New Delhi, India – November 19, 2008:

86 years old Sharbati Devi being helped by

a policeman to cast her vote in Sadar Bazar
Constituency.
(Credits: Mohd Zakir, Hindustan Times)

The Centre for the Study of the Developing Societies

(CSDS) is one of India’s leading institutes for research
in the social sciences and humanities. Since its
inception in 1963, the Centre has been known for its
critical outlook on received models of development
and progress. It is animated by a vision of equality and
democratic transformation. Lokniti is a research
programme of the CSDS established in 1997. It houses
a cluster of research initiatives that seek to engage
with national and global debates on democratic
politics by initiating empirically grounded yet
theoretically oriented studies. The large volume of data
collected by Lokniti on party politics and voting
behaviour has gone a long way in helping social

STATUS OF POLICING
science scholars makings sense of Indian elections and
democracy.

Common Cause is a registered society dedicated to

IN INDIA REPORT 2019

championing public causes, campaign for probity in
public life and integrity of institutions. It seeks to
promote democracy, good governance and public
policy reforms thorough advocacy, interventions by
formal and informal policy engagements. Common
Cause is especially known for the difference it has
made through a large number of Public Interest
Litigations filed in the Courts, such as the recent ones POLICE ADEQUACY AND
on the cancellation of the entire telecom spectrum;
cancellation of arbitrarily allocated coal blocks; Apex
Court’s recognition of individuals right to die with
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Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 1

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Cover Photo: New Delhi, India- October 2, 2018: Police use tear gas and water
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2 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Contents

List of Abbreviations 4
Team Members 5
Index of Figures 6
Index of Tables 8
Acknowledgements 10
Introduction: Status of Policing in India
Report (2019): The Context 11
1 Structural Analysis of Police in India:
Measuring Adequacy Through Official Data 16
2 Indian Police, Always on Duty! 43
3 Policing Without Resources 62
4 Reinvestigating Crime Investigation 79
5 Gender and Police 92
6 Police and the Society 110
7 People-friendly Police or Police-fearing People? 130
8 Summing Up 148
Appendices 155
Appendix 1: Technical Details of Study Design and Sample 156
Appendix 2: Questionnaire 158
Appendix 3: How indices for survey data were calculated
and select tables 168
Appendix 4: How indices for official data were calculated
and select tables 175
Appendix 5: Findings from the survey on select questions
from Police survey 176
Appendix 6: Findings from the survey on select questions from
Police Family Survey 182

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 3

List of Abbreviations
AIGP Assistant Inspector General of Police
AP Andhra Pradesh
ASI Assistant Sub- inspector
BJP Bharatiya Janata Party
BPRD Bureau for Police Research & Development
CAG Comptroller & Auditor General
CCTNS Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System
CIPA Common Integrated Police Application
CMS Central Monitoring System
DGP Director General of Police
DIG Deputy Inspector General of Police
DySP Deputy Superintendent
FIR First Information Report
ICJS Integrated Criminal Justice System
IO Investigating officer
IPS Indian Police Services
MHA Ministry of Home Affairs
MMP Mission Mode Project
MP Madhya Pradesh
MPF Modernisation of Police Forces
NAT-GRID National Intelligence Grid
NCRB National Crime Records Bureau
NETRA Network Traffic Analysis System
NFHS National Family Health Survey
OBC Other Backward Classes
PMR Professional Mobile Radio Network
PAMR Public Access Mobile Radio Network
SC Scheduled Castes
SI Sub-Inspector
SP Superintendent of Police
SPIR Status of Policing in India Report
SSP Senior Superintendent of Police
ST Scheduled Tribes
UP Uttar Pradesh

4 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Team Members
Team Advisory Committee Ramesh Chauhan
Rakesh Ranjan
Sandeep Shastri
Rakesh Negi
Sanjay Kumar
Sanjay Lodha
Suhas Palshikar
Shashikant Pandey
Vipul Mudgal
Suprio Basu
Vageeshan Harathi
Lead Researchers
Veena Devi
Anurag Jain Yatindra Singh Sisodia
Radhika Jha
State Supervisors
Analysis and report writing
Aier Achanger
Akhilesh Patil Amit Kumar
Dhruv Shekhar Anita Agarawal
Kinjal Sampat Ashish Bhatt
Manjesh Rana Balram Pradhan
Jagannath Kashyap
Research support Jitendra Singh
Jyoti Prasad Chatterjee
Amrit Negi Kiran Raj V
Amrit Pandey K L Nagesh
Anshi Beohar Moamren Pongen
Chandan Kumar Nidhi Seth
Dhananjay Kumar Singh Nurul Hasan
Himanshu Bhattacharya Ramya Chitrapu
Jyoti Mishra Shamshad Ansari
Sakshi Khemani Shraddha Mishra
Shambhu Ghatak Srinivasa Rao
Shreyas Sardesai Sunil Kumar
Susmita Saha Vijay Kumar
Vibha Attri Yunush Chauhan

State Coordinators Interns

Amongla N. Jamir Abhishek Rai
Anupama Saxena Anupama S Krishnan
Bhanu Parmar Ananya Gupta
Biswajit Mohanty Bahaar Abbas
Dhruba Pratim Sharma Chandana Sai
E. Venkatesu Kushang Mishra
Gyanaranjan Swain Mohd. Eisa
Harishwar Dayal Palashka Jha
Jagroop Kaur Prakriti Bandhan
K.M. Sajad Ibrahim Shubham Kumar
Kushal Pal Subhesh Kumar
Nitin Birmal
P. Ramajayam

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 5

Index of Figures
Figure 1.1: Number of constabulary per officer as of 2016 21 Figure 3.1: One in ten police stations/units do not
have drinking water facilities and one in five have no
Figure 1.2: Expenditure on police training as a percentage
access to clean toilets 65
of the total police expenditure vis-à-vis percentage of
personnel given in-service training (2012–2016 average) 25 Figure 3.2: Seating area for public and food for suspects
in police custody 65
Figure 1.3: The selected States have an average of
six computers per police station 29 Figure 3.3: Lack of resources 68
Figure 1.4: Number of vehicles as a percentage of Figure 3.4: Physical, weaponry and crowd-control training
benchmark on vehicles vis-à-vis area (in sq. km.) per police of Civil Police Personnel 74
station 32
Figure 3.5: Almost one in three civil police personnel never
Figure 1.5: In a majority of States, the caseload of received training on forensic technology 76
women officers is much higher than the caseload of
Figure 4.1: More educated police personnel more likely to
overall officers 36
perceive crime as increasing over the years 82
Figure 1.6: SSPs and DIGs (range) transferred in less than
Figure 4.2: Among those who say crime has increased,
two years as a percentage of the total number of
one in two police personnel believes that crime is rising
AIGP/SP/SSP/DIG in the selected States from 2007–2016 36
due to societal problems 84
Figure 1.7: SSPs and DIGs (range) transferred in less than
Figure 4.3: Among those who say crime has decreased,
two years as a percentage of the total number of
one in two police personnel believe that crime has
AIGP/SP/SSP/DIG in the States: Chhattisgarh and Gujarat 38
decreased because of improved policing 85
Figure 1.8: SSPs and DIGs (range) transferred in less than
Figure 4.5: Nearly one in four police personnel believe
two years as a percentage of the total number of
that measures external to policing are required for
AIGP/SP/SSP/DIG in the States: Selected States (2007–2016
curbing crime 85
average) 38
Figure 4.4: Two out of five police personnel believe
Figure 2.1: Majority of the police personnel work for
that installing CCTV cameras and increasing police
more than 8 hours a day 46
strength are the most important steps for curbing crime 86
Figure 2.2: Police personnel with more years of
Figure 4.6: Two in five police personnel feel that pressures
experience report longer working hours 47
on police (from various sources) are the biggest obstacle
Figure 2.3: Nearly one in two police personnel work in crime investigation 88
over-time regularly. 48
Figure 4.7: Police personnel with more years of experience
Figure 2.4: Eight out of 10 police personnel do not get are less likely to consider political pressure as the main
paid for overtime work 49 hurdle in crime investigation 88
Figure 2.5a: Nearly half of the police personnel reside in Figure 4.8: Seven in ten police personnel have frequently
government-provided housing accommodation 51 experienced lack of cooperation from witnesses as
an obstacle during crime investigation 89
Figure 2.5b: Senior police personnel more likely to reside in
government provided housing accommodation 52 Figure 4.9: Constabulary more likely to face departmental
pressure during crime investigation 89
Figure 2.6: One out of two police personnel do not get
any weekly off days 52 Figure 4.10: Constabulary more likely to face political
pressure during crime investigation 90
Figure 2.7: SC, ST police personnel more likely to feel
that senior officers ask juniors to do their private-personal/ Figure 4.11: Two out of five police personnel reported
household jobs 56 always facing pressure during investigation of cases
involving influential people. 90
Figure 2.8: Two out of five police personnel feel that
senior and junior police are given completely equal Figure 5.1: Women police more likely to perform in-house
treatment 58 tasks, while male police more likely to undertake
on-the-field tasks 96
Figure 2.9: SC, ST police personnel less likely to feel
that seniors and juniors are treated equally 58 Figure 5.2: One in two women police personnel does
not get any weekly rest 98
Figure: 2.10: Thirty seven percent police personnel willing
to give up their job for another profession 59 Figure 5.3: Two in five women police personnel have
to regularly stay back at work after duty hours 98

6 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Figure 5.4: Increasing workload the primary reason for Figure 7.12: Personnel who believe that common people
police women to work overtime 99 are very hesitant to approach the police less likely to
advise their own daughters to visit a police station alone 140
Figure 5.5: One in every five police women reported
the absence of a separate toilet for women at their Figure 7.13: ST police personnel more likely to believe
police station 99 that crimes are under-reported 141
Figure 6.1: Less than half of the police personnel feel that Figure 7.14 ST personnel less likely to advise their
SCs and STs within the police are given completely equal daughters to visit a police station alone to report a crime 141
treatment when compared to other caste groups (%) 113
Figure 7.15: Thirty seven percent personnel feel that for
Figure 6.2: Training in human rights, caste sensitisation minor offences, a small punishment should be handed
and crowd control (%) 117 out by the police rather than a legal trial 144
Figure 6.3: One in five police personnel believes that Figure 7.16: One out of five police personnel feel that killing
complaints under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) dangerous criminals is better than a legal trial 144
Act are “very much” false and motivated (%) 121
Figure 7.17: Personnel with more years of service less likely
Figure 6.4: One out of two police personnel feel that to believe that killing dangerous criminals is better than
children in conflict with law between 16 to 18 years of a legal trial 145
age should be treated like juvenile delinquents 126
Figure 7.18 Personnel with higher levels of education
Figure 7.1: Personnel with better experience more likely to more likely to agree with the statement that killing
believe that increase in the number of FIRs indicates higher dangerous criminals is better than a legal trial 145
registration of complaints by the police 133
Figure 7.19 Three out of four personnel feel that it is
Figure 7.2: Senior officers more likely to believe that an justified for the police to be violent towards criminals 146
increase in FIRs indicates an increase in registration of
Figure 7.20 Four out of five personnel believe that there is
complaints by the police 134
nothing wrong in the police beating up criminals to extract
Figure 7.3: More educated personnel more likely to confessions 146
believe that an increase in FIRs indicates an increase
Figure 7.21 Personnel with higher education more likely
in crime in the jurisdiction 134
to believe that it is alright for the police to be violent
Figure 7.4: Regardless of the number of years of towards criminals 146
experience majority of the Police personnel not willing
Figure 7.22: Personnel with higher education more likely
to register FIR 136
to believe that there is nothing wrong in police beating
Figure 7.5: Despite seniority no alteration in reluctance for up criminals to extract confessions 146
registering FIR 136
Figure 8.1: Steps that government must take to enable
Figure 7.6: Better educated police personnel more likely to the police to do its job better 150
believe that no matter how serious a crime, a preliminary
enquiry should be conducted before registering an FIR 137
Figure 7.7: Three out of five police personnel believe that
the number of crimes reported are lesser than the
number of crimes committed in the society 137
Figure 7.8: Two out of five police personnel believe
that common people are hesitant to contact the police
even when there is a need 138
Figure 7.9: Better educated personnel are more likely
to believe that common people are hesitant to contact
the police in times of need 139
Figure 7.10: Personnel with higher experience less likely
to believe that common people are hesitant to contact
the police even when there is a need 139
Figure 7.11 One out of five personnel would not advise
their daughter to go to a police station outside their
zone of influence to report a crime 140

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 7

Index of Tables
Table 1.1: Police in India functions at three-fourth of its Table 3.1: State-wise access to basic infrastructure in police
sanctioned strength 19 stations/units 66
Table 1.2: In most States, vacancies are higher at the Table 3.2: State-wise score on police infrastructure 66
officer-level than at the constabulary level 20
Table 3.3: Mobility Issues for Civil Police 67
Table 1.3: Rank-wise percentage of personnel given
Table 3.4: Stationary expenses for civil police 68
in-service training (2012-2016 average) 23
Table 3.5a: Police unable to reach crime scene on time
Table 1.4: Expenditure on police training in India
because of lack of Human Resources 69
constitutes just a little over 1 percent of the total police
expenditure 24 Table 3.5b: Police unable to escort accused to court
because of lack of Human Resources 70
Table 1.5: Twenty-four police stations in the selected
States do not have access to either telephones or wireless 26 Table 3.6: Basic technology at the work-place/station 71
Table 1.6: The level of compliance with CCTNS infrastructure Table 3.7: State-wise score on availability of basic
among the selected States (including UT of Delhi) is 78% 28 technology at the work-place/station 72
Table 1.7: There is a one-fourth deficiency of vehicles in Table 3.8: State-wise ranking on availability of functional
the selected States as of 2016 31 computer at workplace for civil police 72
Table 1.8: There are vacancies in reserved posts for SCs, STs, Table 3.9: State-wise ranking on availability of functional
OBCs and women in the police force across nearly all States 34 CCTNS at workplace for civil police 73
Table 1.9: Women, STs and OBCs in police are less likely to Table 3.10: State-wise ranking on availability of forensic
be officers than the general police personnel 34 technology at workplace for civil police 74
Table 1.10: During 2007–16 eighteen percent SSPs and DIGs Table 3.11: Lack of technology/experts to
transferred in less than two years, on an average 37 investigate cybercrimes 75
Table 1.11: Delhi, Kerala and Maharashtra have a more Table 3.12: One in two police personnel last received
adequate policing structure than other selected States 40 training on weaponry, crowd control and physical
fitness at the time of joining 76
Table 2.1: Police personnel work for 14 hours a day
on an average 46 Table 3.13: Senior police officers more likely to be
trained on technical issues 77
Table 2.2: Male and senior police personnel from civil
force report working for longer hours 47 Table 3.15: State-wise training of civil police on
new technology 77
Table 2.3: State-wise working hours 48
Table 3.14: Outdated training? 77
Table 2.4: Reasons for staying back at station/workplace 49
Table 4.1: State-wise responses of civil police on increase
Table 2.5: Fifty one percent of the police personnel feel
or decrease in crime 82
that their salary is at par with the kind of work they do 49
Table 4.2: Classification of issues behind rise in crime 83
Table 2.6: State-wise attitude towards salary 50
Table 4.3: One in four police personnel believes that
Table 2.7: State-wise attitude towards evaluation of work 50
unemployment and lack of education are the main reasons
Table 2.8: Senior male police personnel from the civil behind the rise in crime 84
police least likely to get weekly offs 52
Table 4.4: Classification of reasons behind decline in crime 84
Table 2.9: State-wise weekly off days 53
Table 4.5: Reasons for decrease in crime 85
Table 2.10: Three out of four police personnel agree that the
Table 4.6: Classification of measures to control crime 86
workload is making it difficult for them to do their job well 54
Table 4.7: Thirteen percent police personnel felt that
Table 2.11: State-wise effects of workload 54
spreading awareness and education are the most useful
Table 2.12: Autonomy in tasks 55 measures for controlling crime 87
Table 2.13: Perception of autonomy among personnel Table 4.8: Classification of obstacles faced during
across States 56 investigation of crime 87
Table 2.16: Two in five police personnel report the use of Table 4.9: Twenty-eight percent police personnel feel that
harsh/ bad language by senior officers 57 pressure from politicians is the biggest hindrance in crime
investigation 88
Table 2.14: A quarter of the police personnel feel that
senior officers ask their juniors to do their private-personal/ Table 4.10: Three out of five police personnel reported
household jobs 57 transfer as the most common consequence of not
complying with pressures 91
Table 2.15: Seniors ask juniors to do household tasks:
State-wise responses 57 Table 5.1: Profile of women-police personnel surveyed (%) 95
Table 2.17: State-wise data on bad language used by seniors 60 Table 5.2: Women police personnel at senior ranks more
likely to be engaged in on-the-field tasks 96
Table 2.18: Constabulary police less likely to feel that
seniors and juniors are given equal treatment 60

8 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 5.3: Daily tasks performed (State-wise position) (%) 97 Table 6.6: One in three Sikh personnel feels that the
treatment towards minorities within the police force is not
Table 5.4: Weekly off-days (State-wise) (%) 97
at all equal 115
Table 5.5: How often do women have to stay back at
Table 6.7: Are minority police personnel treated equally?
work after duty hours? (State-wise) (Responses of women
(State-wise) (%) 116
police personnel) (%) 99
Table 6.8: Training in human rights, caste sensitisation
Table 5.6: Separate toilets for women? (State-wise
and crowd control (Experience-wise) (%) 117
responses of women police personnel) (%) 100
Table 6.9: Training in human rights (State-wise) (%) 118
Table 5.7: One-fourth police women said that there was
no sexual harassment committee at their police station/ Table 6.10: Training on caste sensitisation (State-wise) (%) 118
jurisdiction 100
Table 6.12: One in two police personnel feels that Muslims
Table 5.8: Switch the profession? (State-wise) (%) 101 are likely to be “naturally prone” towards committing
crimes (%) 119
Table 5.9: About one in two personnel feels that men
and women in police are not given completely equal Table 6.11: Training in crowd control (State-wise) (%) 119
treatment 102
Table 6.13: Are Muslims naturally prone towards committing
Table 5.10: Policewomen at higher ranks more likely to crimes? (State-wise) (%) 120
report discrimination 102
Table 6.14: Are Dalits naturally prone towards committing
Table 5.11: Equal treatment to men and women? crimes? (State-wise) (%) 120
(State-wise) (%) 103
Table 6.15: Are the STs naturally prone towards committing
Table 5.12: Responses to the three statements (%) 103 crimes? (State-wise) (%) 121
Table 5.13: One in four male police personnel is highly Table 6.16: Upper caste police personnel much more likely
biased against women in police 104 to believe that complaints under the SC/ST (PoA) Act are
false and motivated, than the SC and ST police personnel 122
Table 5.13: Level of bias towards women in police
(State-wise) (%) 104 Table 6.17: To what extent crimes under the SC/ST (POA)
Act complaints false and motivated? (State-wise) (%) 122
Table 5.14: One in three police personnel was provided
gender sensitisation training in the last 2-3 years 105 Table 6.18: A little less than half of the police personnel
believe that street vendors, slum dwellers and
Table 5.15: Personnel who were recruited in the last five
industrialists are likely to be naturally prone towards
years more likely to be trained on gender sensitisation 105
committing crimes 123
Table 5.16: Training on sensitisation towards women
Table 6.19: One in four police personnel believe that
(State-wise)(%) 106
migrants are very much naturally prone towards
Table 5.17: To what extent ‘domestic violence’, ‘dowry’, committing crimes? 124
‘sexual harassment’ and ‘rape’ complaints are false and
Table 6.20: Are the migrant people naturally prone
motivated? (%) 106
towards committing crimes? (State-wise) (%) 124
Table 5.18: Nearly one in five police personnel is of the
Table 6.21: Are the non-literate people naturally prone
opinion that gender-based violence complaints are false
towards committing crimes? (State-wise) (%) 124
and motivated to a great extent 107
Table 6.23: One in four police personnel believes it is natural/
Table 5.20: Less than one in 10 police personnel feel
justifiable for a mob to punish the culprits on their own in
that Hijras and transgenders are very much naturally
cases of rape and road accident due to driver’s negligence 126
inclined towards committing crimes 108
Table 6.22: Should children between 16-18 years treated
Table 5.21: Are transgenders and Hijras naturally prone
as juveniles or adults? (State-wise) (%) 126
towards committing crimes? (State-wise responses of
both men and women police personnel) (%) 108 Table 6.24: Natural for the mob to punish the culprit in
case of cow-slaughter? (State-wise) (%) 127
Table 5.19: Are gender-based violence complaints false
and motivated? (State-wise) (%) 108 Table 7.1: Police personnel from Kerala most likely to
believe that an increase in the number of FIRs is
Table 6.1: SC and ST personnel less likely to feel that they
indicative of higher registration of complaints by the police 135
are treated in the same manner as other caste groups 113
Table 7.2: State-wise opinion on preliminary Investigation
Table 6.2: Are ST and non-ST police personnel treated
before FIR 138
equally? (State-wise) (%) 114
Table 7.3: Among personnel who believe that people
Table 6.3: Are ST and non-ST police personnel treated
are hesitant to approach the police, one in three feels
equally? (State-wise responses of only STs) (%) 114
that it is due to fear of the police 140
Table 6.4: Are SC and non-SC police personnel treated
Table 7.4: State-wise inclination to use or justify violence 142
equally? (State-wise) (%) 115
Table 7.5: State-wise inclination to use extra-judicial
Table 6.5: Are SC and non-SC police personnel treated
means by punishing criminals over a legal trial 143
equally? (State-wise Responses of only SCs)(%) 115
Table A1: Sampling framework 156

