Principle of Quick Response Team(QRT) has too many flaws.

In Uttar Pradesh Police,a lot of experiments have been done in the last four years and all were failed,whether it was Thana Diwas,Replacement of SSP/SPs with the DIGs in 8 mahanagars,creation of Uttar Pradesh Police NCR Zone and so forth.In Uttar Pradesh,every district police have QRTs,for delievering quick response to any criminal incident or any other mishappening.But,in Uttar Pradesh,the decision of establishing Quick Response Team was taken without any plan or strategy.Definition of QRT,reveals that,when any criminal incident takes place at any place in district,then a quick response will be made by a special team of district police,but in Uttar Pradesh,response of QRT is muted.Policemen of QRTs have not been given special training to make quick response according to the need of the hour,they are engaged in daily work of police station due to which they get tired and at the time of duty,they take rest under the shadow of the tree or in QRT jeep,they are not equipped with proper tools and instruments to make quick response.I give you an example;two years earlier,when marriage season was going on,a marriage party was organized in a guest house located opposite to my home. Suddenly,two groups clashed with each other.When I saw the scene,then I suddenly made a call to Control Room and i had informed the policeman about the situation.I had called the Control Room at 10:10 pm and QRT of police came at 10:50 pm and unfortunately,till that time,a compromise was made between those groups.So,I have witnessed the result of mismanagement,because the area in which I live comes under a police station which is located far from my house.Some months ago,Lucknow Police included new QRT gypsy,which is looking like a QRT of modern police force,but the policemen who are responsible for making quick response are the same.They are trained to respond in the same way as they did in other incidents.I am sad,that state government is not taking any principle of police management seriously.With the changing environment of security scenario in the district,QRTs must be equipped with latest and modern technological equipments like GPS,policemen should be given special training for making quick response.Government should provide them better incentives,take care of their health,provide them modern weapons,increase the number of policemen and QRTs,give them proper training regarding the management of response time in an appropriate way, and the most important thing,treat them as the members of QRT.Quick Response Teams are the backbone of Uttar Pradesh Police and I would urge the state government to not make them paralysed.State Government should not make QRT only as a symbol of better policing.

Our expectations from a policeman has become our cynicism.

We expect from a policeman to save ours life,but we are not ready to launch dialogue with him.We expect from a policeman to behave in a humane way,but we are not ready to understand the way in which they are behaved by high-ranking police officials.We generally make allegations on constable,and lower rank police officials,because they are entrusted with the job of filing an FIR,but we do not know the reality in which high-ranking officials behave with these policemen.We read in the newspaper that a SHO of that police station got failed in crime test conducted by SSP/SP of a district,but have we ever thought that what would be the result of crime test given by SSP/SP of a district? Our police organization has become a very complex structure,which is not able to resolve it’s internal issues,and government is promising to deliver justice on time.Uttar Pradesh Government should understand the pathetic condition of police in the state and take some intelligent and bold steps.Serious statements can never be a substitute for action.

Uttar Pradesh Government needs to set up a “Police Infrastructure Fund”,for the overall development of police infrastructure in the state.

Beat Constable acts like a key to unlock all the doors containing intelligence information,but it is shameful,that the state government has made him sick and weakest instrument of state policing.

Uttar Pradesh Police stands at a very interesting crossroads.On the one hand,crime graph has been elevated to a new height, including the largest number of fake encounters done by any police force in India,on the other,few policemen are showing their honesty and friendly behaviour,which is not displayed in media and public domain at large.At this juncture,state government need to set up an,"Institute of Police Ethics and Management."

What can we expect from Uttar Pradesh Police?

It seems like,saving criminals has become the passion of Uttar Pradesh Police and afterthat an IPS Officer has said that,”People should treat policeman as a member of their family.”Other IPS Officers say that,people should trust policemen,gap between police and people should be filled in a good sense.I would like to ask only one question,Is this a cricket test match going on,where we are used to heard one statement again and again,and not even a single run has been scored so far?

By bringing Police Reforms,government should make it a symbol of nation’s glory,instead of making police force,a chapter which comes in the book of grammar of dictatorship.

Police Stations are the core component of the whole structure of police organization

Today,we know that India is engaged in building World Class Infrastructure,Green Offices,World Class Roads for Sustainable Development because these are the priorities of our government,but had our government ever focused on building the world class or ideal police stations? Police Station is a life support system of police organization and without focusing on the quality and nature of services ,our police stations are delivering,government can not control crime in an effective manner,government can’t succeed in building trustworthy relationship between police and people without reforming working process of police stations and most importantly,the whole system of police organization will be collapsed with the negligence of giving importance to police stations and the same is happening in Uttar Pradesh.Police Station is working as a private office of the political interference in Uttar Pradesh.If police stations are being sold in Uttar Pradesh,then making a deal for the life of an innocent person is not a surprise for anybody.Government can’t make a policeman as a statue wearing police uniform without having ethics and values ,which he was taught during the time of training.There is an urgent need to bring reforms in the whole concept,on which the theory of the establishment of police station was made.Police station should not become a place of fear and danger,and for that government has to teach a moral lesson to every policeman,about how to behave with a person,who come to register an FIR.On the one hand,directions were issued to certain district police departments to not register cases on all complaints and on the other hand,in Law and Order review meeting,which is covered by the media,Chief Minister gives directions to police officials to register every complaint.

