Policing the police

Police misconduct can be checked only with independent civilian control

 

 

Not a day passes without a report in the press regarding abuse of power by the police.  Torture is widespread. Corruption is routine.  Anti-women, anti-Dalit, anti-Muslim and anti-poor attitudes dominate.  All these we know.  The Nithari killings only brought into focus once again the need for radical police reform. 

 

There is an attempt to do police reform in this country but it is led by the police and this alone should make the public wary. Besides the National Police Commission reports, recommendations have also been made by the NHRC, the Law Commission, the Ribeiro Committee, the Padmanabhaiah Committee and the Malimath Committee.  The last three committees were dominated by Home Ministry officials.  The debate has been slanted in favour of the police with reform having the limited scope of removing political control over the force. 

 

The Supreme Court, relying exclusively on these reports, has in its order dated 22.09.06 wrongly said that  “many of the deficiencies in the functioning of the police had arisen largely due to an overdose of political interference” and concluded that it was important “to insulate the police from political interference”.  In respect of police misconduct the Supreme Court held that there ought to be a Public Complaints Authority, selected on the basis of recommendations made by the State Human Rights Commission, the Lok Ayuktas, and the State Public Service Commissions.  

 

Insulating the police force from political control is one thing, establishing independent civilian control is quite another.  In a country where the poor face torture by the police on a day-to-day basis, it is imperative that civilian control be clear, independent and a threat to police misconduct everywhere.  To place faith in the State Human Rights Commissions which are toothless tigers often subservient to the government and which have been recently criticised by the Chief Justice himself, is to miss the point completely.  

 

The police force in India was modelled and continues to this day along the lines of the British Paramilitary Forces that policed the colonies by terror.  After the breakup of the empire the British Police were reformed, but the police forces in the colonies raised corruption and torture to an art form. India probably has one of the most debauched forces in the world. For such a criminal force to be freed from political control without first setting up and testing civilian control structures and procedures, is to take the citizen from the proverbial frying pan into the fire.  Freed from political control and supervised only by formal ineffective structures, this criminal force will come to rule society.  De-facto power will, with the Supreme Court order, become de-jure police power. 

 

In the UK, pursuant to the Police Reform Act 2002, an Independent Police Complaints Commission has been formed.  With its own team of mainly civilian investigators to investigate cases against the police, these civilian investigators have all the powers of the police during investigation and have access to documents and a right of entry into police premises.  Independent non-police persons preside over hearing panels looking into serious cases.  The Commission can also present cases on behalf of complainants at police disciplinary hearings. 

 

Northern Island has a Police Ombudsman. In Australia, there is a New South Wales Ombudsman for less serious complaints and the Police Integrity Commissioner for serious crimes.  The latter was established following a Royal Commission report which concluded that the level of corruption in the police had grown enormously and the existing complaint structures were unable to address the issue.  External oversight with fully independent investigation was sorely needed. In Quebec the Police Ethics Commissioner is a civilian agency which supervises the conduct of police officers and receives complaints from the public. The Police Ethics Committee is a specialised administrative tribunal that protects citizens in their relations with the police. In New Zealand, there are strident calls for an independent Police Complaints Authority to be merged with an Independent Police Inspectorate.  

 

The Supreme Court therefore ought to broaden its horizon from its present reliance on police reports and thereby establish effective civilian control over the police with an independent machinery for investigation into police misconduct. 

 

The writer is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court.