Don’t be surprised if in the not-so-far-off future there are no takers for policing at the force’s cutting edge entry levels, the constabulary. While the state government is moving proposals to increase posts among the higher ranks of the police officials, a real threat is staring at the police force—family members of constables already in service do not want their younger generations to enter the police force after experiencing relentless torment of having a family member as a harassed police constable.

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Senior police officials may or may not know this; but several constables’ families that DNA spoke to have expressed their sheer desperation and anguish at not having the man of the house—the police constable—at hand to resolve family problems that any family normally encounters.“And for what?” they ask, referring to the thankless profession of policing which already viewed as “corrupt”.

What angers them most is that when the man of the house is away attending to his so-called duty, problems keep getting out of hand—most families of police constables complained that in the absence of the man of the house to resolve issues or to even interact with family members as part of the much sought after “quality time” with the family, the children are attracted to anti-social activities.

An irony, that while the man of the house is in a profession that curtails or prevents crime, the son tends to move towards those very activities that the father would have tried preventing as part of his duty.

The police constables’ wives are the most angry. In some cases, even the constables’ children expressed their anger at their fathers scolding or beating them for no apparent reason.Roopa S, wife of a police constable attached to the east division, said serving the police department must “end with my husband; my son will not join the department!”

Her five-year-old son Jeevan Kumar, said, “Often my father scolds me for no reason. But after some time, when he cools down, he tells me he did so because of work pressure. But it is not fair.”

While in most other professions, the employees are told not to carry their work pressures home, police constables DNA spoke to said they cannot help but do so, as they do not know where to let out their stress-induced frustrations. And these frustrations are often triggered at home by questions from family members—especially children and wives—on why they are not destined to own some sought-after toy or luxury items even when the father is in such a noble profession.‘Policing? Not for me’

Not surprising that Yeshwanth GR, eight-year-old son of a traffic police constable says: “I don’t want to become a policeman. What if I become like my father? I have decided to become a pilot.”Nagaveni (name changed), wife of a crime police constable, said, “My husband is not a husband to me. Neither is he a father to my children, nor a son to his parents. He is like a paying guest to our family. Every night he returns after 11 pm after the children have gone to bed. At times he returns once a week when he is on some anti-crime mission. My in-laws are in Shimoga, they are aged. They are not in good health, but my husband is not able to visit them. They think my husband is neglecting them. But sadly, despite doing good work, he has become a villain to his own family.”

Bindhu G, daughter of a head constable, who in 2008 was moved to the intelligence wing after BJP government was sworn in, said, “My father has not attended a single family function in the last four years. We hardly get time to talk to each other.”

Some of the constables’ wives even complained of their husbands taking to regular drinking, saying it relaxes them.

‘Cops better off than armymen’Additional superintendent of police, Bangalore Rural, who is also president of police association, N Nagaraj, said “I want to remind all the policemen to realise that we are not like the army personnel, who can meet their families just once a year. They should draw inspiration and work for the society.”

Retired additional director general of police (ADGP) Jeevan Kumar Gaonkar, said: “Some police constables do not even see the faces of their children for months. When there is no adequate parental care, there is a real threat of their children going on the wrong track. There are a good number of such incidents. I feel the staff strength has to be increased. Vacancies must be filled up immediately, because the population is increasing, and the city is expanding. At any cost, no policeman should work for more than 12 hours a day.”

But with the present feelings among the family members about the negatives of being a policeman, and the general public already having a very poor impression of the police profession, one wonders whether Gaonkar’s and Nagraj’s well-intended suggestions will see the light of day.