to resolve marital disputes and to encourage policemen's children in getting better education. We need to tap the goodwill which exists in the society for all these efforts, before it gets evaporated due to such mindless incidents of misbehaviour, which are likely to occur with greater frequency if we, as IPS officers, fail to take corrective measures. Is it too late or can we still do something?