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 9

Acknowledgements

The Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR) 2019 Chairman Mr Prakash Singh and President Mr N. Ra-
is part of an ongoing series of studies on policing in machandran deserve a special mention for their timely
India conceived by Common Cause. This report builds support. We are also grateful to the Bureau of Police
on the foundation laid by Common Cause leadership Research and Development (BPRD) for permitting ac-
since the nineties. We owe special gratitude to the or- cess to their library and data researchers and for pro-
ganisation’s founder Director Mr H D Shourie and the viding clarifications and resource material.
members of its Governing Council, particularly Mr
Vikram Lal, Mr Kamal Kant Jaswal, Mr Prakash Sin- A special acknowledgement is due to thousands of re-
gh and Dr B P Mathur who, from time to time, pro- spondents, the police personnel across India and their
vided their valuable guidance for the police reforms family members, without whose cooperation and will-
programme. ingness to provide information, this study would not
have materialised.
Such an ambitious and nationwide study could not
have been possible without a meticulous teamwork of We appreciate the feedback and intellectual insights
State coordinators, researchers, field investigators and offered by our partners and well-wishers. In particu-
data analysts at Common Cause, Lokniti programme lar, the constructive comments provided by Prof. Hilal
of CSDS, and their collaborators at a number of uni- Ahmed, Prof Avadhendra Sharan, Prof. Sanjeer Alam
versities and institutions all across India who conduct- of CSDS, Maj Gen (Retd) Anil Verma of the Associ-
ed training workshops, helped in sampling, and super- ation for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Ms. Devyani
vised pilot trials. Srivastava of CHRI, Ms Neha Singhal of Vidhi Centre
for Legal Policy and Ms Niyati Singh of Tata Trusts
The SPIR series of reports were made possible by the for providing feedback at various stages of the study.
generosity of our philanthropic partners, Tata Trusts We would also like to express appreciation for the
and the Lal Family Foundation. We owe very special work of Mr. Himanshu Bhattacharya, Chief Statis-
gratitude to our philanthropic partners who believed tician, Lokniti-CSDS for his patience and support in
in the project’s philosophy – of creating baseline litera- statistical analysis.
ture on policing in India to help policymakers come to
rational, fact-based conclusions – even when we had We are also grateful for the insights provided by the
nothing more than a project proposal to show. members of the team working on the India Justice Re-
port, particularly Mr Harish Narasappa of Daksha,
Getting permissions for interviewing police person- Mr Vijay Radhavan of the Tata Institute of Social
nel inside police stations was tough for a group of re- Sciences (TISS), Mr Gagan Sethi and Ms Nupur Sinha
searchers belonging to academic and non-governmen- of the Centre for Social Justice, Mr Sanjoy Hazarika
tal organisations. We are grateful to the Indian Police and Ms Maja Daruwala of the Commonwealth Hu-
Foundation (IPF) for providing letters endorsing the man Rights Initiative (CHRI), Mr Arghya Sengupta
study, which helped a great deal in data collection. IPF of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Ms Shireen Vakil
and Mr Valay Singh of Tata Trusts team in Delhi.

10 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Status of Policing
in India:
The Context

New Delhi, India- August 10, 2017: Agitated protestors outside the Parliament during the ‘Bharat Bachao Andolan’ at
Parliament Street. (Credits: Sonu Mehta, Hindustan Times)

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 11

Status of Policing in India Report (2019):
The Context

T
he report you are reading is the result of year- tioners in the historic Prakash Singh vs Union of India
long teamwork of researchers, field investiga- case in which the landmark Supreme Court judgment
tors and data analysts. It has been prepared by of 2006 is yet to be fully implemented. Our first study
Common Cause and Lokniti programme of the Centre (SPIR 2018), also in collaboration with Lokniti-CSDS,
for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). The idea surveyed over 15,500 respondents in 22 States on
is to offer policy-oriented insights into the conditions citizens’ trust and satisfaction levels, discrimination
in which Indian police works. The analysis covers sen- against the vulnerable, police excesses, infrastructure,
sitivities and service conditions of police personnel, diversity, state of prisons and disposal of cases etc. The
their resources and infrastructure, patterns of their present report builds on the first SPIR.
routine contact with common people and the state of
policing apparatus in the country. The SPIR 2019 is also first of its kind in India and
South Asia. Besides a survey of close to 12000 police
The rule of law is the foundation of a just and demo- personnel inside police stations or at their residenc-
cratic society. It requires a fair and effective criminal es across India (21 States) the study also includes an-
justice system in which the police has a central role to other sample of 10,595 of their family members who
play. The police is also the most recognisable face of were interviewed. The study covers the trying working
the State and a police station is invariably a citizen’s conditions of police personnel, their meagre resourc-
first point of contact in an hour of crisis. We expect es and infrastructure, crime investigation, diversity,
police persons to protect our lives and liberties, en- people-police contact and police violence. The survey
force the law and maintain peace and harmony in the was designed to elicit perceptions of police personnel
society. The sheer range of duties and tasks assigned to about their work environments, their sensitivities, at-
them require both, adequate and modern infrastruc- titudes about the society, and levels of capacities and
ture, as well as sensitive and well-trained personnel. professional skills. The study also uses official data to
We need to build capacities of our police persons for construct the big picture of policing and its resources
not only upholding the law but also in constitutional in the States and to show the need gaps in various vital
conduct and compassionate handling of crises involv- areas.
ing all sections of citizens.
In the age of algorithms, when data is treated as gold,
India aspires to be, and rightly so, an economic super- or the new oil, human stories are often seen as a dis-
power with prosperity for all its citizens. But it is also traction. This report has avoided that trap. It works
true that India’s future as a democracy and an eco- on the intersections of the official, often impersonal,
nomic powerhouse cannot be secured by an obsolete data and direct human contact. The report looks at
criminal justice system where the police works for the the big picture without ignoring the people behind the
rulers of the day and not for the real masters, the peo- rows and columns of statistics. We have dissected data
ple of the country. The police in a just and democratic for hidden trends and complemented it with human
setup, has to be made responsive to the prevailing and responses gathered through face-to-face interviews
emerging needs of this new India. with police personnel and their family members. Spe-
cial care has been taken to involve men and women
It is in this spirit that Common Cause started its police at the lowest rungs of policing hierarchies and from
reforms programme in the nineties. We were co-peti- different social backgrounds.

12 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

You will find many ‘firsts’ in this second Status of Po- hours a day, in many States seven days a week. Why
licing in India Report (SPIR 2019). It is for the first should anyone be surprised if police personnel come
time that views of police personnel and their family across as bitter, exasperated or fatigued?
members have been taken across India, and compared,
on pressures faced by them and their vulnerabilities. It The official data tells us, and it should be a cause for
is also for the first time that official data is analysed to worry, that only about 6 percent of police personnel
show the rates of improvement or decline in the indi- in most Indian States were provided in-service training
cators of the performance of police forces over time in the past five years. Out of these, the senior officers
and on the parameters discussed above. Comparisons were more likely to receive training than the consta-
are done State-wise to bring out the variations across bles. Isn’t there a correlation between the lack of train-
India. ing and a popular belief among police personnel that
complaints about gender violence are bogus or that
New and Emerging Challenges the migrants and the people of transgender or minor-
ity communities are naturally more prone to commit-
The new and emerging threats of cybercrimes, mon-
ting crimes?
ey laundering, terrorism and insurgency have posed
new challenges to policing and intelligence gathering
The study design and chapters
operations. Police forces the world over are experi-
menting with new levels of training and proficiencies, In this report, we have avoided the temptation of re-
real-time use of data, humane but effective interroga- ducing the findings of the entire report into elegant
tion techniques and transparent tools of surveillance. policy prescriptions or direct recommendations. This
Cybercrimes like phishing, identity theft, online bank- is to ensure that the policymakers and researchers take
ing frauds are forcing the police to keep itself updated a closer look at the comparative figures and come to
with the latest technology, and hence an urgent need their conclusions. However, for the ease of reading
to modernise and digitise our policing (Gupta and and making quick sense of the chapters, a snapshot
Jain, 2018). Campaigns like ‘Digital India’ would ring of the main findings is presented in bullet points in
hollow, if the police are not equipped with comput- the beginning of each chapter. These are only markers
ers and necessary software, along with the skilled and and not meant to be a comprehensive summary of the
trained staff. chapters. We hope these will make the reading easy for
a data-heavy study.
We are also aware that big data policing may distort
the traditional roles of police and prosecution. Glob- The face-to-face surveys were coordinated by Lokniti’s
al experiences show that the invasive ways of human network of academics at the universities and research
targeting that are incrementally being used today can institutions across India. Getting access to police sta-
be inaccurate, and if misused or left unchecked, even tions and homes of personnel was initially difficult
damaging for the perception of fairness in the justice during a pilot study in New Delhi. Fortunately, things
system (Ferguson, 2017). This tells us that technology became a lot easier once we got out of Delhi and af-
is not value-neutral and the users must be made aware ter we generously received supporting letters from the
of its threats along with advantages. There is no alter- Indian Police Foundation, a think tank dedicated to
native to a decisive policy change with abundant cau- police reforms. These worked everywhere except in
tion and appropriate capacity-building efforts down Tamil Nadu where the police hierarchy was particu-
to the lowest rungs of police structures. larly suspicious and unyielding. We sincerely hope
to complete our survey in Tamil Nadu in the coming
But sadly, despite India seeing itself as a global hub for months and upload it online.
Information Technology, there are still police stations
without access to wireless, computers, vehicles or even In the first chapter, on police adequacy, we use time-se-
telephones. Police personnel are often unable to reach ries data from official sources such as the Bureau of
a spot of crime or unrest because of the unavailabili- Police Research and Development (BPRD) and the
ty of vehicles or the staff. While the infrastructure to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), to measure
fight cybercrimes or terrorism is woefully inadequate, the adequacy of police structures across States. The
we still lack the rudimentary facilities. Hundreds of five major issues covered are staffing and recruitments,
police stations are unable to provide drinking water or training, infrastructure, diversity, workload and func-
clean toilets to their personnel. The report shows that tional autonomy. While the first chapter is entirely
it is common for policemen and women to work 14 based on the analysis of trends and patterns in the of-

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 13

ficial data, the subsequent chapters are based on the munity relationships. And yet, the representation of
survey findings across 21 States. women in the Indian police continues to be poor, at
7.28 percent.2 A lack of gender sensitivity leads to re-
The second Chapter, on working conditions, focus- inforcement of stereotypes, and biases, against both,
es on one of the central drivers of the system – the the women within the police as well as women who
police personnel themselves. The chapter starts from, have an interface with the police. The chapter presents
and goes beyond, their common grievances and con- women personnel’s experience with working condi-
centrates on the poor working and service conditions tions, infrastructure and task deployment. We also an-
across the country. Inhuman duty hours can be direct- alyse the attitudes and opinions of both male and fe-
ly attributed to the inability of the States to fill the male personnel regarding women in police and crimes
sanctioned strength of the police force, which in turn against women.
impacts their efficiency.
Chapter six analyses the attitude of the police towards
The third Chapter, on resources and infrastructure, marginalised communities, both within its forces and
looks at the availability of adequate and functional outside. The NCRB report (2016) on Prison Statistics
infrastructure and skilled staff which forms the back- says that two-third of the prisoners are undertrials. As
bone of policing. It also audits the presence of bare reported in SPIR 2018, disadvantaged sections such as
minimum facilities like drinking water, clean toilets, the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Muslims
stationery, storage facilities that are indispensable at are disproportionately incarcerated3 and also under-
any public office. In the survey, the police personnel in represented in the police forces. Similarly, the likeli-
States were asked questions regarding the availability hood of poor people being awarded capital punish-
and access to basic physical, technological and human ment is also much higher. The focus of the chapter is
infrastructure, and all types of training imparted to on discriminations on caste or religious identities. It
them. analyses the extent to which training on human rights
and caste sensitisation has been imparted to tackle
Chapter four on crime investigation looks at the abil- prejudices. This chapter also examines perceptions of
ities of the police to solve crimes. Apart from polit- police personnel on juvenile delinquency and incidents
ical interference, which has been recognised as a of mob lynching etc.
major problem even by the Supreme Court and the
Second Administrative Reforms Commission, crime The last chapter looks at the frictions between the
investigation is also affected by a range of other fac- people and the police by studying the attitudes of per-
tors.1 Some of these are lack of adequate infrastruc- sonnel towards incidents of crime and police violence.
ture/ resources, staffing, the cooperation of witnesses Ministry of Home Affairs, in its ranking of police sta-
and victims during an investigation, etc. This chapter tions in 2018, has emphasised on the need for the po-
tries to find the obstacles faced by the police during lice station to be ’welcoming for citizens’. But the high
crime investigation. After looking at the workload and number of non-reporting of the crimes reflects how
the resources available in the previous sections, this police stations are viewed as spaces that discourage
chapter attempts to uncover the frailty of the broader and intimidate common people. No wonder, about
eco-system of criminal justice by examining the police 99 percent of cases of violence against women are
attitudes and the external pressures working on them. not reported (National Family Health Survey, round
4, 2015-16). Home Ministry’s own police reforms
Chapter five dissects policing from the perspective programme is quite elaborate and ambitious but this
of gender. Studies have shown that increasing female report shows that its implementation on the ground
representation in the police is directly associated with leaves much to be desired.
increased reporting of violent crimes against women
and a decline in domestic violence (Miller and Segal, Incidents of police brutality are also common across
2018). Significantly, having more female officers can States. Unfortunately, India has not only failed to rati-
positively impact overall performance and police-com-

1 In Prakash Singh vs Union of India, 2006, the Supreme Court

2 Figures available until 2016
recognised that the police are under pressure to serve the interests of
the political parties in power and gave landmark directions. It ruled 3 SPIR 2018, Chapter 1: Only four States out of 22 have SC prisoners
that the law & order and investigation functions of the police should in proportion to or less than their population in the State; in case of
be separated. Unfortunately, these directives have not been complied STs this number of States is three and in case of Muslims, all of the 22
with, and punishment postings and political interference continue to States have a higher proportion of prisoners than their population in
be common. the State (page 25).

14 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

fy the United Nation’s convention on human torture4, light the need gaps for policymakers and serious re-
but has also refrained from passing the Prevention of searchers. We hope the display of State-wise variances
Torture Bill, 2017. In this chapter, we examine how will encourage healthy competition among States and
the police perceive the processes related to registration their political leaderships. Advocacy and awareness
of the FIR. We study the police’s perceptions about campaigns are important because real progress is dif-
whether and why people hesitate to contact them. We ficult without political leadership grasping the prob-
also review the propensity of police to use excessive lems and showing the resolve to change things. We
violence or to justify the killings of ‘criminals’. hope this report will help all those in the police forces,
politics, academics and civil society who want to use
At Common Cause and CSDS we believe that if we the empirical indicators for policy engagement or to
wish to change something decisively, we must face it, create awareness and public pressure.
comprehend it and be able to measure it. And that is
why it is hoped the present series of SPIR studies will
create baseline literature on policing in India and high- Vipul Mudgal
4 India is a signatory to the Convention Against Torture, but has not Director, Common Cause
ratified it.

