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Police Can Make the
Public Their Allies By KALPANA CHITTARANJAN To view the article in magazine format,
Please click here for the PDF File  Being fair to the public is an important, indeed, effective way to tackle crimes and the public should not be alienated," says David Bayley, a professor of international criminal justice and policing at the University of Albany in New York. "Effective detective work is not magic," as shown in TV shows like CSI. "Real detectives have to work on what the public tells them." A comprehensive writer on the theory and techniques of police work, Bayley has spent four decades participating in lectures, seminars and workshops at Indian police academies. His latest visit, in February, focused on the future of policing and the role of the police and the public in counterterrorism. "Reach out to the public. In that way you can learn more in the prevention of crimes. Win hearts and minds of local people for law and order and against terrorists," Bayley urged personnel at the Tamil Nadu Police Academy on the outskirts of Chennai. Citizens can contribute by passing on information about crimes, identifying suspects, giving testimony in prosecutions, defending themselves and building a moral climate that supports the law. He noted that all research on crime prevention shows crime decreases when the public cooperates. Accepting that Indians may have strained relations with their police, he said the problem is not uncommon across the world. But apart from fulfilling their main responsibilities of protecting life and property, preventing, detecting and investigating criminal acts, and enforcing rules and regulations, it is in the hands of law enforcers to see that the people they serve are able to place their faith in them. "The police should make the public their friends and allies so that the public becomes the lobby for the police," Bayley says. In the United States, the public is very supportive of the police and juries often rule in favor of the police in cases brought against them. Bayley's extensive research in India has focused on strategies of policing, evolution of police organizations, organizational reform and accountability. Delivering the Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Endowment Lecture on "Policing Terrorism" at the University of Madras in Chennai, Bayley said that world practice is for most countries to have specialized agencies separate from the police to engage in counterterrorism abroad, such as America's Central Intelligence Agency, India's Research and Analysis Wing and Israel's Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations or Mossad. Democratic countries have specialized police agencies for the collection of domestic intelligence about potentially violent subversion such as the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, India's Central Bureau of Investigation and Israel's Shin Bet. It is the civil constabulary, however, that can observe, develop contacts, recruit informers and find leads in the criminal world, which often supports terrorist activity. Specialized central forces trained for counterterrorism would need to count on the local police for local knowledge, Bayley says. In 2004, so-called fusion centers were created in the United States to better coordinate communication between federal government law enforcers and their colleagues on the state, county and city level. "The strength of the American police is in its lower ranks and the strength of the Indian police is in its senior ranks," observes Bayley. He feels that the policeman on the ground, the constable or sub-inspector, needs to be consulted. Bayley suggests the pairing of thanas or districts to try dealing with a similar problem. One district would follow one strategy, while the other tries a different tactic. An evaluation and comparison is then made to see what works. In the United States as well as in India, Bayley would like to see police forces become learning organizations. Teaching hospitals, for example, are set up to test strategies, he says, while police forces lack units to research and test what works effectively. Nevertheless, Bayley says, he has observed changes in Indian policing over the last 40 years. Policing in India has become "smarter, more reflective and research-oriented" and is doing things in a more non-traditional way, for example, all-women police stations. Also, more specific strategies in dealing with crime and terrorism have been developed, he says. Bayley says he is disappointed when he hears that the public is alienated from the police and that the politicization of the police force is felt to be worse. However, he says, "India's enormous strength lies in its society that does not repress dissent." As long as this is the case, improvement can take place. Kalpana Chittaranjan is a freelance strategic analyst and journalist based in Chennai. |