                                                                                       Environment of police station should be friendly and cooperating and for that government should fulfill the basic needs of police station,because working in an environment where your basic requirements are not fulfilled is working on a place with having a very less amount of oxygen in the air.Police stations should be equipped with best technology and modern weapons,so that policeman should be confident of delivering a kind of result,which a common man do expect from him.How long will government continue to make a joke by providing .303 rifle to a policeman,who in the current scenario is expecting to fight with hard core criminals and terrorists?We have heard that the police stations would be provided solar power to meet their energy requirements,but here the question arises,if the government is not providing them the sufficient stationery material,which is used by them on daily basis,then how could government provide them solar power?”Thana Diwas” and “Janta Darbar” are just the concepts laid down on the paper,but the elected government and police administration failed in implementing this ambitious plan on the ground and the major cause of the failure is the lack of accountability,commitment and responsibility in Senior Police Officers and government.If some policemen do good work,then they are like the drops of water in desert.A decision has been taken recently by Uttar Pradesh Government,that from constable to inspector,each police personnel will be provided a permanent number,by which he is identified and it would not be change during the time of service.It is a good decision,but alongwith that decision,government should also connect each police station with a web network,so that the process of passing and receiving information at the time of investigation becomes easy.Today,the state intelligence agencies are paralysed with the kind of technology ,equipments and kind of expertise which they have.Police stations play a crucial role in intelligence gathering and a very important and core element of that activity is Beat Policing,but beat policing has become the weakest factor of police organization.Common man plays a key role in intelligence gathering,but common man will only help,when he is given due respect and due response at the police station.

                                                                           Working hours of policeman is not fixed.The police here is perhaps the only department where a station officer is on 24-hour duty and usually 365 days a year.How can you expect them to be compassionate,respectful,attentive and thoroughly professional in such situation? And after that,their accountability is also not fixed,and the CM’s announcement that no police officer,even at the police station level,will be transferred until absolutely necessary built a shield around the juniors and robbed the seniors of the power to punish when necessary.So,the government’s policy is responsible for making police station - dumb,deaf and mute spectator in most of the incidents.Police stations are those pillars on which the police organization stand,but every criminal incident,which happens in police station,whether rape of a minor girl,death by the torture of police,unfriendly behaviour with senior citizens and women,make a new crack in the pillar.Will that time come,when we feel the same for the policeman as we do for the army jawan? I think that time will never come if the government doesn’t bring police reforms.

                                                                                   

Old wine in a new bottle

Chief Minister’s latest directions given to the police officials of Uttar Pradesh is nothing,but a old wine in a new bottle.Actually,the whole structure of police organization needs an urgent change .Creation of three new zones would not bring any difference,indeed it is an attempt of another failure of new experiment.Chief Minister had performed various experiments in the past,with an aim of bringing the reforms in  police administration,but not only all the experiments got failed,they made the condition worse than earlier.Concept of “Thana Diwas” got failed,and it caused the broadening of gap of trust deficit between the police and people.Elimination of the post of IG(Zone) and replacement of SSP/SP in 8 Mahanagars with an Officer of the Rank of DIG were totally failed and it became a cause for the rising crime graph in the state.Former DGP,Vikram Singh,too had reported the government to change this system,but government had simply ignored his recommendation.Then,Chief Minister got a new idea in her mind,and she took a decision to separate the post of ADG(Law and Order),and created two posts i.e ADG(Law and Order) for East Uttar Pradesh and ADG(Law and Order) for West Uttar Pradesh,but that concept too got failed.However,a senior officer,whose work has been divided and who is very close to the government and enjoys political patronage,was not happy with this arrangement,so the decision was cancelled after sometime.Afterthat,”Uttar Pradesh Police NCR Zone”,has been created with an aim of achieving control on rising graph of crime in Western Uttar Pradesh,but the result was zero.So,except failure,nothing came out of these experiments.I am not able to understand that why the government is not ready to accept that without bringing reforms in the police administration,nothing can be achieved on law and order front? Government is carrying out these experiments with same and old chemical,and want a new product,which is not possible.