References

Bhattacharya, P. and Kundu, T., April 24, 2018, ‘99% Cas- veillance, Race and the Future of Law Enforcement, NY
es of Sexual Assault Go Unreported, Govt Data Shows’, University Press, pp 60
Live Mint, available at < https://www.livemint.com/Politics/
AV3sIKoEBAGZozALMX8THK/99-cases-of-sexual-as- Miller, A.R. and Segal, C., 2018, ‘Do Female Officers Im-
saults-go-unreported-govt-data-shows.html> [Accessed 27 prove Law Enforcement Quality? Effects on Crime Report-
July 2019] ing and Domestic Violence’, The Review of Economic Stud-
ies
Gupta A and Jain S, 2018 ‘Building Smart police in India:
Background into the much-needed police reforms’, NITI Ministry of Home Affairs, 2018, ‘Ranking of Police Sta-
Aayog, pp 12–13 tions 2018’, Government of India, Available at <https://
mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/PMdiv_RankingofPoliceSta-
Ferguson, A.G., 2017, The Rise of Big Data Policing: Sur- tion2018_24062019.pdf> [accessed 15 June 2019]

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 15

 Structural Analysis
1
of Police in India:
Measuring Adequacy
Through Official Data

Gurgaon, India – October 23, 2017: The Gurgaon Police Control Room equipped with an IVR system, an
automated telephone system that interacts with callers and gathers information.
(Credits: Parveen Kumar, Hindustan Times)

16 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

I
n this chapter, we use official data from the National Crime Records
Bureau (NCRB) and the Bureau of Police Research and Development
(BPRD) to assess police capacity and adequacy in a State-wise man-
ner. Time-series data for a period of five years or more has been analysed
on parameters such as police staff strength, training, infrastructure, di-
versity, case load and police autonomy. This is followed by a ranking of
States on police adequacy. Following are the key findings of the chapter:
• The police in India works at 77 percent of its sanctioned strength, or
just 3/4th of its required capacity
• Vacancies in the senior ranks are higher than vacancies at the constab-
ulary ranks. This is despite the fact that only two States – West Bengal
and Bihar have the ratio of constabulary to senior officers as per the
Padmanabhaiah Committee recommendation, that is, four constabu-
lary personnel per officer. In all other States, the number of constables
per officer is much higher
• Over the last five years, on an average, only 6.4 percent of the po-
lice force have been provided in-service training. Senior police officers
are much more likely to receive in-service training than the constabu-
lary-level personnel
• Across the 22 States, 70 police stations do not have to wireless devic-
es, 214 police stations do not have access to telephones, and 24 police
stations have access to neither wireless nor telephones
• On an average, the police stations in India have six computers per
police station, but States like Assam and Bihar have an average of less
than one computer per police station
• About 240 police stations across the 22 States have no access to ve-
hicles
• Representation of SCs, STs, OBCs and women in the police is poor,
with huge vacancies in the reserved positions. There are 60 and 53
percent vacancies for the reserved posts of SCs in UP and Haryana
respectively, significantly higher than the overall vacancies in those
States.
• SCs, STs, OBCs and women are less likely to be recruited/posted at
officer-level ranks than general police personnel
• While transfer of SSPs and DIGs in less than two years has declined
significantly since 2007, as of 2016, at the all India level 12 percent
officers of the ranks have been transferred in less than two years. The
highest proportion of transfers in less than two years were made in
Haryana and UP. Premature transfers are higher during election years
in the States.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 17

 1
Structural Analysis of Police is India:
Measuring Adequacy Through Official Data

A
ttempts to measure police performance in In- Sections in this chapter closely examine facets under
dia are few and far between. The Status of Po- each of these dimensions that together for us begin
licing in India Report (SPIR) 2018 was one of to give an idea of adequacy of the police. We use the
the first attempts to measure police performance and data from official, publicly available sources to an-
people’s perceptions of the police on a pan India scale. swer these questions for the police forces across the
The study included a citizen’s survey of perceptions 22 States selected1 for this study. For most variables,
and experiences with the police, a performance eval- time-series data has been used over a period of five
uation of the police as an organisation using official years or more. To assess the adequacy of structures,
time-series data from sources such as the Nation- we have used averages of five years (wherever avail-
al Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Bureau of Police able), so that the peaks and troughs possibly caused
Research and Development (BPRD), the Comptroller due to extraneous circumstances, can be balanced out.
and Auditor General’s (CAG) Reports on police per- Wherever possible, we consider the prescribed meas-
formance audits, etc. ures through law and policy to assess the performance
on these parameters. In cases where it isn’t available,
Building on that foundation, in this edition of the SPIR we provide a relative ranking of States on the above
the focus shifts to the adequacy and capacity of the parameters and juxtapose them against a cumulative
police structure and working experiences of the police average.
personnel. In this chapter, we use data from official
sources such as the Data on Police Organisation re- Towards the end of the chapter, we rank the State po-
ports from BPRD and the Crime in India reports from lice forces on three fundamental parameters - utilisa-
NCRB to measure the adequacy of police structures tion of budgets, adequacy of physical infrastructure
across States. and percent deficit of personnel in police. This relative
ranking, although occasionally a bit fluid, provides a
Policing requires certain basic infrastructural, man- glimpse of where the different States of India stand.
power and capacity-building frameworks for it to
function optimally. We look at the strength, training, 1.1: What is the personnel strength of the
physical infrastructure, diversity, reasonable case-load police?
and functional autonomy as the sine qua non of any
Although personnel form the backbone of any police
police force. To assess the adequacy of the police forces
structure, across States in India, their strength itself
across the States, we ask the following five questions:
is acutely inadequate. As of 2016, the police in In-
1. How well staffed is the police? dia2 worked at 77.4 percent of its sanctioned capac-
2. How well-trained is the police? ity. While it is a 2.3 percent increase from the previ-
ous year, the force, overall, functions with just about
3. How adequate is the infrastructure of the police? three-fourth of its required strength. It is safe to as-
4. How diverse is the police? sume, therefore, that the shortage of personnel can be
a major hurdle in fulfilling the duties of the police.
5. What is the case load on the personnel? 1 In the survey, Tamil Nadu could not be covered due to lack of
permissions. However, in the official data analysis, we have also
6. How autonomous is the police in its function- included data on Tamil Nadu.
ing? 2 Wherever in the chapter an all India figure is provided, unless
otherwise stated, it refers to the overall value for the 22 selected States.

18 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

The problem of perpetual vacancies also exacerbates of the 22 selected States (method of calculation of the
another closely related problem of overburdened po- following variables can be seen in Appendix 3):
lice force, which is the root cause of physical as well as a. Percentage of total actual to sanctioned strength
mental fatigue in police (J Vila, 2006). (civil and armed): The actual strength of the civil
and armed police personnel in a State as a percent-
Responses from the police survey data resonate with age of the sanctioned number of civil and armed
this. More than a third of the surveyed respondents police personnel in the State
have frequently encountered situations wherein they b. Actual as a percentage of sanctioned strength
could not reach a crime scene on time because of lack – constabulary: The actual strength of Head Con-
of staff at the police station (see more in Chapter 2). stables and Constables as a percentage of the sanc-
When asked what steps the government should take tioned number of Head Constables and Constables
to improve policing, the most frequently reported re- in a State
sponse was on the need to increase police strength,
c. Actual as a percentage of sanctioned strength-
with a greater number of personnel highlighting the
officers: The actual strength of officers (ASI and
need for an increase in staff than those pointing to the
above ranks) as a percentage of the sanctioned
need for better salaries (see more in Conclusion).
number of officers in a State
In this section, we look at the following factors to an- d. ‘Teeth to Tail’ ratio: The number of Constables
alyse the strength of police across police departments and Head Constables as a ratio of the number of
officers

Table 1.1: Police in India functions at three-fourth of its sanctioned strength

Strength of police forces across States: Average of the last five-year percentages (2012 – 2016)
Overall strength: Constabulary strength: Officer strength: Number of
actual as a percent- actual as a percentage of actual as a percent- Constables per
age of sanctioned sanctioned age of sanctioned officer
Andhra Pradesh 80.7 80.2 84.1 6.3
Assam 84.9 84.9 85.5 6.9
Bihar 70.5 72.1 64.3 4.7
Chhattisgarh 79.9 81.5 66.9 10
Gujarat 67.4 67 69.3 4.9
Haryana 67.6 66.6 74.3 5.9
Himachal Pradesh 86.7 87.1 84.1 6.8
Jharkhand 74.8 76.3 67.3 6.1
Karnataka 71.5 71.1 74.2 6.9
Kerala 95 96 86.8 10
Madhya Pradesh 85 86.2 79.2 4.8
Maharashtra 93.2 94.4 87.9 4.8
Nagaland 102 102.7 94 13.5
Odisha 84 86.8 71.8 5.3
Punjab 89.4 89.4 89.3 7.1
Rajasthan 86.7 89.7 65.3 9.9
Tamil Nadu 84.4 85.4 76.5 9.3
Telangana 76 75.1 82 6.2
Uttar Pradesh 46.9 46.7 52.5 11.3
Uttarakhand 90.9 92.3 77.6 12.8
West Bengal 66.8 66.9 66.6 3.1
Delhi 94 94.6 91.4 4.2
AP + Telangana 78.8 78.5 81.5 6.4
All-India 75.2 75.6 74.2 6.3

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 19

As of 2016, Maharashtra has the highest total ac- Police has a hierarchical structure that consists of var-
tual strength (2,25,475) followed by Uttar Pradesh ious ranks, allocated in a pyramidical manner—broad
(1,98,919) and Tamil Nadu (1,28,197). However, at the lower ranks and tapering towards the top ranks.
States like Nagaland, Delhi and Kerala have better ac- The constabulary (Constables and Head Constables)
tual to sanctioned percentages. In fact, amongst the are at the base and have the highest share in total po-
selected States, Nagaland is the only State in which the lice strength. The mid-section comprises the upper
total actual strength of police personnel is above its subordinates (Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors, Assistant
sanctioned strength, with vacancies to varying degrees Sub-Inspectors). Their share in the total strength is
being the main story in all other States. In Delhi and lower than that of the constabulary. From the Deputy
Kerala, the actual strength is 98.3 percent and 97.9 Superintendent (DySP) rank onwards, all the gazetted
percent of their sanctioned strength respectively. Uttar officers form the top section of the pyramid and have
Pradesh fares the worst, with its police force function- the lowest share in the total strength.
ing at 48 percent of its capacity, less than half of its
total sanctioned strength (Table 1.2). When police strength is analysed rank-wise, the data
reveals that vacancies are greater at the officer-level

Table 1.2: In most States, vacancies are higher at the officer-level than at the constabulary level
Rank-wise strength of police forces and the rate of improvement as of 2016
Constabulary
(Head Constables and Officer (ASI to DGP)
Overall
Constable)
Actual to Actual to Actual to
Rate of im- Rate of im- Rate of im-
sanctioned sanctioned sanctioned
provement provement provement
percentage percentage percentage
Nagaland 107.2 1.5 108.3 1.7 95.1 -0.2
Delhi 98.3 1.2 100.0 1.6 90.9 -0.7
Kerala 97.9 1.2 100.4 1.7 76.6 -2.8
Himachal Pradesh 94.9 1.9 95.9 2.2 88.6 -0.2
Uttarakhand 94.6 3.3 95.5 3.6 86.1 -0.2
Tamil Nadu 94.3 1.8 96.1 1.9 78.4 0.8
Maharashtra 93.9 4.0 94.3 3.8 91.9 4.6
Punjab 91.8 0.2 92.3 0.4 88.1 -1.4
Rajasthan 85.7 -1.1 87.9 -1.2 69.6 -0.6
Odisha 85.4 0.4 88.7 0.7 70.1 -1.0
Madhya Pradesh 85.1 -1.3 86.0 -1.5 81.6 0.6
Chhattisgarh 84.8 1.8 87.0 2.0 68.4 1.1
Assam 84.4 -1.0 84.7 -1.0 82.5 -0.9
Andhra Pradesh 81.0 2.7 79.4 2.0 91.6 7.2
Karnataka 79.2 -1.6 78.2 -1.9 84.8 -0.1
Andhra Pradesh +
77.7 2.1 76.4 1.4 86.6 6.2
Telangana
All-India 77.4 0.8 76.2 0.5 72.3 0.0
Telangana 74.6 -2.6 73.5 -3.0 81.8 0.1
Haryana 71.6 1.0 72.4 1.5 67.1 -2.0
West Bengal 71.4 0.0 71.3 -0.6 71.5 1.5
Gujarat 71.2 3.1 71.2 3.7 71.2 0.0
Jharkhand 69.6 -1.2 72.8 -0.9 57.5 -1.9
Bihar 69.4 -1.7 71.4 -1.4 62.6 -2.8
Uttar Pradesh 48.1 0.2 49.5 0.5 37.9 -1.6
For ‘Rate of improvement’, data from the past five years is considered.

20 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

(Table 1.2). As of 2016, the proportion of officers re- the officers in most States. This makes it crucial for
cruited against sanctioned number of officers, 72.3 the sanctioned positions of officers, already in much
percent, is lower than the proportion of constabulary, lower proportion than that of the constabulary, to be
with 76.2 percent of the sanctioned strength of the filled completely. The trend, however, is the reverse.
constabulary being filled. Nagaland and Delhi have Barring few exceptions, in most States the vacancies
better strength at both the officers and constabulary are much greater at the officer-level ranks, compared
levels. Percentages of sanctioned positions at officers’ to the constabulary ranks. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu
ranks filled in both States are 95.1 percent and 90.9 particularly,3 the difference between vacancies among
percent respectively in the year 2016. At the con- the two levels are significant.
stabulary level, Nagaland has an excess against the
sanctioned strength and in case of Delhi, the actual Analysing data for a single year may not present an ac-
strength is nearly equal to its sanctioned strength. curate picture of the condition across States because of
the long-drawn recruitment processes. For instance, in
Police being a State subject, the roles, functions and Uttar Pradesh, the State’s Police Recruitment and Per-
duties at the different ranks vary across States. In gen- sonal Board invited applications for the 41,610 posts
eral, however, as per the BPRD general guidelines, of Constables in the month of May 2013. Examination
the personnel of ranks ASI and above are assigned was held in four stages and final result was declared in
the role of investigating officers (IOs) in cases. There- July 2015. Thus, the board took two years and eight
fore, a bulk of the crime investigation work, along
with other decision-making duties are performed by 3 In Kerala, the Head Constables are also assigned Investigating Officer
duties. Therefore, this figure should be read with caution.

Figure 1.1: Number of constabulary per officer as of 2016

Graph interpretation: The States have been divided into 4 categories- the first category (upper left quadrant) are States that improved
the constabulary to officer ratio over the years, but the actual ratio as of 2016 is poor.
The second category (lower left quadrant) are the States that have neither improved the ratio over the five year period nor have the
required ratio as of 2016.
The third category (lower right quadrant) are the States that have the required ratio as of 2016 but have not shown improvement over
a five-year period.
The fourth, best performing category (upper right quadrant) are States that have both the required ratio as of 2016, and have made an
improvement over a five-year period.
In this graph, a lower figure (in both x and y axis) represents better performance by the States.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 21

months in completing the selection process (CAG Re- ficer to constabulary ratio. In fact, in both Kerala and
port, 2017). In some cases, legal objections also delay Tamil Nadu the ratio has not been improving since
the recruitment process. To overcome these limita- 2012. On the contrary, Bihar and West Bengal have
tions, average of the last five years (2012 to 2016) has significantly low strength overall, but the States have
been considered for the analysis. The percentage of maintained a ratio of 4 or less constabulary per officer.
sanctioned positions filled at the all India level is 75.2
percent. Nagaland, Kerala and Delhi are the top three 1.2: How well trained is the police?
States with average percentages of 102, 95 and 94 per-
Police training is conducted at both the State as well
cent respectively. Whereas Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
as the Central levels. Bureau of Police Research and
and Gujarat are the bottom three States with 46.9 per-
Development (BPRD), the nodal training unit of the
cent, 66.8 percent and 67.4 percent of the sanctioned
Centre, is involved in designing modules and conduct-
positions being filled respectively on an average in the
ing capacity-building programmes. It is responsible
last five years (Table 1.1).
for standardising training methodology and framing
policies for skill upgradation of personnel of all ranks.
We further deduce efforts made by the States towards
All of the special purpose national training schools in
improving the strength in their forces by analysing the
the country are supervised by BPRD.
rate at which the actual to sanctioned percentage has
been increasing or decreasing over the last five years. The training of IPS (Indian Police Services) officers is
As seen in Table 1.2, States like Maharashtra, Uttara- majorly the responsibility of the Centre. By and large,
khand and Gujarat have made the most improvement the Central government’s role is limited to research,
in increasing the strength of personnel, while States structuring of courses and providing funds, aside from
like Telangana, Bihar and Karnataka, the overall imparting training to IPS officers. The States, on the
strength has in fact decreased over the years, despite other hand, are responsible for utilising the resources
huge vacancies. Besides, the Table also shows trends provided at both the Central and the State level and
on whether the States are focusing more on improving imparting regular training to personnel at other ranks.
their constabulary strength or the officers’ strength.
In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the increase in strength The data reveals that the level of training imparted to
is mostly driven at the constabulary level, while in personnel is poor across all States. On an average, just
Andhra and Maharashtra the percentage of officers 6.4 percent of the total actual police strength has been
has seen a significant increase over the years. given in-service training in the last five years for which
data is available (2012-2016), and the percentage has
Aside from the trends in overall strength, it is also im- been constantly decreasing over the years. Haryana
portant to study the distribution of the strength across and Tamil Nadu have the highest in-service training
the different ranks. With most powers concentrated at percentages, with about one in five personnel from
the officer-level in a majority of States, the Padmanab- both States being provided in-service training. Guja-
haiah Committee on Restructuring of Police recom- rat has the poorest average of in-service training, with
mended in the year 2000 that the teeth-to-tail, or the an average of less than one percent of its personnel
officer-to-constabulary ratio should be 1:4. In other having received such training in the last five years.
words, it recommended that there should be four
constabulary (Head Constables and Constables) per The percentage of constabulary receiving in-service
officer (all ranks above Assistant Sub-Inspector). The training is much lesser than percentages of other
Committee emphasised the need for greater recruit- higher-ranking officers, despite the constabulary con-
ment at the Sub-Inspector (SI) level. In reality, howev- stituting the majority of the share of the overall po-
er, the ratio is much higher, with most States having a lice strength. Barring exceptions of Tamil Nadu and
much greater proportion of constabulary than officers. Jharkhand, in almost all the States, officers with high-
er rank are given significantly more in-service training
As Figure 1.1 shows, only two States–West Bengal and and the in-service training for Constables is neglected.
Bihar–have teeth to tail ratio equal to or less than 1:4, In States like Haryana and Delhi, in-service training is
that is, 4 or less constabulary per officer. Both States imparted to almost all the higher rank officers every
have good rate of improvement. At the all-India level, year, but even in these States the average percentag-
there are 5.4 constabulary per officer, and the ratio es of Constables and Sub-Inspectors (SIs)/Assistant
has been improving from the past five years. States like Sub-Inspectors (ASIs) given in-service training are very
Nagaland, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have low.
impressive overall strength, but maintain a poor of-

22 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

At the all India level, only 6.4 percent of the Con- State should regularly upgrade its training infrastruc-
stables received in-service training on an average for ture. This upgradation, along with the costs of con-
the last five years. Against that, amongst personnel at ducting periodic trainings, would reflect in the train-
ASI/SI, DySP (Deputy Superintendent) and IPS ranks, ing expenditure incurred by the States.
17 percent, 27.2 percent and 38.3 percent personnel
respectively received in-service training. Over a five- Most States, however, are spending a miniscule share
year period, the percentage of constabulary and ASI to of their overall budget on training. The all-India (from
DySP rank officers being given in-service training has the selected States) police training expenditure in the
been decreasing, while the percentage of IPS officers year 2016–17 was Rs. 885.5 crores, just about one
being given in-service training has been increasing. It percent of the total police expenditure.
needs to be noted, however, that while the State is pri-
marily responsible for imparting training to the con- The average training expenditure over the last five
stabulary and State-level officers, the Centre is primar- years (2012–2016) is only 1.26 percent of the total an-
ily responsible for providing training to IPS officers. nual police expenditure, and worryingly, 15 (out of 22
States) have shown a steady decline in their respective
The quality of training directly depends on the train- expenditure percentages in the five-year period. The
ing infrastructure available with the State. Ideally, a highest expenditure on training has been incurred by

Table 1.3: Rank-wise percentage of personnel given in-service training (2012-2016 average)

Police personnel given in service training as a percentage of their actual strength

(2012 – 2016)

Percentage of total
police personnel given Rank wise percentages
in -service training
Constables ASIs/SIs DYSPs IPS
Haryana 20.9 13.4 83.3 101.1 108.0
Tamil Nadu 20.2 44.2 108.7 8.2 21.2
Himachal Pradesh 13.6 8.7 67.6 66.7 49.5
Jharkhand 12.9 16.4 9.3 14.3 37.5
Delhi 11.7 8.9 38.1 175.5 103.7
Telangana 9.6 11.8 11.4 21.9 46.0
Andhra Pradesh + Telangana 8.2 10.5 8.4 13.5 29.0
Punjab 8.1 9.1 13.3 23.2 30.5
Andhra Pradesh 7.1 8.6 9.6 11.8 22.8
All-India 6.4 6.4 17.0 27.2 38.3
Assam 6.3 7.1 7.7 25.0 43.2
Uttarakhand 5.6 4.3 32.1 35.7 73.1
Bihar 5.4 6.9 2.2 10.2 6.6
Chhattisgarh 5.3 6.3 4.5 25.5 56.3
Uttar Pradesh 4.1 4.5 9.3 6.4 31.2
Rajasthan 4.1 2.8 20.5 47.3 50.5
Kerala 3.4 3.7 6.3 48.8 16.4
Odisha 3.2 1.6 14.3 23.1 22.5
Maharashtra 2.6 2.2 10.2 14.8 49.2
Madhya Pradesh 2.4 2.3 5.9 14.4 69.3
West Bengal 2.3 1.1 5.9 14.2 25.9
Nagaland 2.0 1.3 12.6 25.3 94.3
Karnataka 1.7 1.3 7.6 18.8 24.2
Gujarat 0.9 0.4 2.6 43.2 32.5

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 23

Delhi, with an average expenditure of 2.5 percent over Telangana have been doing well on both parameters-
the last five years. States like Kerala, Uttarakhand, actual percentage of personnel being given in-service
Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal have not even training as well as the expenditure incurred on train-
spent one percent of their total police expenditure on ing. West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra, on the other
training, while in Maharashtra, Kerala and West Ben- hand, are among the poorest performing States, with
gal the percentages have been constantly dropping. low proportions of both personnel given in-service
training as well as training expenditure.
Figure 1.2 shows States which have performed bet-
ter in terms of the percentage of personnel imparted States like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland
in-service training, along with the States which have have higher training expenditures but in-service train-
consistently been making efforts through relatively ing percentages in these States are lower than the na-
better training expenditure. Tamil Nadu, Delhi and tional average. On the contrary, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh and Jharkhand have higher in-service training
percentages but have low training expenditure.

