Kindergarten Cop

The wheel is coming full circle since the heyday of terrorism—when the iron hand of the Punjab Police too acquired a sinister halo. Built around rumoured disappearances, encounter killings, mass funerals and cussed catfights with human rights groups. The new mantra in the Punjab Police is 'community policing'. A new, broad-based initiative has been launched, aimed at humanising the police force and involving the civilian population in social welfare schemes run by the department.

In the past, such experiments have been attempted by individual officers but they have been short-lived. Now, a standing order on 'community policing' has been issued by the Director General of Police to 'institutionalise and provide sustainability to previously run ad hoc schemes'. The force is collaborating with the Vera Institute of Justice, New York, and the Institute for Development and Communications, Delhi, to train and educate personnel to make them community-friendly.

It will now be mandatory for district police chiefs to set up community policing mechanisms. To start with, the project has been launched in 11 districts and will soon cover all 17 districts of the state. The nodal centre for the interface is the Community Police Resource Centre (CPRC): it provides a host of people-friendly schemes.

Sanjiv Gupta, IG of the new headquarters and community affairs division, set up to monitor and coordinate the programme, explains its objective: "Just as terrorism in Punjab was wiped out only when the people turned against the terrorists, and began helping us, we realise building a rapport with the community is imperative in controlling crime. With the changed circumstances, policing problems too have changed over the years."

During the last decade or so, in the post-terrorism phase, as the Punjab Police went back to its normal functioning, there came a realisation that the many excesses committed by it in the '80s had alienated it from the people. It became clear that a focused programme was called for to win back public confidence. To allay fears about the man in uniform, which prevails among people, especially in the rural areas, a distinct feature of the CPRCs is that all police personnel manning it are dressed in civvies. "We do not want them to feel they are coming to a police establishment at all," says Rajender N. Dhoke, SSP Kapurthala.

Each CPRC has a community service-cum-information centre where people can hand in complaints as well as check on various applications regarding verification of passports, no-objection certificates for arms licences or even permission for use of loudspeakers. Each CPRC functions as a registered society which enables it to accept contributions from the public and charitable organisations for its running. Round-the-clock women and child helplines and quick redressal of grievances is sought to be provided in these easily accessible units. While many of these schemes are yet to take shape, the family counselling centres in different districts have already become a great hit.

For instance, the counselling centre in Ludhiana, set up about a year ago by the then district SSP, attracts over a hundred complaints each month. Due to the unprecedented response, it has now been incorporated in the community policing project. Here, 11 panels, each comprising two members from the community and one constable, sit six days a week to sort out family and matrimonial disputes. Says Rakesh Marwaha, a businessman who devotes eight to ten hours a week on a voluntary basis at the centre: "We have received much support from the police by way of training and encouragement in this venture. Besides the satisfaction I get by working here, it has enriched my own life too." Renu Jain is a housewife who sits along with him on the same panel.She, like the many others coopted by the police, is delighted they have been given the opportunity to do their bit for society.

Similar panels have been set up in Ferozepur, Kapurthala and Moga. And judging by the response, it would certainly seem people are turning to the CPRC as a para-legal avenue for resolving family disputes. Points out Parveen Kumar, SSP Ferozepur: "Yes, there is no doubt that counselling as a way to deal with crime against women and children plays an important role. We find that 90 per cent of the problems get sorted out at these centres and just a few of them are finally registered as cases." The same reason why the hugely popular Care programme launched in Ferozepur town is being extended to the subdivisions in the district next month.

The Ludhiana police has built bridges with the local community by setting up 390 beats with 'salahakar samitis' (advice committees), where the beat constable interacts with committee members to identify problems and provide solutions. The members range from rickshaw pullers to doctors, teachers and shopkeepers.

Though senior police officers are backing the scheme, many diehard proponents of the khaki culture within the force are resentful of the new style of functioning. Even as the top brass exults in the success of the initiative, the euphoria has not percolated down to the level of constables and inspectors. It is their motivation which will eventually determine the long-term success of the project. For one, many policemen regard 'community policing' as some kind of social service. "This is not the kind of policing for which I joined the service. Without my uniform, I have lost my identity as a policeman and do not command the kind of respect I used to," confides a constable manning the Ludhiana CPRC. His colleagues agree that for many, a posting to the CPRC is regarded as a punishment. The high power appointments are still those in the subdivisions where the opportunities of making a quick buck are many. "There is also a fear that if one performs well, one might not be sent back to normal policing. Let's face it, most men are unhappy with it," says a dsp requesting anonymity.

The standing order envisages building partnerships with the community, which will require a change in the mindset and attitudes of police personnel at all levels. This is easier said than done. It's not only the constabulary, many district police chiefs too are sceptical of the venture. "Until community policing is taken as a way of life for the police and not as just another project, its success is doubtful," says a police official. Others feel "it should be given legal sanctity by making it a part of police rules. It's not enough to merely have a standing order". As of now, many regard the programme as an extra activity and not a new way of functioning. Agrees Sanjeev Gupta: "We are conscious of this and this is why an incentive package is being devised for personnel involved in the programme. We have proposed that their performance in community policing should be considered for promotions, rewards and also good postings." The government also proposes to rotate the community policing personnel so as to dispel the feeling that, if once deployed, one is doomed to do 'social service' throughout one's service.

Still, it is a long way to go. Changing police colours doesn't come easy. However, a beginning has been made and the success of the initiative will rest on the enthusiasm of the younger officers. They know nothing of fighting terrorism and are cutting their professional teeth by working within a community which is very conscious of its rights.