                                                                                     Yesterday,Chief Minister has said that the policemen who will be involved in unlawful activities,rape or crime against women or in police-criminal nexus,they  will be dismissed from their job.This is not the first time,Chief Minister has given this kind of warning,but the real situation is very well known to us that only lower rank police officials face departmental and disciplinary action and the DPC,DIG,IGP,ADGP are not answerable to the higher authorities.Chief Minister has said that the action will be taken against SHO in the case of crime against woman.She have been giving this kind of warning to the SHOs since the day she has taken the charge of Chief Minister of this State,but no change has been made in the working style of SHOs and police station has become the core of all the criminal activities in the state.She said that,policemen will be deployed at those places, which are critical from the point of view of women’s security. We know that her government has been trying to prove it as the well-wisher of women since the day,when it came to power in Uttar Pradesh and Chief Minister knows that crime against woman could be happened at any place,despite of knowing that fact her government is issuing these kind of unsensible  directions to the police force.To curb this menace,a joint effort is needed by SHO,CO,ASP and DPC,by making regular patrolling and pointing criminal elements and eve teasers in the area on regular basis.But,there is no mechanism to know that ,how many days SHO does patrol his area? Automatic Location System can be fitted in police jeep of every police station to know the exact location of police vehicle,but for this government has to spend money and on this front,the government is ready to make an excuse of budget deficit.Special Drive will be conducted across the state from July 1,to curb crime against women.I think,government would have a magic wand,that’s why it made this kind of decision.Eve teasers will be pointed out in this special drive to curb crime against women.Does this decision make any sense? Crimes against women are not committed on a monthly or seasonal basis,so why this government is making these kind of decisions,which look like sweet grapes,but in real sense they are sour.

                                                                      In an overall perspective, government will have to understand that police administration in Uttar Pradesh is directionless,police officials have no vision and strategy to implement these experiments on the ground,they do not want to change their way of working,they do not want to change their attitude and behaviour,they are willing to go to any length for causing harm to the respect and prestige of police uniform,instead of serving a common man,they are serving their political masters,they became shameless and insensitive,they want to come in limelight for wrong reasons,so how could the government carry experiments after experiments in this kind of situation? Either, the government is not understanding the core problem of police administration which perhaps looks not true or the government is not serious for tackling criminal incidents and deteriorating law and order situation in the state and only trying to make the people fool by organizing these kind of meetings.This government has lost it’s credibility for making complete politicization of police and using police force as an instrument of political war.Government has failed to crackdown the nexus between police and mafia and due to increasing carelessness,unaccountability,insentivity,of the police administration,now it becomes very difficult to handle the malpractices in police administration.Government need to make structural changes in the police organization.Transfers in police department must be done on a time frame manner and these transfers must be completely independent of political interference.Now,the time has come to adopt modern technology for making strict supervision on police officials and make them accountable to people,because in democracy,the biggest power is that of the people.Government should not treat police constables and lower rank police officials as servants of political office.At this point of time,DGP should also take some measures,DGP should  break his silence and need to be communicative with people.

             

“Police Station” or “Leadership”,which is the core problem of crisis prevailing in the police administration of Uttar Pradesh?

Uttar Pradesh Government and the top officials of the police administration are giving directions to Superintendents of Police(SPs) ,since two years to make strict supervision on police stations in their respective areas.It is true that the ultimate authority of all the police stations in the district lies in the hands of SSP/SP,but is the government moving in the right direction by only giving direction to SPs,or the government don’t want to look behind the curtain?SP is the incharge of all the police stations in the district and he has the power to suspend or transfer the SHO and other policemen posted in the police station,but if SP is not committed towards his duty,or he is insensitive towards the grievances of people,or he is uncapable of holding strong and strict supervision due to the political pressure from the top executive,or he is only indulged in his self interest instead of indulging in the interest of the whole district,or he is not asking the SHO to make enough patrolling in his respective area,then who will be responsible for any kind of unlawful and shameful incident in police station?If the government wants to make SPs active and accountable ,then it must have fixed the responsibility and time frame for giving positive result of the directions given by the government,but first of all Uttar Pradesh Government should immediately roll back it’s policy of making the officer of the Rank of DIG as the District Police Chief.Since,February,2009,when this decision was taken,crime graph has been moving upwards and it has not shown the downward trend at least for once. They(DIGs) haven’t been able to succeed to met the expectations of the government and the people.Second factor is leadership.If SP has not the quality of sensible leadership in it’s role ,then the problems will be remain as same as earlier.For that,SP has to develop the sense of commitment,sense of belongingness for the victims,sense of dedication,sense of delivering the result which he has to produce before the people,not before the government,because police is meant for the safety of people,sense of accountability towards the people,but unfortunately aam aadmi rarely get chance to meet it’s DPC,to which he has to tell his/her problem.Government has to take effective measures to fill this gap between the DCP and the people.

                                                                           Police Station is not a hell,but we can’t call it a heaven,but a joint effort by the government and the police administration make it a place for the purpose of  which it has been established.Government do not feel the need to develop the infrastructure of police stations.Some police stations are very small that even the police jeep can’t enter in the police stations,some police stations are big but,infrastructure is very poor,and the most important thing is the kind of policemen sitting in the police station.After that,most of the SPs do not feel the need to make a surprise visit to the police station.They have a lot of excuses of not visiting the police stations.Then,you don’t have the kind of supervision from the side of officers of the Rank of DIG or IG.Even,IG does not have a lot of work and he only enjoys the cool environment of his/her office.ADG(Law and Order) has the burden of so many tasks on his shoulder and DGP is the boss of Police Administration in the State,then why would he bears the pain of visiting the police station? In an overall perspective,if the government wants to make police administration effective,committed,dedicated,sensitive and honest towards it’s duty,then it must have end the political influence being made on the working of police administration,and political patronage being given to corrupt police officials and most importantly police officials should always remember the prestige and respect attached with the uniform.