Table 1.4: Expenditure on police training in India The data on training suggests that both the actual out-
constitutes just a little over 1 percent of the total
police expenditure
put in terms of the percentage of personnel imparted
training, and the input, which is the expenditure in-
Expenditure on police training
as a percentage of the total police
curred on training, the States overall are performing
expenditure (2012–2016 average) poorly. Even among those States with relatively bet-
From Financial Years ter performance, just about one-fifth of the personnel
2012-13 to 2016-17 In the strength receive in-service training.
F.Y. year
Average Rate of 2016-17
States To be further noted is the fact that the input does not
percentage Improvement
Delhi UT 2.49 -0.35 2.41 necessarily drive the output. If we juxtapose Harya-
Telangana* 2.42 -3.08 NA
na and Tamil Nadu against each other, Figure 1.2
shows that even though the proportion of personnel
Chhattisgarh 2.09 -0.03 1.39
receiving in-service training in both the States is sim-
Madhya Pradesh 1.96 -0.02 2.09 ilar, but while Haryana spends just one percent of its
Tamil Nadu 1.93 -0.54 0.27 total police expenditure on training, in the case of
Nagaland 1.85 0.25 1.32 Tamil Nadu, the expenditure incurred on training is
Punjab 1.65 -0.02 1.14 two percent of the total police expenditure. Against
Rajasthan 1.52 0.13 1.97 these States, there is also the case of Madhya Pradesh,
which, despite spending nearly two percent of its total
Andhra Pradesh +
1.50 -0.17 1.04 police expenditure on training, has managed to impart
Telangana
in-service training to just 2.4 percent of its total police
Karnataka 1.37 -0.02 0.74
force.
Andhra Pradesh 1.34 -0.17 1.04
Assam 1.29 -0.04 1.02 1.3: What are the infrastructural facilities
ALL INDIA 1.26 -0.08 1.06 available?
Gujarat 1.26 0.04 1.24
The police structure in India is responsible for per-
Uttar Pradesh 1.18 -0.05 0.95 forming an array of tasks such as maintaining law and
Himachal Pradesh 1.15 -0.01 0.06 order, crime prevention and mitigation. With the on-
Odisha 1.09 0.04 1.27 set of the 21st century, these varied tasks have also
Haryana 0.96 -0.07 0.93 evolved owing to the new nature of threats such as
Jharkhand 0.94 0.09 0.63 terrorism, insurgency, organised crime and man-made
disasters. An accompanying issue has been the nature
Kerala 0.85 -0.32 0.23
of threats being able to adapt to new technology, thus
Uttarakhand 0.76 0.04 0.86
spawning newer variants of crime such as cybercrime.
Maharashtra 0.49 -0.02 1.17
Bihar 0.48 0.04 0.7 It thus becomes essential to ensure that the police have
West Bengal 0.25 -0.07 0.13 access to an adequate infrastructural framework for
*Data for 2012-13, 2013-14, 2016-17 is not available. proper communication and transport, which allows

24 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Figure 1.2: Expenditure on police training as a percentage of the total police expenditure vis-à-vis percentage
of personnel given in-service training (2012–2016 average)

Graph interpretation: The States have been divided into four categories:
The first category (upper left quadrant) are States that have provided in-service training to a greater proportion of personnel, but have
incurred less expenditure on training.
The second category (lower left quadrant) are the States that have neither been able to provide in-service training to a significant
proportion of personnel, nor have incurred a significant expenditure on training.
The third category (lower right quadrant) are the States that have incurred more expenditure on training than other States, but have
low proportions of personnel provided in-service training.
The fourth, best performing category (upper right quadrant) are States that have both high proportions of personnel provided in-
service training, as well as have incurred higher expenditure on training than other States
In this graph, a higher figure (in both x and y axis) represents better performance by the States.

not only for the citizenry to reach out to them but also Till 1998-99, the modernisation assistance was of the
for police officials to create an intra-communication amount of Rs. 4,650 million, with the beginning of
network. For such a system to be developed, adequate the following financial year witnessing an assistance
investment is a prerequisite. While public order and enhanced by Rs. 2,000 million per annum. Howev-
police serve as entries within the State List (Entry no. er, a massive upturn was witnessed at the beginning
1 and 2), however, a few decades post-independence of the new millennium in 2000, wherein the allocated
it was realised that States alone could not manage the amount was of Rs. 10,000 million (Kumar and Ku-
operational costs of police modernisation. A large mar, 2015). The modernisation scheme covers upgra-
proportion of the police expenditure is incurred on dation of police housing, weaponry, computerisation,
the salaries of personnel, and resultantly there are lim- transport, communications; and scientific aids to in-
ited funds to cover costs of general maintenance and vestigation, traffic and training.
acquisition of vehicles, communication equipment etc.
Thus, from 1969-70 onwards, began the Modernisa- The analysis of police infrastructure is done by stud-
tion of Police Forces (MPF) scheme, under which the ying the status of two essential features of infrastruc-
Centre provided 60 percent share of the expenditure ture—police access to communication facilities and
on police modernisation for most States.4 transportation facilities. For the communication facil-
ities, the focus will be on basic communication facil-
4 In some States the ratio of expenditure is 90 percent by the Centre,
10 percent by the State ities such wireless and telephones, along with digital

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 25

communications facilities such as the Crime and Crim- instances such as mass killings, communal violence or
inal Tracking Network System (CCTNS). While police a terrorist incident—events which necessitate the need
access to vehicular facilities will be assessed across the for a rapid and effective communication mechanism
four mandated variants of police vehicles—heavy-du- to help the ‘first responders’ in India carry out their
ty vehicles, medium-duty vehicles, light-duty vehicles duties
and 2/3 wheelers.
Equally essential is for the police to be aware of the
1.3.1 Police communications patterns developing in their arena of work. In a day
Access to communication services forms a critical part and age where innovation in information and com-
of ensuring public safety. This could be by means of a munications technology has created an avenue of op-
Professional Mobile Radio Network (PMR), or a Pub- portunities for use and misuse, it is critical for policing
lic Access Mobile Radio Network (PAMR). In addi- agencies to be well aware of these developments and
tion, the increased access and usage of mobile phones use it to improve the efficiency of their work. One such
necessitates the need for an efficient telecommunica- tool in recent usage is the Crime and Criminal Track-
tions network for optimal police functioning. ing Network System (CCTNS), a program aimed at
developing an integrated network across police sta-
The importance of communication is pivotal for po- tions for the ease of sharing information pertaining
lice involvement in a range of circumstances, be it to individuals with criminal antecedents, victims and
traffic coordination and vehicular accidents, or major crime instances.

Table 1.5: Twenty-four police stations in the selected States do not have access to either telephones or wireless
Percentage of police stations not having wireless or telephone connectivity (2016)
Police stations having neither
Police Station not having Police Station not having
States telephone nor wireless as of
wireless as of 2016 telephone as of 2016
2016
Actual number Percentage Actual number Percentage Actual number Percentage
Andhra Pradesh 0 0 0 0 0 0
Assam 0 0 2 0.6 0 0
Bihar 0 0 0 0 41 3.8
Chhattisgarh 0 0 0 0 23 5.5
Gujarat 0 0 0 0 0 0
Haryana 0 0 0 0 0 0
Himachal Pradesh 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jharkhand 11 2.2 22 4.4 64 12.8
Karnataka 0 0 0 0 12 1.3
Kerala 0 0 0 0 0 0
Madhya Pradesh 0 0 0 0 NA NA
Maharashtra 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nagaland 11 14.1 13 16.7 NA NA
Odisha 2 0.3 3 0.5 3 0.5
Punjab 0 0 16 4 30 7.4
Rajasthan 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tamil Nadu 0 0 0 0 0 0
Telangana 0 0 0 0 0 0
Uttar Pradesh 0 0 14 0.9 51 3.3
Uttarakhand 0 0 0 0 0 0
West Bengal 0 0 0 0 0 0
Delhi UT 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL
24 0.2 70 0.5 224 1.5
(21 States + Delhi)

26 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Under this sub-section, we reflect on the communica- cess to telephones, Uttar Pradesh with 51 such police
tion capacities of the existing police infrastructure in stations, Bihar with 41 police stations, Punjab with 30
the selected States. In doing so, we assess the access to police stations and Chhattisgarh with 23 police sta-
said infrastructure across the two parameters: tions.
1. Police stations not having access to basic com-
munication Infrastructure which includes tele- Over the last 10-years for which data is available
phones, wireless or not having access to both (2007–2016), the three States of Uttar Pradesh, Pun-
jab and Chhattisgarh have consistently performed
2. Study of compliance with digital communication
poorly on this metric.
infrastructure which assesses the level of pen-
etration and usage of the Crime and Criminal c. Deficiency with respect to access to both
Tracking Network Systems (CCTNS). wireless devices and telephones
The average percentage of police stations across States
1.3.2 Basic communication infrastructure not having access to both wireless and telephones was
Access to wireless and telecommunication facilities for 0.2 percent for the year 2016, which is around 24 po-
the police is an essential prerequisite for the discharge lice which do not have any of the basic communication
of their duties. These networks are administered by infrastructure—neither telephones nor wireless. These
radio headquarters which enable the police to have an police stations are concentrated in only three States,
efficient network of communication across and within namely Nagaland (11 police stations), Jharkhand (11
districts. police stations) and Odisha with 2 police stations.

The basic communication infrastructure was assessed This particular category has witnessed a steady im-
across the following three parameters, with the unit of provement when one examines the trend of the data
measurement being per police station: from 2007 to 2016.

a. Deficiency with respect to access to wireless Uttar Pradesh‘s failings with respect to improving the
devices access to communications facilities for the police has
The average percentage of police stations across States also been highlighted in a 2017 Report by the Comp-
not having access to wireless devices was 0.5 percent troller & Auditor General. According to the CAG’s
for the year 2016. While this percentage appears mi- performance audit, a major reason for the State’s lack
niscule, in absolute figures it translates into 70 police of basic communication infrastructure is their inabili-
stations across the selected States which do not have ty to utilise the budget adequately by expediting pro-
the basic communication infrastructure of wireless curement of essential equipment and replacement of
devices. Within this category, the worst performing obsolete equipment and technologies.
States are Jharkhand with 22 such police stations,
Punjab with 16 police stations, Uttar Pradesh with 14 Odisha is a State which, on a bare perusal of the actual
police stations, Nagaland with 13 police stations and data as of the latest year, appears as one of the few
Odisha with three police stations. States which is consistently deficient on basic com-
munication infrastructure. However, a look at data
When examining the trend of the States from 2007 to across a 10-year period indicates that the access to
2016, the latter three States of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab basic communication infrastructure has consistently
and Odisha have consistently performed poorly on improved in the State over the years.
this metric. Overall, though, the country has seen an
improvement in the availability of basic communica- 1.3.3 Digital Communication Infrastructure
tion infrastructure over the last five years. When examining the genesis of the Crime and Crimi-
nal Tracking Network Systems (CCTNS), it is impor-
b. Deficiency with respect to access to tant to give credence to the one of the first programs
telephones
created for digitisation of police records in India. Be-
The average percentage of police stations across se- ginning in the year 2004, the project known as the
lected States not having access to telephones was 1.5 Common Integrated Police Application (CIPA) was
percent for the year 2016, which comes out to be introduced with the intent of digitisation of instances
224 police stations. The States which show the high- of crime and criminal records at the police station lev-
est percentage of deficiency with respect to this are el. Over a period of time, this thought evolved from a
Jharkhand, which has 64 police stations with no ac- micro perspective to a macro one, resulting in the con-

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 27

ceptualisation of a system which would entail linkages 13 Odisha 79.3
between police stations across the country for aiding
14 Haryana 78.8
investigations and providing citizen-centric services.
15 Kerala 78.4
This idea found basis with the creation of the CCTNS
program as a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the Total (21 States + Delhi) 78.3
aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2009. 16 Maharashtra 77.0
17 Uttar Pradesh 76.5
The overarching objective for this program was to 18 Rajasthan 70.7
create a comprehensive and integrated system for en- 19 Jharkhand 69.6
hancing the efficiency and effectiveness of policing by
20 West Bengal 63.9
relying on a network for investigation, detection and
21 Nagaland 39.8
location of crime and criminals. CCTNS also serves
as an integral cog of Integrated Criminal Justice Sys- 22 Bihar 7.9
tem (ICJS) program as well as our national intelli- *Score calculated using selected categories given on CCTNS
gence program. The former aims at the integration of Pragati Dashboard on 31.12.2018.
CCTNS project with those of databases for e-courts
and e-prisons and in the long term with other cogs The variables that were taken into consideration to
of the criminal justice system such as forensics, prose- ascertain CCTNS compliance (till December 2018)
cution and juvenile homes (Press Information Bureau, were based on the idea of adequacy and were sourced
2018). For the latter, that is, the national intelligence from the NCRB provided data on Pragati dashboard.
program, the CCTNS initiative is an important ele- Starting from January 2017, the Pragati dashboard
ment alongside the likes of Central Monitoring System provides a monthly data on the compliance of CCTNS
(CMS), National Intelligence Grid (NAT-GRID), and infrastructure. Till December 2018, the compliance
Network Traffic Analysis System (NETRA), among score for the States’ average was 78.3 percent. This
others (Tiwari, 2017). The cumulative objective for all was calculated on the basis of selected variables from
these programs is to mine and analyse data across the the Pragati Dashboard which were focused on the ad-
spectrum of the activities such as mobile and telephon- equacy of CCTNS infrastructure.5
ic communications, activities on the web to develop
patterns of crime, identify criminals and hotspots of Karnataka, Telangana and Delhi have the highest level
criminal activity by developing cross-linkages between of compliance, with scores above 90 percent. For most
these different platforms. other States, the score ranges between 60 to 90 per-
5 These data sets were split across 3 categories to ascertain the adequacy
Table 1.6: The level of compliance with CCTNS of the functioning of CCTNS:
infrastructure among the selected States (including UT A) CCTNS Infrastructure – this entails assessing it by the number of
of Delhi) is 78 percent police stations where hardware and software deployment has been
made along with the requisite capacity building mechanisms to equip
Adequacy of CCTNS infrastructure across States as of the police personnel to use CCTNS.
December 2018 The criterion considered from the Pragati Dashboard for this portion
were the following: Number of Police Stations where complete hardware
CCTNS compliance was commissioned, Number of Police Stations where CCTNS software
Rank States score* as of December was deployed and Capacity Building.
2018 in percentage B) CCTNS Database: This portion largely assessed the integration of
various data sets within the CCTNS framework such as the entry of
1 Karnataka 98.6 data pertaining. Also, the data stored in older computer system (Legacy
2 Telangana 96.4 Systems) into the CCTNS among other aspects.
The criterion considered from the Pragati Dashboard for this portion
3 Delhi 93.8 were the following: No. of IIF 1 TO IIF6 forms in CAS, No. of IIF 8
TO IIF 11 and other forms in CAS, Legacy Data Migration done, Data
4 Himachal Pradesh 92.7
synching at SDC (no. of Police Stations synched in 7 days), Replicated
5 Gujarat 92.3 Data at NDC (National Data Centre) and Data Bank services form
entered in CCTNS. The IIF is a code for the various types of forms
6 Assam 90.1 containing information about the different types of data pertaining to
7 Andhra Pradesh 89.7 an individual’s criminal charge and other accompanying information.
For instance, I.I.F 1 denotes First Information Report and I.I.F-2
8 Madhya Pradesh 89.7 denotes Crime details form.
C) Usage of CCTNS Software: This aspect concerns the different
9 Chhattisgarh 88.3 functional features of the CCTNS software such as its Usages and
10 Tamil Nadu 84.2 Search query mechanism, Report generation and the number of Police
Stations able to access the digital police portal.
11 Punjab 83.5 The criterion for this category entailed the following: Usages and
Search query of CCTNS, Report generated through CCTNS in Police
12 Uttarakhand 80.6
Stations, Number of Police Stations able to access digital police portal
and Fund Utilisation.

28 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Figure 1.3: The selected States have an average of six computers per police station

cent. However, the poorest performing States under Another inconsistency is in the data of the State of
this parameter are Nagaland and Bihar. Nagaland has Assam. The State has one of the highest scores of com-
a compliance score of almost 40 percent, while Bihar pliance with CCTNS infrastructure, at 90.1 percent.6
has a much lower score of just about 8 percent. Both However, the data on the number of computers per
of these States, notably, also perform poorly on the police stations (Figure 1.3) shows that there is less than
indicator of basic communication infrastructure, with 1 computer per police station in Assam on an average
13 police stations in Nagaland not having access to over the last five years. Assam has an average of 0.8
wireless and 11 police stations having access to neither computer per police station as of 2016. It is puzzling
wireless nor telephone, and 41 police stations in Bihar then to see how Assam has consistently ranked well
not having access to telephones. when it comes to compliance with the implementation
of the CCTNS program. Conversely, Bihar, which has
A deeper dive into the CCTNS program brings to the ranked poorly on the number of computers per police
surface certain inconsistencies. The survey data shows station (0.6 per police station) has, as a result, also
that only two thirds of the police reported having ac- consistently scored poorly on compliance for CCTNS
cess to fully functional computers. Seventeen percent implementation.7
personnel said that a functional CCTNS software is
never available at their police station/ workplace (See Complete implementation of the CCTNS network was
more in Chapter 3). However, the data released by aimed for 2012, but was thereafter delayed to 2015,
the MHA in January 2019, states that 14,724 police then to 2017 and the latest target was for March 2019
stations out of 15,705 police stations (approximately which, as things stand, has not been achieved (Kuna-
94%) have been able to enter the FIR’s (First Informa-
tion Report) on the CCTNS software. This suggests a 6 As assessed on the Pragati dashboard for all the factors pertaining
to CCTNS
contradiction between the reported official data and
7 A view also confirmed by the NCRB, as per the last estimate there are
the actual situation on the ground. 894 stations in Bihar which are not connected.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 29

wat and Kaura, 2018). The incongruence in the data The emphasis on mobility has also been possible due
also suggests a problem in the feedback mechanism to the ongoing Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF)
on the implementation of this program. There is dis- scheme. On an average, about 15-20 percent of the
crepancy between the publicly accessible data on the MPF fund is spent on vehicles. The existing vehicles
implementation of CCTNS, and the ground reality as have a fixed shelf life and have to be replaced every
highlighted by news reports as well as our survey find- few years. The demand for new police vehicles is as-
ings (See Chapter 3). sessed against the demand for vehicles which have
been condemned, as well as the need for newer ve-
The real time impact of the delayed implementation hicles after the creation of new posts and new police
of this program has been witnessed in certain instanc- units (BPRD, 2014).
es. In one case, a child named Saurav went missing
in Hoshiarpur, Punjab in 2013. Found 40 kilometres The four categories of vehicles are: heavy-duty vehi-
away in Kapurthala district, the district police officials cles (includes buses, trucks and troop carriers etc.),
had no information about the missing person’s report medium-duty vehicles, light-duty vehicles (includes
filed about him. Three years later, in 2016, he was due jeeps / cars etc.) and 2-3-wheeler vehicles.
to be sent for adoption to Spain, when a district civil
judge presiding over the matter noticed a procedural For the purpose of this chapter, the vehicular deficit
impropriety, and his photo was subsequently shown across the above four parameters is assessed for all
on television screens. Only then were his parents final- selected States for the year 2016 (Table 1.7).
ly able to locate him (Khaira, 2018). An incident such
as this highlights the critical need for an integrated po- About 1.8 percent of the police stations across the se-
lice network system. lected States do not have access to a single vehicle. In
actual numbers, that amounts to 240 police stations, a
In addition to developing the infrastructural capaci- staggering number of police stations with no vehicles.
ty, adequate attention needs to be given to training of
personnel for proper usage of the system. Along with Amongst the States which contribute to this deficit are
this, concomitant infrastructure such as a stable, easily Chhattisgarh with 127 police stations, Telangana with
accessible internet connection needs to be provided to 90 police stations and Jharkhand with 23 police sta-
police forces across the States. tions. In Chhattisgarh, about 30 percent of the police
stations do not have access to a single vehicle. This sit-
1.3.2 Police Access to Vehicular Facilities uation is worsened by the fact that the area per police
Police mobility is ensured by the ability of the police station is 325 per square kilometre, the third highest
force to arrive at the site of crime/incident as quickly amongst the selected States.
as possible. Their capacity to do that serves as a crit-
ical factor in maintaining law and order and is essen- While Telangana has 91 out of 721 police stations not
tial indicator for assessing police performance. A 2000 having a single vehicle in the State, it still has the high-
BPRD concept paper has prescribed the various types est number of overall vehicles available. In fact, it has
and numbers of operational vehicles required for po- a surplus of vehicles by 19.3 percent, when assessed
lice stations, district armed reserve and armed police against the BPRD norms. This discrepancy is caused
battalions: primarily due to the surplus that it has with respect to
light-duty vehicles and 2/3 wheelers, with severe defi-
1. Armed battalion of States: Heavy-duty vehicles- ciency in the medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.
29, medium-duty vehicles- 8, light-duty vehicles-
13, and motorcycles - 5 When the availability of vehicles in police stations is
2. District Police Line of States: Heavy-duty ve- broken down by the category of vehicles, it is observed
hicles- 7, medium-duty vehicles- 17, light-duty that while in case of heavy-duty and medium-duty ve-
vehicles- 14, motorcycles- 7, heavy-duty vehicles hicles there are deficits across police stations, in case
for district prisons- 2, medium-duty vehicles for of light-duty vehicles the availability is much higher.
sub-division- 1 Thirteen States are in surplus of the light-duty vehi-
cles, while in case of heavy-duty vehicles all States ex-
3. Police Stations: Light-duty vehicles- 2, and mo-
cept Tamil Nadu have a deficit. Sixty five and 68 per-
torcycles- 3
cent police stations across the selected States do not
4. Police Posts: Motorcycles- 2 have heavy-duty and medium-duty vehicles respective-
ly. As in the case of light-duty vehicles, the deficit is

30 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 1.7: There is a one-fourth deficiency of vehicles in the selected States as of 2016
Deficiency of vehicles for police forces across States (2016 data)
Percentage Vehicle Deficiency in Percentage as of 2016
of police
Area in sq.
stations not
States km per police Medium- Light- 2/3
having single Heavy-duty Overall
station duty duty wheelers
vehicle as of
2016
Telangana 159.3 12.6 93.2 43.4 (+)53.1 (+)43.5 (+) 19.3
Kerala 75.3 0 47.4 92.6 (+)59.7 (+)24.7 (+ )8.6
Delhi 7.7 0 78.6 80.4 (+)18.1 (+)169.6 (+)6.3
Tamil Nadu 84.8 0 (+)28.8 72.9 (+)0.9 (+)32.7 (+)4.4
Karnataka 201.7 0 66.4 64.7 (+)18.0 (+)24.4 2.5
Gujarat 311.1 0 62.8 61.7 (+)24.0 (+)0.5 9.4
West Bengal 152.8 0 76.5 53.4 (+)6.1 (+)27.1 11.6
Jharkhand 159.4 4.6 81.3 54.9 60.0 38.6 16.3
Assam 226.0 0 87.1 43.6 (+)8.3 (+)8.1 20.2
Andhra Pradesh 157.6 0 92.9 62.3 (+)15.0 34.1 21.4
Total (21 States +
204.4 1.8 65.3 67.8 3.5 12.3 23.9
Delhi)
Bihar 88.3 0 62.8 78.6 8.0 42.1 24.6
Maharashtra 264.8 0 53.7 59.7 (+)1.4 23.2 25.6
Nagaland 212.6 0 62.7 19.5 (+)19.8 44.9 28.1
Punjab 124.7 0 86.0 64.6 (+)4.8 3.9 28.4
Odisha 256.5 0 76.6 32.7 0.3 32.4 29.0
Madhya Pradesh 281.5 0 61.5 58.6 6.5 27.2 29.5
Haryana 149.9 0 57.8 74.8 +2.2 24.1 32.5
Uttarakhand 342.8 0 40.6 42.6 22.1 48.2 39.6
Chhattisgarh 325.8 30.4 63.6 58.9 30.8 32.7 42.3
Rajasthan 397.5 0 83.7 76.8 30.8 44.8 48.3
Himachal Pradesh 479.9 0 94.2 62.3 41.0 38.9 52.7
Uttar Pradesh 157.7 0 70.5 86.9 39.7 45.4 57.8
(+) suggests surplus vehicles

also lower for 2/3 wheelers. About 12 percent of the Uttar Pradesh is the worst performing State with an
police stations across the selected States do not have overall vehicular deficit of 57.8 percent for all vehi-
2/3 wheelers. While nearly one in two police stations cles in the year 2016. A narrative behind this figure
in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Nagaland do not emerges when one examines the CAG’s analysis on the
have 2/3 wheelers, there is a significant surplus in vehicular deficit of Uttar Pradesh. The report substan-
States like Delhi, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. tiates the figure by underpinning the blame on poor
deployment of vehicles and irregular procurement of
In Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi the area vehicles, as a result of which the budget is surrendered
per police station is well below the all-India average unused. Other reasons include the failure to replace
and all these States have a greater number of overall old and condemned vehicles.8
vehicles than the benchmark suggested by BPRD (Fig-
ure 1.4). The tasks of patrolling and policing is, there- It would be premature to generalise the reasons for
fore, likely to be easier in these States due to increased
8 Condemned Vehicles refer to the vehicles which require replacement
mobility. after being used for the mandated time period

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 31

 Figure 1.4: Number of vehicles as a percentage of benchmark on vehicles vis-à-vis area (in sq. km.) per police
station

Graph interpretation: The States have been divided into 4 categories-

The first category (upper left quadrant) are States that have adequate vehicles, and the area per police station is also low (optimal)
The second category (lower left quadrant) are the States that do not have adequate vehicles, but the area per police station is low.
The third category (lower right quadrant) are the States that do not have adequate vehicles per police stations and the area per police
station is high (worst performing)
The fourth category (upper right quadrant) are States that have adequate vehicles, and the area per police station is also high.
In this graph, a lower figure in the x-axis means better performance by a State, and a higher figure in the y-axis means a better
performance by a State.

Uttar Pradesh’s vehicular deficit for the rest of the This situation is further complicated by the fact that
country. However, multiple news reports across the there are only a few State police establishments that
country highlight poor procurement strategies as a key have vehicles capable of handling emergencies. In the
reason for vehicular deficits. Given the surplus of vehi- event of a robbery, dacoity or a terror attack the ve-
cles in certain categories, while there are huge deficits hicles should be equipped with walkie- talkies, micro-
in others, it may be argued that the police are not time- phones, fire extinguishers as well a variety other tac-
ly in the replacement of old and condemned vehicles tical gear. The situations that police officials contend
(thus the augmented figures), while also not utilising with on a daily basis require a setup which keeps them
its budget adequately for procurement of heavy-duty protected as well enables them to protect any civilians
and middle duty vehicles (Free Press Journal, 2019). and be able to preserve the crime scene.

For the optimal functioning of the police force, a critical 1.3.3 Police infrastructure overview
factor is the access to a functional line of vehicular The picture which emerges when looking at these spe-
support. In addition, the shortages as witnessed for cific indicators of police infrastructure is that deploy-
the category of heavy-duty and medium-duty vehicles ment of resources for establishing infrastructural sup-
may also result in a problem of police mobilisation for port of the police appears to take place in a top-down
emergency response tasks such as a terrorist attack, manner. While it is clear that the monetary resources
large scale disasters, etc. These are among the many are being sanctioned, but the inability of the States to
situations in which police deployment may not be secure resources, as witnessed in the case of vehicles,
best served by relying on light-duty vehicles and 2-3 is leading to overstocking in one arena while there are
wheelers. gross deficits in another.

32 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

A related issue is the limited strength of the police per- methodology for calculation of variables in Appendix
sonnel and whether they are being burdened with too 3):
many administrative duties in addition to their polic- 1. Representation of SCs/STs/OBCs and women in
ing duties, an aspect supported by the survey data (See the police force:
Chapter 2). For instance, news reports cite the delay a. Percentage of SCs in a State police force in
experienced in the deployment of CCTNS, in part be- proportion to the sanctioned percentage of
cause police personnel are expected to be responsible posts for SCs in the force
for data entry. Thus, a set-up wherein management
b. Percentage of STs in a State police force in
professionals work in conjunction with their police
proportion to the sanctioned percentage of
counterparts to address issues such as data entry with-
posts for STs in the force
in CCTNS software or timely procurement of basic
resources such as wireless devices and vehicles may be c. Percentage of OBCs in a State police force
experimented (Bose, 2015). All of this is likely to en- in proportion to the sanctioned percentage of
sure the optimal utilisation and deployment of police posts for OBCs in the force
officials. d. Actual number of women in the police force
as a percentage of the overall strength of the
1.4: How diverse is the police? police force
2. Percentage officers amongst the SCs/STs/OBCs,
A 2000 study found that a more diverse police force women and general personnel in the police force:
is seen by the community as more legitimate, and the
a. Number of SCs of the ranks of ASI to DySP
people are more likely to take ownership in policing
as a percentage of the total number of SCs in
when a department is diverse (Weitzer, 2000). Aside
the State police force
from the moral and productivity-based arguments
in favour of diversity, it is also a legal mandate for b. Number of STs of the ranks of ASI to DySP
police forces in the country. The Constitution makes as a percentage of the total number of STs in
provisions for reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), the State police force
Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes c. Number of OBCs of the ranks of ASI to
(OBCs) in public service recruitments, including po- DySP as a percentage of the total number of
lice, at both the State and the Central levels. OBCs in the State police force
d. Number of women of the ranks of ASI to
Further, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued ad-
DySP as a percentage of the total number of
visories to the State governments to increase the rep-
women in the State police force
resentation of women to at least 33 percent of the
total police strength in the States. It is against these e. Number of overall personnel of the ranks
benchmarks of State-specific reservation quotas and of ASI to DySP as a percentage of the total
the MHA advisory that we measure the diversity with- number of personnel in the State police force
in the police forces of different States.
It needs to be noted that the last variable is different
Data reveals that at the national level, SCs, STs and from the earlier-mentioned teeth-to-tail ratio. This is
OBCs and women are under-represented in the police so because in the teeth-to-tail ratio, all personnel from
force. Further, the distribution of the force is such that the ranks of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) to Director
STs and women are less likely to be posted at officer General of Police (DGP) are considered as ‘officers’.
level, compared to the overall proportion of officers In the above variable, however, only the personnel
in the police force. The situation is the worst amongst of ranks ASI to Deputy Superintendent (DySP) have
women, both in terms of overall representation as well been considered as ‘officers’. This has been done to
as in terms of proportion of women officers. maintain uniformity, since data on SCs, STs and OBCs
in the police force is available only up to the rank of
To assess the status of diversity within the police forc- DySP, and not at the IPS-level ranks.
es, we study both the actual representation of SCs/STs/
OBCs and women in the police force, as well as the 1.4.1 Representation of disadvantaged
percentage of SC/ST/OBC and women officers, against communities in the police force
the percentage of general officers in a State force. As noted in SPIR 2018, the vacancies within the re-
served posts for SCs, STs and OBCs are notable, with
The variables analysed in this sub-section are (see only four States being able to fill the vacancies for SCs,

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 33

and eight States each for STs and OBCs. In several 1.4.2. Percentage of officers amongst
States, more than 50 percent of the reserved seats re- disadvantaged communities in the police force
main unfilled, such as in Uttar Pradesh and Harya-
na, there are 60 and 53 percent vacancies respectively In Table 1.9, we look at the ranks at which differ-
within the reserved posts for SCs. This is significantly ent communities within the police force, are posted
higher than the vacancies in the overall staff strength at. Put differently, here we analyse, among the SCs,
in these States. STs, OBCs and women recruited in the police force,
what proportion of them are at the officer level. This
The representation of women in the police force is is juxtaposed against the overall distribution of force
even worse, with only 7.3 percent women police per- between the constabulary and the officers, or the per-
sonnel at the national level in 2016. None of the States centage of officers in the overall police force.
have been able to meet the 33 percent benchmark set
out by the MHA, with Tamil Nadu having the highest The data for SCs, STs and OBCs is only available till
representation of women at 12.9 percent in 2016. the rank of DySP. Therefore, the percentage of officers

Table 1.8: There are vacancies in reserved posts for Table 1.9: Women, STs and OBCs in police are less
SCs, STs, OBCs and women in the police force across likely to be officers than the general police personnel
nearly all States
Percentage of officers (ASI to DySP) amongst SCs/STs/
Actual percentage of SCs/STs/OBCs in proportion to the OBCs/Women and overall personnel in the police force
reserved percentage of SCs/STs/OBCs, and the actual (2012 - 16 average)
percentage of women in the State police force

Women
(2012-2016 average)

Overall
OBCs
SCs

STs
 States
SCs in STs in OBCs in Women
States
police police police in police
Andhra Andhra Pradesh 10.9 11.2 11.3 11.5 13.4
77 75.2 123.8 3.74
Pradesh Assam 17.3 13.6 10.5 12.6 12.4
Assam 95.3 93.1 117.1 2.51 Bihar 7.4 19.0 22.7 11.3 17.6
Bihar 66.8 122.5 70.6 5.22 Chhattisgarh 7.6 10.6 7.4 8.7 8.9
Chhattisgarh 55 64.1 67.8 4.62
Gujarat 16.1 19.9 20.7 12.9 16.7
Gujarat 98.5 54.1 51.4 4.36
Haryana 11.1 9.8 NA 9.2 14.5
Haryana 57.1 3.6 50.9 7.13
Himachal Pradesh 2.6 10.7 13.6 6.9 12
Himachal
98.8 127.1 58.2 11.29 Jharkhand 6.7 12.8 11.2 9.3 14
Pradesh
Karnataka 11.5 13.0 15.2 11.7 12.5
Jharkhand 97.2 81.9 127.6 4.96
Kerala 3.3 14.7 11.3 8.4 8.9
Karnataka 83.3 109.2 136.4 5.4
Kerala 86.5 57.9 87.5 6.08 Madhya Pradesh 27.7 20.1 21.8 9.9 16.9

Madhya Maharashtra 7.3 24.1 21.4 19.2 17.1

65 52.1 62.5 4.85
Pradesh Nagaland 22.4 NA 3.8 NA 6.4
Maharashtra 91.6 98.8 132 10.82 Odisha 13.8 14.1 8.8 8.3 15.6
Nagaland NA 101.7 NA 3.26 Punjab 6.7 7.8 NA 9.0 11.9
Odisha 88.9 92.1 118.5 8.66 Rajasthan 4.2 9.5 7.0 6.0 8.7
Punjab 101.8 0 136.6 6.44 Tamil Nadu 12.3 10.4 10.4 11.0 9.6
Rajasthan 75.4 88.9 55.7 7.77 Telangana 8.0 12.9 NA NA 13.6
Tamil Nadu 70.4 49 66 13.62 Uttar Pradesh 6.2 8.1 7.8 8.4 8.1
Telangana 79.3 144.6 145.3 2.83 Uttarakhand 7.5 6.7 6.1 4.8 7
Uttar Pradesh 40.2 38.8 49.3 4.1 West Bengal 8.3 18.1 12.7 13.0 23.8
Uttarakhand 100.8 152.5 105.3 8.08 Delhi 20.0 17.8 18.2 4.0 20.6
West Bengal 62.1 67.1 22.6 6.47 AP+Telangana 10.1 13.7 10.0 12.2 13.3
Delhi UT 90.9 88.7 73.6 8 Total selected
10.1 11.5 11.6 11.1 13.4
AP+Telangana 73.8 91 122.3 3.39 States

34 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

amongst women in police and the overall police force As is noted in SPIR 2018, another vulnerable and un-
has also been taken as the proportion of ASI to DySP der-represented group, which, however, does not en-
to enable comparison across categories. It must be joy any reservation, is that of Muslims. Unfortunately,
noted, further, that the reservation for SCs, STs is ap- data on the representation, or the lack of it, of Mus-
plicable even during the first promotion. lims in the police force was discontinued by the NCRB
after 2013. Data on SCs, STs and OBCs in the police
Among the selected States, the proportion of SC, ST, force at the ranks of DySP and above has also not been
OBC and women officers is lower than the overall made publicly available. This lack of official data di-
proportion of officers. As against 13.4 general officers, lutes all efforts towards analysis of trends in policing
there are 11.5 percent SC officers, 11.6 percent ST and advocacy initiatives.
officers, 11.1 percent OBC officers and 10.1 percent
women officers. 1.5: What is the load of cases on the police?
Indian police personnel are stretched and stressed. The
In the case of women personnel, with the exception
survey of personnel finds that on an average, a person-
of five of the selected States (Assam, MP, Nagaland,
nel works for about 14 hours a day. Three out of four
Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand), the proportion of
personnel felt that their workload was affecting their
women officers is consistently lower than the overall
physical and mental health (See Chapter 2 for more
proportion of officers in all States. Data suggests that
details).
women are least likely to be posted at the officer lev-
el, compared to all other categories of personnel. This
Caseload, or the load of investigation of cases, forms
points to the need for reservation at the time of pro-
a major part of the workload of the police personnel.
motion for women as well (as in the case of SCs, STs),
A 2014 study conducted with the South African Police
aside from reservation at the time of recruitment. Al-
Service Detectives suggests that the caseload carried
ternately, specialised recruitment drives for women in
by general detectives impacts on a number of factors,
the police force at the ranks of ASI and above could be
such as the inability to secure convictions, poor super-
another measure to ensure proportionate distribution
vision, court delays, etc. Further, the study finds that
across ranks.
detectives with high caseloads spend the least amount
of time on real detective work, such as evidence collec-
Eight States, or more than one-third of the selected
tion and analysis.
States, have disproportionately lower number of of-
ficers amongst all four categories. The differences are
In India, the investigation of cases of crimes is nor-
significant in some States, such as in Delhi which has 4
mally conducted by investigating officers (IOs)of the
percent OBC officers, compared to 20.6 percent over-
ranks of ASI to Inspectors, although in some States,
all officers.
Head Constables are also authorised to be IOs in cases
of petty crimes. Further, legal provisions have made it
Overall, States are performing poorly on the diversi-
mandatory for women police officers to conduct in-
ty indicator. Not only are there high vacancies in the
vestigations of all cases of crimes against children, and
sanctioned posts of SC, ST, OBC and women person-
they are required, as far as practicable, to be present
nel, even amongst those who have been recruited, the
at the time of recording of the statement of the victims
chances of SCs, STs, OBCs and women being recruited
in cases of crimes against women.
at or promoted to the officer-level are lower than the
chances of a general personnel being posted or recruit-
In this sub-section, caseload, taken as a proxy for the
ed at the officer rank.
overall workload, of the overall police officers of the
upper subordinate ranks (ASI to Inspector), is com-
The worst off, however, are women, who have the
pared to the caseload of women police officers of the
lowest representation in the police force, as well the
same ranks for the cases of crimes against women and
lowest representation at the officer-level in nearly all
children. It needs to be noted here that investigation is
States. Kerala, for instance, a State that is known for
only one part of the overall policing duties, and there-
its progressive policies and practices, has 3.3 percent
fore does not give a true picture of the actual work-
officers amongst the total women personnel, against
load on the officers.
nearly 9 percent officers overall (Table 1.9). In fact,
the proportion of women officers has actually gone
The following variables have been used to analyse the
down in the selected States over a 10-year period.
caseload of officers:

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 35

 Figure 1.5: In a majority of States, the case of women officers is much higher than the caseload of overall
officers

Figure 1.6: SSPs and DIGs (range) transferred in less than two years as a percentage of the total number of
AIGP/SP/SSP/DIG in the selected States from 2007–2016

36 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 1. Number of upper subordinate officers (ASI to In- ever, in a majority of the selected States, caseloads of
spector rank) per the total reported incidents of women officers are higher than the overall caseload of
cognisable crimes in States as of 2016 officers. Only six of the selected States have a lower
2. Number of upper subordinate female officers case investigation load for female officers. In several
(ASI to Inspector rank) per the total reported States, this can also be attributed to two causes:
cases of crimes against women and children as a. In some States it may be attributed to the fact
of 2016 that crimes against women and children are se-
verely under-reported
Caseload has been analysed comparatively for the
general police personnel and for the female personnel. b. On the contrary, in some States, such as Kerala,
A caveat that needs to be pointed out, however, is that there is high-reporting of total cognisable crime
the ranks of investigating officers vary across States, cases, especially petty crimes, which brings up
and the Head Constables are assigned investigating the caseload per officer.
officer duties in some States. Therefore, this analysis
should be seen only as indicative, and not represent- Amongst the 16 States that have a higher case inves-
ative. tigation load for women officers, the gap is notable
in some States: for instance, Assam has 175 cases of
At the national level, the case investigation load for crimes against women and children per female officer,
women police officers for cases of crimes against compared to 20 cases of cognisable crimes per officer
women and children, at 39 cases per female officer, is (overall). Similarly, Telangana has 181 cases per fe-
comparable to the overall case investigation load for male officer compared to 22 cases per general officer.
total cognisable crimes, at 36 cases per officer. How-

Table 1.10: During 2007–16 eighteen percent SSPs and DIGs transferred in less than two years, on an average
Total number of Distt. SSPs and DIG (range) transferred in less than two years as a percentage of the
actual number of AIGP/SSP/SP/DIG
States 2007 2012 2016 2007-16 average
Andhra Pradesh 6.9 7.3 9.2 7.7
Assam 8 16.5 13.1 12.9
Bihar NA 10.3 13.4 22.1
Chhattisgarh 13.1 36 8.8 27.8
Gujarat 25 80.6 12.1 47.5
Haryana NA 58 73.1 180.1
Himachal Pradesh 15.6 16.5 9.5 16.4
Jharkhand 53.2 6.8 9.1 24.6
Karnataka 5.7 3.5 8 5.7
Kerala 22.6 2.4 8 9.9
Madhya Pradesh 23.8 12.4 41.8 25.3
Maharashtra NA 15.4 1.7 7.5
Nagaland 8.3 5.9 2.2 1.6
Odisha 16.9 11.3 13.4 9.5
Punjab 16.4 17.8 16 16.2
Rajasthan 0 21.2 37.4 43.1
Tamil Nadu 44.2 24.3 18.4 20.7
Telangana NA NA 0 4.6
Uttar Pradesh 194.9 50.8 13.4 64.7
Uttarakhand 46.2 32.3 55.8 37.6
West Bengal 1.6 3.5 7.6 11.4
Delhi UT 13.6 0 0 0.0
TOTAL (ALL INDIA) 31.2 16.6 11.9 18.1
Andhra Pradesh + Telangana 6.9 7.3 5.1 6.8
Complete table with data of all years given in Appendix 3

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 37

 Figure 1.7: SSPs and DIGs (range) transferred in less than two years as a percentage of the total number of
AIGP/SP/SSP/DIG in the States: Chhattisgarh and Gujarat

Figure 1.8: SSPs and DIGs (range) transferred in less than two years as a percentage of the total number of
AIGP/SP/SSP/DIG in the States: Selected States (2007–2016 average)

38 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

The above data makes a case for the need of better bly, be caused due to the same officer being transferred
representation of women in the police force, and high- multiple times in a year.9
er recruitment of women at the officer-level ranks.
Even in a scenario in which, as per NFHS data, 99 Despite the decline in the percentage of transfers over
percent of cases of sexual assault go unreported, the the years at the national level, it continues to be high
caseload is relatively much higher for women in the in many States, particularly in Haryana and Uttar
police force in 16 of the selected States studied. There- Pradesh. When seen as a 10-year average, in seven of
fore, particularly in case of women in the police force, the selected States more than 25 percent10 SSPs and
the argument for better representation does not arise DIGs have been transferred prematurely (Table 1.10).
just from the logic of diversity, but also from the legal Further, there seems to be a direct relationship be-
requirement of processes to be followed while dealing tween elections and transfers, with transfer percentag-
with cases of crimes against women and children. es going up during or around election years in States.
For instance, 98 percent of the SSPs and DIGs were
1.6: How autonomous is the police in its transferred in Rajasthan in 2013, 32 percent officers
functioning? were transferred in Haryana in the year 2013, and
consistently between 28 to 53 percent officers were
In the landmark judgement of Prakash Singh vs Union
transferred in Jharkhand in all election years.
of India, 2006 the Supreme Court directed the States
to introduce legal amendments to ensure that, except
This is true for some States even when the party in
under extraordinary circumstances, key police officers
power does not change post elections. That is, even if
be guaranteed a minimum tenure of two years. This
the incumbent party returns to power after elections
was to ensure that political interference is minimised
in a State, yet, the percentage of transfer of officers
at the posting and transfer levels, and police person-
in that year in the State is higher than usual. For in-
nel have the “operational autonomy” to function
stance, in States such as Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, the
efficiently without the threat of premature transfers.
transfer percentages are higher during election years,
Following the judgement in 2006, five States—Punjab,
even though the party in power has not changed over
Haryana, West Bengal, Kerala and Bihar—had moved
a decade (Figure 1.7). As seen in the graph, the per-
the Apex Court seeking modification of the above
centage of transfer in Gujarat is high in the year 2012
directive regarding minimum tenure. These pleas,
(80 % transfer), an election year, and in Chhattisgarh
however, were dismissed by the Supreme Court (PTI,
the percentage of transfers is high in the year 2009
2019). Yet, States have managed to circumvent the le-
(elections were held in November 2008) and 2013,
gal provisions to a certain extent, as is evident from
again an election year. In both the States, the Chief
the analysis of data.
Ministers throughout the decade under consideration
(2007-2016) have belonged to the BJP.
For studying police autonomy, we analysed the data
on transfer of SSPs and DIGs in less than two years.
Data for a 10-year period, from 2007 to 2016, was 9 The Common Cause team went to the BPRD office to discuss and
studied and analysed. resolve this, and other similar anomalies in official data. This was the
explanation provided to the team by the concerned officials at BPRD.
In the meeting, we were informed that for most of the discrepancies
Since 2007 (post the Prakash Singh judgment), the per- in data that we had noted, the BPRD officials are themselves unsure
centage of premature transfer of officers (of the ranks about the exact reasons. They attribute this to the difference in the
BPRD format and the way that the data is recorded by the States.
of SSPs and DIGs) has gone down significantly from Mr Shashikant Upadhyay, DIG, informed us that all housing and
37 percent in 2007 to 13 percent in 2016, amongst personnel-management related matters fall within the purview of the
State governments, and the BPRD has no authority to interfere in these
the selected States. The judgment, therefore, appears matters. The BPRD does not even collect any data other than what is
to have a tangible impact on curbing the practise of published in its reports, and the States are under no obligation to report
undue and premature transfer of officers due to politi- the numbers to BPRD. It can only request the States for the data within
the given format, and often States fail to report that as well. BPRD,
cal and bureaucratic interference. as a central institution, has a limited mandate of providing part of the
training to State forces of police and collecting data on basic issues
such as police strength. When discrepancies arise, BPRD often seeks
However, there is an anomaly in the data that needs clarification from the States, but it is not necessary that the States will
to be noted. The data shows that the number of trans- respond, or will do so timely, since they are under no obligation to do
so.
fers for some States and in particular years (Haryana
in 2014 and Uttar Pradesh from 2007–2010) is high- 10 In this variable, a 25 percent benchmark has been set arbitrarily to
look at States that have a high rate of premature transfers. We have
er than the total number of SSPs and DIGs posted in set this benchmark keeping in mind that there may be circumstances
those States in the particular years. This can, presuma- in which premature transfers are necessary and/or desirable for the
officers themselves, such as in the case of a promotion.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 39

Overall, the States with the highest transfer percentag- 2. Police infrastructure:
es are Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, with average trans- a. Percentage of police stations having vehicles
fer of 121 percent and 125 percent respectively over (2012-16 average)
the last 10-years for which data is available (Figure b. Percentage of police stations having tele-
1.8). The better-performing States in which transfers phone and wireless devices (2012-16 average)
of officers within two years has been consistently be- c. Number of computers per police station
low 25 percent (since 2007) are Delhi, Andhra, Telan- (2012-2016)
gana, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
3. Police budget
1.7: Police Adequacy Index
a. Police expenditure as a percentage of police
In the final sub-section of this chapter, building on the budget (2014-2016 average)
adequacy arguments made in the earlier analysis, we
develop an Index for ranking the selected States on the The indices developed for each of the above variable
basis of adequacy of the police force. (methodology in Appendix 3), have been averaged to
form the final index for police adequacy. The purpose
For this ranking, the following variables are used: of the index is to measure and rank States according to
1. Police strength: their respective capacities and adequacy of the police
a. Overall civil and armed police strength as a structure in those States.
percentage of the sanctioned strength (2012-
2016 average)

Table 1.11: Delhi, Kerala and Maharashtra have a more adequate policing structure than other selected States
Police adequacy index
States Overall Index Strength Infrastructure Budget
Delhi 0.60 0.70 1.03 0.07
Kerala 0.55 0.71 0.89 0.06
Maharashtra 0.53 0.69 0.82 0.08
Nagaland 0.51 0.80 0.66 0.07
Uttarakhand 0.51 0.66 0.83 0.04
Himachal Pradesh 0.50 0.60 0.82 0.06
Rajasthan 0.49 0.60 0.80 0.08
Odisha 0.48 0.57 0.80 0.08
Madhya Pradesh 0.48 0.58 0.83 0.04
Tamil Nadu 0.48 0.58 0.76 0.09
Haryana 0.46 0.36 0.94 0.08
Punjab 0.44 0.64 0.62 0.07
Karnataka 0.43 0.41 0.83 0.06
Assam 0.43 0.58 0.68 0.02
All-India 0.42 0.46 0.75 0.06
Telangana 0.41 0.47 0.73 0.04
Andhra Pradesh 0.41 0.53 0.66 0.05
Jharkhand 0.41 0.45 0.70 0.07
West Bengal 0.40 0.35 0.79 0.07
Gujarat 0.40 0.36 0.79 0.05
Bihar 0.35 0.40 0.60 0.04
Chhattisgarh 0.34 0.52 0.47 0.04
Uttar Pradesh 0.31 0.10 0.79 0.05
Index interpretation: 0 means worst performing, 1 means best performing. Under the Infrastructure index, Delhi is exceeding the value of
one because the formula used in the calculation of index takes into consideration the maximum value of the last five years, and not the
current year. Since the value in Delhi in some of the years was greater than the maximum value observed in the previous five years, the
index generated was greater than one. See Appendix 3 for details on index calculation.

40 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

In the absence of the requisite benchmarks, the rank- Secondly, and very importantly, the section on diver-
ing has been done in a relative manner, where States sity provides a larger contextual framework within
are scored according to the best and worst performing which we examine the attitudinal questions in Chap-
values amongst all States. The Index is a value between ter 6. Diversity of police is a parameter of utmost im-
zero and one, where zero would be the worst perform- portance. Police is a powerful and armed wing of the
ing State, and one would be the best performing State. State that needs to remain neutral in the face of both
everyday as well as exceptional circumstances, and
As Table 1.11 shows, overall on the adequacy param- needs to work within the framework of democracy.
eters, Delhi, Kerala and Maharashtra have the better We therefore consider the parameter of diversity as a
capacity for policing than the rest of the States, while building block for adequacy of the police. The aim of
Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar are States this section is to urge the readers to understand the
which are most poorly placed in terms of adequacy. data provided in the subsequent sections within the
push and pull dynamic of adequacy and functionality.
Delhi performs well on both the infrastructure and Doing this, we believe, will allow for a realistic rather
strength parameters. UP, on the other hand, performs than alarmist reading of the police.
poorly on both the strength and the budget indicators.

In general, the performance of all selected States un-

der the infrastructure indicators are much better than
their performance on the budget indicators.11

1.8: Conclusion
This chapter, besides providing an overview of adequa-
cy of infrastructure aims to lay out the lenses through
which the subsequent sections ought to be examined.
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Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 41

Comptroller & Auditor General of India, Report No.3 of Press Trust of India, 2018 ‘No Bihar police station linked to
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42 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Indian Police,
Always on Duty! 2

New Delhi, India- June 12, 2019: A traffic policeman on duty during heatwave in New Delhi.
(Credits: Gokul VS, Hindustan Times)

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 43

T
his chapter begins with the analysis of survey data from across
21 major Indian States. Responses were collected from personnel
of all ranks, and the sample was representative of the opinions of
women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes
within the police force. The chapter covers the service conditions of per-
sonnel, including the average working hours, weekly rest, overtime work,
etc. It also looks at the undue pressures imposed on senior officers on
junior personnel, and the level of abuse of the senior position by officers.
The chapter also covers the responses of the family members of personnel
on issues such as work-related stress, personnel’s ability to spend time
with family, satisfaction with staff quarter, etc.
Following are the key findings:
• Police personnel work for 14 hours a day on an average, with about
80 percent police personnel working for more than 8 hours a day
• Except Nagaland, the average working hours of personnel is between
11 to 18 hours in all of the selected 21 states
• Nearly one in two personnel work overtime regularly, while eight out
of ten personnel do not get paid for overtime work
• Nearly three out of five respondents from the families of personnel
were dissatisfied with the government provided housing quarters
• One out of two personnel do not get any weekly off days
• Three out of four personnel believe that their workload is affecting
their physical and mental health
• One out of four personnel reported that senior police personnel ask
their juniors to do their household/personal jobs even though they
are not meant to do it. SC, ST and OBC personnel are more likely to
report this than other caste groups
• Two in five police personnel report the use of bad language by senior
officers
• Thirty-seven percent personnel willing to give up their jobs for another
profession, if the perks and salaries remain the same.

44 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 2
Indian Police, Always on Duty!

M
ost sociological studies on policing in India Although police is a State subject, most of the State
tend to focus on issues external to the polic- police Acts are influenced either by the central archaic
ing structure i.e., reported crime rates, vic- Police Act of 1861 or the Model Police Act of 20061.
timisation rates, citizen’s experiences and perceptions, The usage of terms like ‘exceptional situations’ and
and so on. This nationwide survey, as a contrast, at- ‘always on duty’ has given the leeway to arbitrarily
tempts to study policing from within, focusing on one stretch the working hours of police personnel, as per
of the central drivers of the system–the police person- the convenience of the seniors. The provisions regard-
nel themselves. While in the later sections many more ing ‘weekly offs’ are applied in similar erratic and ir-
issues around the experiences, perceptions and expec- rational ways. The seminal work on requirement for
tations of the police personnel are covered, this section eight hours-shift in police stations (2014) conducted
starts from, and goes beyond, the common grievances by the Bureau of Police Research and Development
of police personnel— the poor working and service (BPRD) extensively highlights the gravity of this
conditions across the country. A phenomenon that can problem. Constable Ravindra Patil of Mumbai Police
be directly attributed to the inability of the States to through his report ‘8 Hours Dream of Police’ has been
fill the sanctioned strength of the police force, the in- persistently advocating for the eight hourly–shift sys-
humane duty hours of the police in State after State tem. Both these studies report that the irregular and
can have impacts on the efficiency and overall func- long working hours not only affect the physical health
tioning of the police. but also contribute to mental stress of the police, ulti-
mately impacting the efficiency of the force.
After more than 70 years of independence, Indian po-
lice laws continue to echo the spirit of the colonial In November 2018, about 400 police constables
Indian Police Act of 1861, with little regard for either in Patna protested the death of a fellow constable
just service conditions for the police force, particular- who was denied leave despite being physically sick.
ly those at the lower levels, or for the citizens of the Eventually, 175 police officers (167 constables and
country whom they serve. Consider, for instance, the eight officers) were dismissed from service, while
following Sections from the statute books: another 27 havaldars and constables were put under
suspension (Hindustan Times, November 2018).
“Every police- officer shall, for all purposes in this Another 50,000 constables in Karnataka had applied
Act contained, be considered to be always on duty, for mass leave on 6 June 2016 to register their protest
and may at any time be employed as a police officer – against long working hours, wage inequality across
officer in any part of the general police – district.” ranks and the strict disciplinary actions they typically
- Section 22, Indian Police Act 1861 face (The News Minute, May 2016). The protests

1 The Model Police Act, 2006 The central government set up the Police
“The state government shall take effective steps to en- Act Drafting Committee (Chair: Soli Solabjee) in 2005 to draft a new
sure that the average hours of duty of a police officer model police law that could replace the Police Act 1861. The committee
do not normally exceed eight hours a day; provided submitted the Model Police Act in 2006, which was circulated to all
the States in 2006. 17 States (Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat,
that in exceptional situations, the duty hours of a po- Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra,
lice officer may extend up to 12 hours or beyond.” Meghalaya, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu,
Tripura, Uttarakhand,) passed new laws or amended existing law in
- Section18, Model Police Act 2006 this new model law.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 45

and the response to these protests can be analysed personnel work for more than eight hours in a day (Fig-
in multiple ways, but the issue of ‘service conditions’ ure 2.1). Amongst the latter category, about 44 percent
emerges as a common underlying concern. work for more than 12 hours in a day, with nearly a quar-
ter (24 percent) reporting that they work for more than
Another closely related issue is the high stress level 16 hours in a day on an average. The actual condition,
among the police personnel caused due to the nature thus, for the bulk of the police force in India is far from
of work. Psychological studies on the Indian police the ideal set out by the Model Police Act, 2006, of fixed
have identified and measured the stress levels and shifts of 8 hours for all police personnel.
the different causal factors behind it (Mathur 1995;
Rani, Garg and Rastogi 2012; Mohanraj and Nate- Figure 2.1: Majority of the police personnel work for
more than 8 hours a day
san 2015, Tyagi and Dhar 2014 cited in Kumar and
Kamlanabhan 2017; Tyagi 2014). Consistent with Average working hours
the Western literature on stress, the literature on po-
lice stress in India also broadly identifies two types
of stressors—operational stressors—arising from the
nature of work, and organisational stressors–arising
from the work environment. Numerous survey-based
quantitative studies across various States in India such
as Uttar Pradesh (Singh and Kumar 2015), Delhi (Ku-
mar and Kamlanabhan 2017), Haryana (Lambert,
Qureshi, Frank, Keena and Hogan 2017) and Karna-
taka (Parsekar, Singh and Bhumika 2015) have gener-
ally identified the organisational factors like excessive
Question asked: On an average, how many hours in a day do
workload, and relation with those working in a senior you actually work?
position as prime factors contributing to stress. This
negatively impacts the psychological well-being of the On an average, the senior, male, civil police personnel
personnel and further contributes to plummeting lev- are likely to work longer than their counterparts, al-
els of job satisfaction among the police force. Studies though the variation in the average working hours of
also show that police personnel deal with such stress- these categories is not very high. Senior State police
ors by adopting maladaptive coping mechanisms such personnel are likely to work for about 15 hours–one
as denial and alcoholism (Ranta 2009, Singh 2016). hour more than an average constabulary police. Fur-
ther, while the average working hours of men in police
This report takes a deep dive into the world of po- are also one hour longer than women in police, this
lice personnel across the country, studying a range of divide exists primarily at the constabulary level. At
issues—from concerns regarding unjust service con- senior positions, men and women officers have similar
ditions, to their perceptions, attitudes and experienc- working hours. We also find that civil police work for
es of policing as a system. This chapter, as a starting a longer duration than the armed police.
point, focuses on the working conditions of the police
personnel and the impact that these conditions have Table 2.1: Police personnel work for 14 hours a day on
on their wellbeing. an average
Category Mean working hours
2.1: Average working hours of police Overall 14 hours

The Indian police forces of nearly all the States sur- Men 14 hours
veyed are excessively over-overworked, with an aver- Women 13 hours
age police personnel working for 14 hours a day (Ta- Constabulary 14 hours
ble 2.1).The most reported (mode) frequency of actual Senior State police 15 hours
working hours was 12 hours, with about a quarter Civil Police 14 hours
of the police reporting it. On the other hand, about
Armed Police 13 hours
16 percent of the police personnel reported working
around the clock for 24 hours. Figures are rounded off. ø (Standard deviation) = 5 hours
Question asked: On an average, how many hours in a day do
Only 13 percent of the police reported working for up to you actually work?
eight hours on an average, considered the global standard
for workers’ shifts, while about 81 percent of the police

46 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

When further disaggregated across the verticals of gen- Table 2.2: Male and senior police personnel from civil
der, rank and contingent, the picture that emerges is force report working for longer hours
that typically a male senior police officer of the civil Up to
9–12 13–16
More
cadre is more likely to work for more than 12 hours a eight than 16
hours in hours in
hours in hours in
day, compared to his counterparts across these catego- a day
a day a day
a day
ries. While the average working hours of all three cat-
Overall 13 37 20 24
egories do not vary by a great degree–within the range
of 13 to 15 hours–the real differences emerge when we Men 12 36 21 25
look at the frequency of police personnel who reported Women 17 41 17 18
working for 12 hours or more, and study the variations Constabulary 13 38 20 23
across the above categories. A quarter of the male po- Senior State
10 33 22 28
lice personnel, for instance, reported working for more police
than 16 hours a day, compared to 18 percent women Civil Police 12 37 22 24
police personnel. Similarly, 28 percent senior officer re- Armed Police 18 37 13 21
ported putting in more than 16 hours a day, against 23
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
percent amongst the constabulary (Table 2.2). respondents did not answer.
Question asked: On an average, how many hours in a day do
In fact, as the number of years of experience in the po- you actually work?
lice increases, the proportion of police personnel who
reported that they worked for more than 16 hours in
a day also increases (Figure 2.2). Thus, ‘seniority’, or 2.2: Staying back after duty hours
increase in years of experience might indicate further
increase in the workload. Apart from being ambiguously defined, the duty hours
of the police vary across different States in India. Here,
When we disaggregate the data across different States we make a distinction between actual working hours
(Table 2.3), we find that police personnel from Odisha and duty hours. Actual working hours denote the re-
reported highest average working hours of 18 hours in ported working hours by the police, while by duty
a day, while police personnel from Nagaland reported hours we imply the mandated ‘legal’ or the ‘normal/
the lowest average, of eight working hours in a day. conventional’ working hours stipulated for the police
Nagaland, therefore, is the only State among the 21 in that particular State.
studied States where the ideal condition is being met,
an achievement that can be attributed to the fact that Approximately half of the civil police personnel re-
it is one of the few States in the country where the ported having to stay back many times after duty
sanctioned strength of the police force is being filled hours in a week. When the data is disaggregated by
optimally (see Chapter 1 on analysis of official data). gender, rank and contingent, the trends are consist-

Figure 2.2: Police personnel with more years of experience report longer working hours

Question asked: On an average, how many hours in a day do you actually work?

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 47

ent with those of average working hours (Figure 2.3). lice officers were more likely to work overtime as com-
More men, as compared to women, reported that in a pared to constabulary police, and a higher proportion
week they stayed back many times at their workplace of civil police—as compared to armed police—report-
even after their duty hours. Similarly, senior State po- ed staying back at their station many times a week.

Figure 2.3: Nearly one in two police personnel work over-time regularly.

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: How many times in a week do you have to stay at your station/workplace even after duty hours–Many times,
sometimes, rarely or never?
Table 2.3: State-wise working hours
Up to eight More than 16
Average working 9–12 hours in 13–16 hours No response
States hours in a day hours in a day
hours in a day a day (%) in a day(%) (%)
(%) (%)
Odisha 18 hours 4 14 22 60 1
Punjab 17 hours 9 29 11 49 3
Andhra Pradesh 16hours 7 22 23 34 14
Bihar 16 hours 3 34 24 36 3
Chhattisgarh 16 hours 5 25 35 32 4
Haryana 16 hours 10 37 11 38 4
Himachal Pradesh 16 hours 7 28 29 33 3
Rajasthan 16 hours 4 22 27 46 1
Telangana 16 hours 4 47 15 28 6
Uttar Pradesh 15 hours 8 31 39 22 1
Assam 14 hours 12 30 24 19 15
Delhi 14 hours 8 39 39 13 2
Uttarakhand 14 hours 4 53 20 15 9
Karnataka 13 hours 18 39 31 11 1
West Bengal 13 hours 25 44 4 19 8
Gujarat 12 hours 25 35 13 13 16
Kerala 12 hours 12 56 17 10 5
Maharashtra 12 hours 11 70 13 3 4
Jharkhand 11 hours 17 60 9 5 9
Madhya Pradesh 11 hours 22 54 17 5 2
Nagaland 8 hours 60 14 0 6 19
All figures (apart from average working hours) are in percentages and rounded off.

48 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

The topmost reason for working overtime was ‘too many times in a week, four of every five police per-
much workload’—with about one third of the police sonnel reported that they do not get paid for over-
personnel reporting this as the main reason. This re- time work. This number is only marginally better for
sponse was commonly cited across the categories of armed police, with about eight percent of the armed
gender, rank and type of police. This was followed by police reporting that they get paid for their overtime
15 percent of the police personnel citing ‘emergency work as compared to four percent of the civil police.
duty/work’ as the reason. In Table 2.4, we see that
armed police are more likely to report emergency duty Figure 2.4: Eight out of 10 police personnel do not get
paid for overtime work
as compared to civil police. The third most frequently
reported reason for staying back was ‘lack of staff’.
Responses with a frequency of less than five percent
have been clubbed together as ‘other reasons’.

Table 2.4: Reasons for staying back at station/

workplace
Too much work

Emergency duty

Other reasons
Lack of staff

No response
/increasing
workload

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the

respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Do you get paid for overtime work–yes or
no?
Overall 32 16 10 26 18
Men 32 16 10 27 17 2.3: Satisfaction with work evaluation and
Women 29 18 8 25 20 compensation
Constabulary 31 14 11 25 19
Although an overwhelming majority of the police re-
Senior State ported that they do not get paid for their overtime
34 18 8 27 13
police
work, that does not seem to reflect on any dissatis-
Civil Police 32 15 11 25 17
faction with the remuneration received for their work
Armed Police 30 21 5 23 21 since a little more than half of police personnel report-
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. ed that their salary is at par with the kind of work they
Question asked: What is generally the most important reason do. Further, three-fourth of the police also reported
for staying back at police station after duty hours? that their work is evaluated in a neutral way (Table
2.5). Thus, while the police are over-worked, a major-
Even though roughly half of the police personnel re- ity of them still hint at positive evaluation of their sal-
ported that they have to stay back at their workplace ary and the evaluation of their work in a neutral way.

Table 2.5: Fifty one percent of the police personnel feel that their salary is at par with the kind of work they do
My salary is at par with the kind of work
My work is evaluated in a neutral way
I do.
Agree Disagree Agree Disagree
Overall 51 44 75 25
Men 51 44 75 25
Women 53 43 72 28
Constabulary 51 45 74 26
Senior State police 53 43 76 24
Civil Police 52 45 75 25
Armed Police 49 43 72 28
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
- My salary is at par with the kind of work I do.
- My work is evaluated in a neutral way.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 49

Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab are States with the about 30 percent respondents from West Bengal and
highest proportion of respondents reporting that their about 19 percent from Gujarat did not respond to the
salary is at par with the kind of work they do. On the question.
other hand, the police personnel from West Bengal,
Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are least likely to re- Table 2.7: State-wise attitude towards evaluation of
work
port that their salary is at par with their work (Table
2.6). It is crucial to note that 30 percent of the po- My work is evaluated in a
neutral way
lice personnel in West Bengal chose to not answer this
question. States Agree Disagree
Overall 71 24
Table 2.6: State-wise attitude towards salary Kerala 98 2
My salary is at par with the Odisha 89 9
kind of work I do.
Telangana 88 11
 States Agree Disagree
Andhra Pradesh 84 14
Overall 51 44
Rajasthan 80 17
Haryana 70 30
Himachal 75 22
Rajasthan 70 29
Punjab 74 23
Punjab 67 31
Delhi 71 22
Kerala 64 35
Uttar Pradesh 71 27
Odisha 63 36
Karnataka 70 28
Telangana 63 35
Chhattisgarh 69 25
Assam 62 34
Haryana 68 28
Karnataka 61 37
Maharashtra 68 29
Delhi 56 37
Nagaland 66 22
Jharkhand 54 46
Uttarakhand 66 30
Nagaland 54 40
Bihar 65 34
Maharashtra 52 41
Assam 63 32
Madhya Pradesh 51 44
Jharkhand 57 41
Andhra Pradesh 45 53
Madhya Pradesh 57 38
Himachal Pradesh 45 55
West Bengal* 53 18
Gujarat 38 57
Gujarat* 49 32
Uttarakhand 38 58
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
Bihar 37 62
respondents did not answer.
West Bengal* 32 39 Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement–‘My work is evaluated in a neutral way’?
Uttar Pradesh 31 68
*About 30 percent of the police in West Bengal and about 19
Chhattisgarh 25 63 percent police in Gujarat did not respond to the question.
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following 2.4: Police housing quarters
statement—My salary is at par with the kind of work I do?
In our study, 48 percent of the police personnel re-
*About 30 percent of the police personnel in West Bengal
chose to not answer this question. ported staying in government housing quarters. The
proportion of the armed police staying in government
When we disaggregate the data on evaluation of work housing quarters was greater than the proportion of
on the basis of States, we find that highest propor- civil police (Figure 2.5a). Men and Senior Police Per-
tion of police personnel from Kerala, Odisha, and sonnel were just slightly more likely to be staying in
Telangana reported that their work is evaluated in a government housing quarters as compared to women
neutral way. On the other hand, the police personnel and constabulary police. As the years of service in po-
from Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat are lice increase, there is an increase in the proportion of
least likely to report that their work is evaluated in a police who reported staying in the government hous-
neutral way (Table 2.7). Again, a large proportion– ing quarters (Figure 2.5b).

50 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Among those living in government provided housing About forty percent of the family members
quarters, the satisfaction levels are fairly high with
about 72 percent being satisfied with the housing con-
of the police personnel responded that the
ditions. Among those who were dissatisfied, the lack police officer (in their family) spends far less
of facilities (21 percent) provided in the locality like than sufficient time with the family. Only
water etc., the small size of the house (15 percent) and about 10 percent of the family members of
the lack of maintenance (13 percent) emerged as the the police personnel reported that police
primary reasons for dissatisfaction.
spent sufficient time with the family.
2.5: Weekly off days Time spent with the family

One in two police personnel reported not getting any

stipulated holiday or rest day in a week (Figure 2.6).
Conversely, only 25 percent reported that they get one
weekly off, a standard suggested in the Model Police
Act.

About 52 percent male police personnel reported no

weekly off, against 48 percent women police person-
nel (Table 2.8). Further, senior State police personnel
were less likely to get a weekly off, with 56 percent
senior police personnel reporting no weekly offs as
compared to 50 percent of the constabulary police.

Maharashtra is the only State in which more than 80

percent police personnel reported getting at least one
day off. On the other hand, in States like Chhattis-
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
garh, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh, 90 percent of the respondents did not answer.
police personnel reported not getting any weekly off at
all (Table 2.9).

58 percent of the respondents among the family members of the police personnel reported being
satisfied with the government provided housing quarters. Among those who were dissatisfied,
small size of the house (23 percent), no maintenance (19 percent) and bad facilities (14 percent)
emerge as the primary three reasons behind dissatisfaction.
Figure 2.5a: Nearly half of the police personnel reside in government-provided housing accommodation

Housing quarters

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer
Question asked: What type of house do you live in-personal house or government provided house?

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 51

Figure 2.5b: Senior police personnel more likely to reside in government provided housing accommodation
Housing quarters

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer
Question asked: What type of house do you live in-personal house or government provided house?

Table 2.8: Senior male police personnel from the civil

police least likely to get weekly offs
More than half of the family members of
the police personnel responded that in the
2 off
No-off 1 off past 2–3 years, their families (including
days or No re-
days in a day in a
more in sponse police personnel) have not been on a leisure
week week
a week
holiday. About 40 percent reported not
Overall 51 25 4 19
having visited relatives out of town and more
Men 52 24 4 19
Women 48 29 3 19
than two third of the respondents among
Constabulary 50 26 4 18
family members responded that they have
Senior State
not gone for a religious pilgrimage in the
56 22 4 19
police past 2–3 years.
Civil Police 53 25 3 18
Armed Police 44 26 6 23
All figures are in percentages and rounded off.
Question asked: On an average, how many weekly offs do you
get? (Number of days)

Figure 2.6: One out of two police personnel do not get

any weekly off days
Overall

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not
answer. Note: Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: On an average, how many weekly offs do you
actually get?

52 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

2.6: Effects of workload Workload also seems to be taking a toll on the per-
sonal lives of the police, with a huge proportion of 84
One of the major concerns that emerged in this study
percent police personnel agreeing with the statement,
was the extent to which the police in the country is
“I am not able to devote enough time to my family
over-worked, as can be gathered from the long work-
due to policing duties”. More than half of the police
ing hours and lack of weekly rest discussed in the
personnel–about 54 percent–‘completely agreed’ with
above sections. The stress caused due to such service
this statement, while a little less than one-third (30
conditions gets manifested in various forms, impacting
percent) ‘somewhat agreed’ with this statement.
both work efficiency as well as personal well-being.
The police personnel were also forthcoming in ac-
As many as three-fourth of the police agreed with the
knowledging the adverse impact of workload on
statement—“the workload is making it difficult for me
their physical and mental health. Nearly three-fourths
to do my job well” (Table 2.10). About 40 percent of
agreed with the statement, “My workload is affect-
the overall respondents ‘completely agreed’ with this
ing my physical and mental health conditions”. About
statement, while 36 percent ‘somewhat agreed’ with
43 percent of the police ‘completely agreed’ with this
the statement. Civil police personnel are much more
statement, while 30 percent ‘somewhat agreed’.
likely to agree with the statement.

Table 2.9: State-wise weekly off days Roughly four-fifth of the respondents among
the family of police personnel reported
or more in
2 off days
in a week
1 off day
days in a

response
a week
No-off

week

partial or complete agreement with the

No

States
statement that policing is a very stressful job.
When asked for the main reason behind this
Overall 51 26 4 19
stress, about 37 percent reported too much
Andhra Pradesh 56 28 4 12 work as the main reason.
Assam 57 8 5 30 Policing is a very stressful job?
Bihar 74 10 4 12
Chhattisgarh 92 3 0 5
Delhi 59 24 0 16
Gujarat 70 7 3 20
Haryana 27 52 0 20
Himachal
90 2 0 7
Pradesh
Jharkhand 46 32 1 21
Karnataka 20 70 6 5
Kerala 27 57 5 11
Madhya Pradesh 47 23 0 29
Maharashtra 0 81 17 3 Question asked: It is often said that policing is a very stressful
job. Do you agree or disagree with the statement?
Nagaland 24 23 11 39
Odisha 94 0 0 6
Top five reasons for stress %
Punjab 42 52 0 6
There is too much work 37
Rajasthan 53 14 4 28
No fixed work hours 8
Telangana 32 2 0 66
Uttar Pradesh 60 16 0 24 Lot of Pressure* 8

Uttarakhand 71 3 0 26 There is too much responsibility on the police 6

West Bengal 37 27 16 20 They have to deal with the criminals 3
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. *The provision of
weekly off seems to be already in practice in Maharashtra.
*includes pressure from public, police department, court and
Question asked: On an average, how many weekly offs do you political pressure.
get? (Number of days)

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 53

Table 2.10: Three out of four police personnel agree that the workload is making it difficult for them to do their job well
The workload makes it
I am not able to devote enough time My workload is affecting physical and
difficult for me to do my
to my family due to policing duties mental health conditions
job well
Agree Disagree Agree Disagree Agree Disagree
Overall 76 22 84 14 73 24
Men 75 22 84 14 74 23
Women 77 21 84 15 73 24
Constabulary 76 21 84 15 73 24
Senior State police 75 22 86 12 75 23
Civil Police 78 21 85 13 74 23
Armed Police 69 25 80 17 70 24
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not answer.
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
- The workload makes it difficult for me to do my job well.
- I am not able to devote enough time to my family due to policing duties.
- My workload is affecting physical and mental health conditions.

Table 2.11: State-wise effects of workload

Percentage of police personnel who agree (somewhat and completely combined) with the following statements:

“The workload makes it “I am not able to devote “My workload is affecting

States difficult for me to do my job enough time to my family physical and mental health
well” due to policing duties” conditions”

Andhra Pradesh 80 83 78
Assam 86 83 70
Bihar 87 90 85
Chhattisgarh 81 85 73
Delhi 71 77 75
Gujarat 75 87 73
Haryana 74 95 76
Himachal Pradesh 84 97 89
Jharkhand 72 63 53
Karnataka 93 83 83
Kerala 60 82 71
Madhya Pradesh 67 79 59
Maharashtra 81 81 69
Nagaland 43 68 37
Odisha 80 97 89
Punjab 82 84 76
Rajasthan 78 89 73
Telangana 71 81 78
Uttar Pradesh 82 97 84
Uttarakhand 84 93 84
West Bengal 59 75 69
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. They represent the proportion of police who agreed with the statements in the following
question.
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
- The workload makes it difficult for me to do my job well.
- I am not able to devote enough time to my family due to policing duties.
- My workload is affecting physical and mental health conditions.

54 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Seen across States (Table 2.11), we find that the low- To measure the level of autonomy in work, the re-
est proportion of police personnel from Nagaland (43 spondents were asked whether their tasks are restricted
percent) reported that ‘their workload makes it diffi- to only those that were asked by their seniors. About
cult for them to do their job well’. At the other end of three-fourths of the police personnel agreed with the
the spectrum was Karnataka with 93 percent agreeing statement that they are permitted to do only those
with the aforementioned statement. tasks that are asked by their seniors (Table 2.12). As
expected, these numbers drop by about seven points
On the statement that they are not able to devote for senior State police.
enough time to family due to policing duties, we find
the lowest proportion of police personnel (63%) from The level of autonomy of work is the least in Telan-
Jharkhand (one of the States with comparatively low- gana, Odisha and Uttarakhand—with roughly 90 per-
er average working hours, 11 hours per day report- cent expressing their agreement with the statement
ing that they agree with the statement, while police (Table 2.13). On the other hand, police personnel
personnel from Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar from Jharkhand and Kerala are least likely to agree
Pradesh–with about 97 percent of the personnel– be- with the statement, with 44 and 50 percent respective-
ing most likely to agree with the given statement. ly disagreeing with this statement.

Nagaland (37 percent) had the smallest proportion of Table 2.12: Autonomy in tasks
police reporting that their workload affects the phys- “I am permitted to do only those tasks that are
ical and mental health conditions, against police per- asked by my seniors”
sonnel from Himachal Pradesh (89 percent), who are Agree Disagree
most likely to agree with this statement. Overall 74 23
Men 74 23
2.7: Relation with seniors
Women 72 25
Undoubtedly one of the most hierarchical of institu- Constabulary 75 22
tions, there are many instances but little talk of the Senior State police 68 29
discrimination meted out to those in the lower ranks,
Civil Police 76 24
particularly the constabulary, by their seniors. In this
Armed Police 75 25
section, we analyse the responses to questions asked
on autonomy of work, unfair attitudes of seniors and All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not
answer.
a discriminatory attitude towards personnel at the
junior levels. Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement—I am permitted to do only those tasks that are
asked by my seniors?

More than 60 percent of the respondents among the family members agreed with the statement
that–as compared to others, police officers are more prone to getting angry and irritable more
easily and that police officers suffer more from mental health issues. About one third of the
family respondents also agreed with the statement that as compared to others, police officers
behave more badly with family, and are more prone to alcoholism.
As compared to others, police officers are...

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 55

Figure 2.7: SC, ST police personnel more likely to feel that senior officers ask juniors to do their private-personal/
household jobs
Juniors asked to do household / private / personal jobs

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not answer.
Question asked: According to you, Do Senior officers ask their juniors to do their household jobs/ private-personal jobs even
though they are not meant to do it?

Table 2.13: Perception of autonomy among personnel It is also common practice for senior police officers
across States to engage their juniors for carrying out their personal
“I am permitted to do only those tasks that are asked by tasks, beyond the sphere of work mandated for them
my seniors” (The Quint, June 2016).On being asked for their opin-
States Agree Disagree ion on whether such incidents take place, more than
Andhra Pradesh 68 29 a quarter of police personnel reported that the sen-
Assam 76 22 ior officers ask their juniors to do their “household
Bihar 84 15
jobs/private-personal jobs” even though they are not
meant to do it (Table 2.14). It is to be noted that the
Chhattisgarh 80 16
proportion of armed police personnel, who are often
Delhi 64 34 deployed on security duties, reporting the prevalence
Gujarat 75 20 of such incidents is greater than the proportion of civil
Haryana 75 22 police by almost ten percent points. The proportion
Himachal Pradesh 68 32 of constabulary reporting the occurrence of this phe-
Jharkhand 52 44 nomenon is higher than State senior police personnel.
Karnataka 84 15
Police personnel from scheduled tribes and scheduled
Kerala 50 50
caste backgrounds are marginally more likely to re-
Madhya Pradesh 76 24 port that senior officers ask their juniors to do their
Maharashtra 72 26 household/private-personal tasks, as compared to oth-
Nagaland 66 32 er caste groups (Figure 2.7).
Odisha 89 11
Further, police personnel from Madhya Pradesh,
Punjab 78 21
Chhattisgarh and Bihar are most likely to report that
Rajasthan 76 24
seniors ask juniors to do household or private/person-
Telangana 92 8 al tasks even though they are not meant to do it (Table
Uttar Pradesh 81 17 2.15). On the other hand, Kerala and Odisha emerge
Uttarakhand 88 9 as better performing States, with more than 90 percent
West Bengal 53 19 of the police personnel denying the occurrence of such
incidents.
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not
answer.
Similarly, on being asked how frequently the senior of-
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement–I am permitted to do only those tasks that are ficers talk to their juniors in a bad or harsh language,
asked by my seniors? about 38 percent (i.e. every two in five officers) report-

56 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 2.14: A quarter of the police personnel feel that ed such incidents occurring frequently. Predictably,
senior officers ask their juniors to do their private- the proportion of constabulary reporting this is about
personal/household jobs
eight percent more than the senior police officers (Ta-
“Senior officers ask their juniors to do their household ble 2.16).
jobs/private-personal jobs even though they are not meant
to do it”
Table 2.16: Two in five police personnel report the use
No Yes of harsh/ bad language by senior officers
Overall 62 27 Frequently Rarely
Men 61 28 Overall 38 58
Women 66 24 Men 38 58
Constabulary 61 28 Women 34 62
Senior State police 68 23 Constabulary 39 57
Civil Police 64 26 Senior State police 31 65
Armed Police 54 30 Civil Police 37 60
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not Armed Police 38 54
answer.
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not
Question asked: “According to you, Do Senior officers ask answer.
their juniors to do their household jobs/ private-personal jobs
even though they are not meant to do it?” Question asked: How often do the seniors talk with their
juniors in a bad language–very often, somewhat often,
Table 2.15: Seniors ask juniors to do household tasks: somewhat rare, rare? Answer categories of very often and
State-wise responses often have been clubbed as ‘frequently’, while answer
categories of ‘somewhat rare’ and ‘rare’ have been clubbed
“Do Senior officers ask their juniors to do their household into ‘rarely’
jobs/ private-personal jobs even though they are not meant
to do it?”
The State-wise trends are similar to the above ques-
States Yes No
tion, with Kerala and Odisha again emerging as States
Kerala 4 93 with least proportion of police personnel responding
Odisha 4 92 that seniors talk in bad/ harsh language frequently,
West Bengal 10 47 while in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh
Telangana 11 83 the highest proportion of personnel reported such in-
Gujarat 15 44 cidents occurring frequently (Table 2.17).
Assam 17 75
However, on being asked to what extent is equal
Punjab 18 71
treatment meted out between senior police personnel
Karnataka 20 68 and junior/subordinate police, every two out of five
Delhi 21 72 police personnel reported that there is completely
Uttarakhand 22 70 equal treatment (Figure 2.8). A smaller proportion of
Andhra Pradesh 23 50 15 percent police personnel reported that there is no
equal treatment at all, while about 41 percent report-
Himachal Pradesh 28 71
ed that there is equal treatment to a limited extent.
Rajasthan 28 67
Unsurprisingly, more constabulary reported that equal
Haryana 31 65 treatment is not meted out to junior and senior State
Nagaland 31 51 police personnel.
Maharashtra 33 53
Jharkhand 39 55 Scheduled tribe and Scheduled caste police personnel
Uttar Pradesh 44 55 are again less likely to respond that there is complete-
ly equal treatment between juniors and seniors, as
Bihar 45 52
compared to police personnel from other caste groups
Chhattisgarh 57 36
(Figure 2.9).
Madhya Pradesh 63 29
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not answer.
Question asked: According to you, Do Senior officers ask their
juniors to do their household jobs/ private-personal jobs even
though they are not meant to do it–Yes or No?

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 57

 About 36 percent of the family members feel
that senior police personnel behave badly
with their subordinate staff and that police
system is more unfair towards those at lower
rank.

Figure 2.8: Two out of five police personnel feel that senior and junior police are given completely equal
treatment

Equal treatment between senior and junior police personnel

All figures are in percentages and rounded off.

Question asked: There are various societal groups in police. According to you, to what extent are the Junior police personnel and
the senior police personnel given equal treatment–completely, somewhat, rarely or not at all? Answer categories of somewhat and
rarely have been clubbed as ‘to a limited extent’.

Figure 2.9: SC, ST police personnel less likely to feel that seniors and juniors are treated equally

Equal treatment between juniors and seniors

All figures are in percentages and rounded off.

Question asked: There are various societal groups in police. According to you, to what extent are the junior police personnel and
the senior police personnel given equal treatment–completely, somewhat, rarely or not at all? Answer categories of somewhat and
rarely have been clubbed as ‘to a limited extent’.

58 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Figure: 2.10: Thirty seven percent police personnel willing to give up their job for another profession

Willing to give up their job for another profession

All figures are in percentages and rounded off.

Question asked: Given a chance, will you be willing to give up this profession and go for another job if the salary and perks
remain the same–Yes or No?

2.8: Give up police profession and go for 2.9: Summing up

another job
Indians value government jobs greatly, so much so that
As evidenced above, a significant proportion of police doctorates are known to apply for the post of peon
personnel hold the opinion that the police system is (The Economic Times, August 2018), presumably be-
hierarchical, with poor treatment being meted out to cause of the stability, power and perks that come with
those at lower ranks, and the problem is further com- a permanent government position, even one that is of
pounded by unfair service conditions such as regular a lower rank. Despite this, if more than a third of the
long hours of work and the absence of weekly rest. police force across the country reports willingness to
Seen in this context, it is not very surprising that on quit the police profession for another job, it is a cause
being asked if, on being given a chance to join anoth- for major concern.
er profession with the same perks and salaries, they
would like to take up another job, a considerable pro- One need not search too far for the reasons behind
portion of 37 percent police personnel replied in the such opinions. Keeping aside the many other reasons
affirmative. In other words, more than one-third of that may be contributing to such a large-scale discon-
the police personnel would be willing to give up their tent, several of the findings of this section on substand-
profession if they are given a chance to join another ard service conditions and the unfair treatment given
job with the same perks and salaries. to junior personnel, who form a majority of the police
force, can be seen as sufficient reasons in themselves.
Senior State police, as compared to constabulary, are
less likely to want to give up their profession and go We began this chapter by quoting the text from the
for another job (Figure 2.10).As the years of expe- Model Police Act–“The state government shall take
rience in service increase, the inclination to give up effective steps to ensure that the average hours of duty
the police profession decreases, but this correlation is of a police officer do not normally exceed eight hours
significant only for constabulary and not senior State a day: provided that in exceptional situations, the duty
police. Put differently, as constables spend more years hours of a police officer may extend up to 12 hours
in service, they are less likely to want to give up their or beyond.” But what we observe is that what ought
profession. to be an exception seems to have become the norm.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 59

Uncompensated and overworked police personnel in Such unjustifiable service conditions are bound to take
India report tackling sub-standard service conditions a toll on both the efficiency of the police personnel in
unequivocally. Interestingly, this does not translate work, as well as in their personal and physical well-be-
into absolute dissatisfaction with their job. ing. Unsurprisingly, therefore, more than three-fourths
of the police reported that it is not only difficult for
The police work on an average for 14 hours in a day. them to do their job well, but that they are also not
Except in Nagaland, no State has been able to prop- able to devote sufficient time to family. A striking 80
erly implement eight-hour work shifts for the police percent of the police personnel felt the workload is
personnel. One in two police personnel also report- affecting their physical and mental health conditions.
ed not getting any weekly off days. A large majority,
80 percent, do not get paid for overtime work, even While service rules are poor across ranks for the per-
though nearly one in two personnel report frequently sonnel at different levels, the adversity in the working
having to work over time. environment for the junior level personnel is further
compounded due to the inherent hierarchical nature
of the police system, which takes shape in the form of
ill-treatment by seniors.
Table 2.17: State-wise data on bad language used by
seniors Three out of four police personnel felt that their work
“How often do seniors talk to their is restricted to only that much work as is allowed by
juniors in a bad language?” seniors, and thus reported the absence of autonomy in
States Frequently Rarely work. Further, 25 percent of the police personnel also
reported that the seniors ask juniors to do their house-
Odisha 7 89
hold or private/personal tasks that they are not sup-
Kerala 12 87
posed to do. About two-fifth of the police personnel
Assam 20 78 reported that seniors frequently talk to their juniors in
Haryana 24 75 a bad (harsh or uncivil) language. States where such
Delhi 25 73 occurrences of mistreatment by seniors were notably
Nagaland 30 67 low are Odisha and Kerala, while Chhattisgarh and
Rajasthan 36 63
MP were among the States in which the highest pro-
portion of such cases was reported. Overall, only two
West Bengal 7 63
Punjab 35 62
Table 2.18: Constabulary police less likely to feel that
Telangana 33 62 seniors and juniors are given equal treatment

Andhra Pradesh 39 60 “To what extent are the junior police person-
nel and senior police personnel given equal
Jharkhand 39 58 treatment?”
Karnataka 41 57 Completely To a No equal
No
equal limited treatment
Uttarakhand 43 55 response
treatment extent at all
Maharashtra 47 50 Overall 40 41 15 4
Bihar 54 45 Constabu-
39 42 15 4
Himachal Pradesh 55 45 lary
Uttar Pradesh 56 43 State sen-
43 36 16 4
ior police
Chhattisgarh 63 34
Civil
Gujarat 56 33 40 41 16 3
police
Madhya Pradesh 67 30
Armed
40 41 13 6
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest did not police
answer.
All figures are in percentages and rounded off.
Question asked: How often do the seniors talk with their
Question asked: There are various societal groups in police.
juniors in a bad language–very often, somewhat often,
According to you, to what extent are the Junior police
somewhat rare, rare?
personnel and the senior police personnel given equal
Answer categories of ‘very often’ and ‘often’ have been treatment–completely, somewhat, rarely or not at all? Answer
clubbed as ‘frequently’, while answer categories of ‘somewhat categories of somewhat and rarely have been clubbed as ‘to a
rare’ and ‘rare’ have been clubbed into ‘rarely’. limited extent’.

60 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

fifth of the police personnel reported that there is com- pirical investigation among police personnel in India’. Psy-
pletely equal treatment between juniors and seniors. chological Studies, Vol. 62(1), pp.85-97.
The proportion of SC and ST police personnel who Lambert, E.G., Qureshi, H., Frank, J., Keena, L.D. and Ho-
report unfair treatment towards those at subordinate gan, N.L., 2017. ‘The relationship of work-family conflict
ranks is higher, thereby indicating that this problem is with job stress among Indian police officers: a research note’
further compounded across caste lines. Police Practice and Research, 18(1), pp.37-48.

Mathur, P. 1995 ‘Perceptions of police stress: An empirical

This chapter confirms our fears that the Indian po- study of stressors and coping response among police person-
lice force is over-worked, stressed and stretched, aside nel in India’ Indian J Criminal Vol. 23 pp. 9-19.
from being deeply hierarchical in nature. This should
Mohanraj, C. and Natesan, M., 2015. ‘Stress and Job Satis-
be a cause for grave concern, not just keeping in mind faction: An Empirical Study Among the Women Police Con-
the welfare of the police personnel themselves, but stables in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu’ International Journal of
for the greater good of the society whom they serve. Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS), Vol.
Numerous international studies have established that 2(5), pp.153-157.
sleep deprivation, a common consequence of long duty
‘National Institute of Justice 2009 ‘Impact of sleep depriva-
hours, is comparable to excessive drinking (Interna- tion on police performance’
tional Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data
Mining, 2016), adversely impacting their coordina- Parsekar SS, Singh MM, Bhumika TV (2015) ‘Occupa-
tion-related psychological distress among police constables
tion and mental judgement. There is also research that
of Udupitaluk, Karnataka: a cross-sectional study’. Indian
shows positive correlation between stress amongst po-
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Vol.
lice personnel and the propensity to resort to violence 19(2) pp. 80–83.
(National Institute of Justice, 2009).
Rani, R., Garg, P. and Rastogi, R., 2018. ‘Organizational
justice and psychological wellbeing of police employees: A
Thus, an improved working environment for the po-
relationship study’. IJAME.
lice personnel is the need of the day not just for the
sake of the personnel themselves, but also for ensur- Ranta R.S., 2009, “Management of Stress and Coping Be-
ing an efficient, people-centric police service. In the havior of Police Personnel through Indian Psychological
next chapter, we turn towards the basic infrastructure, Techniques, Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psy-
chology, January 2009, Vol. 35, No.1, 47-53.
technology and training available to the police person-
nel to discharge their duties. Singh, A.P., 2017. Coping with work stress in police em-
ployees. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 32(3),
pp.225-235.

Singh, Shweta, and Sujita Kumar 2015 ‘Sources of occu-

References: pational stress in the police personnel of North India: An
exploratory study.’ Indian Journal of Occupational and En-
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Avinash Kumar 2018, ‘175 cops dismissed for violence in
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Times, 05 November Available at <https://www.hindustan- ment of Manpower for 8-Hour Shifts in Police Stations’,
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hAiaxPOx1gUJI4H.html [Last Accessed on 16 June 2019].
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Constable Ravindra Patil 2016 ‘8 Hours dream of police’ Karnataka Police constables protest with mass leave appli-
2016–, Internal report for Mumbai Police. cations’, 25 May Available at <https://www.thenewsminute.
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ing-3700-phd-holders-apply-for-peon-job-in-up/article- ing Cops as Servants’, 02 June, Available at <https://www.
show/65604396.cms> [Accessed 18 July 2019] thequint.com/news/india/karnataka-ips-officer-removed-
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‘International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and
Data Mining 2016 ‘Identifying Police officers at risk’ Tyagi, A. and LochanDhar, R., 2014. ‘Factors affecting
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Management,’ Vol. 37(3), pp.649-664.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 61

 Policing Without
3
Resources

Navi Mumbai, India – July 8, 2019: Waterlogging at Turbhe police station in Navi Mumbai.
(Credits: Bachchan Kumar, Hindustan Times)

62 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

T
his chapter looks at the resources available to police personnel
for conducting their duties. Responses of personnel pertaining to
the availability of basic infrastructure, such as the availability of
drinking water, clean toilets, seating area for public, etc. are analysed.
Further, we look at whether technological infrastructure such as a func-
tional computer and CCTNS software have been made available to the
personnel. This is followed by an analysis of the level of training imparted
to the personnel, a prerequisite for the optimal use of newer technologies.
Following are the key findings of the chapter:
• Twelve percent personnel reported that there is no provision for
drinking water in their police stations, 18 percent said there are no
clean toilets, and 14 percent said there is no provision for seating area
for the public
• Forty-six percent personnel have frequently experienced situations
where they needed a government vehicle but it was not available. Fur-
ther, 41 percent personnel have frequently been in situations where
they could not reach a crime scene on time because of lack of staff.
• The extent of availability of digital and technological infrastructure
is also poor. Eight percent personnel said that functional computers
are never available at their police stations, 17 percent said that the
CCTNS facility is never available and 42 percent said that forensic
technology is never available at the police station
• Thirty-one percent respondents from West Bengal and 28 percent
respondents from Assam said that a functional computer was never
available at their police station/work place. This is despite the fact
that as per official data released by NCRB, Assam scores high on level
of compliance to CCTNS infrastructure.
• Almost one in three civil police personnel never received training on
forensic technology

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 63

 3
Policing Without Resources

A
dequate and functional infrastructure is the The Status of Policing in India Report 2018 (2018,
backbone of an efficient policing system. A Chapter 7) analysed the evaluation of the MPF scheme
fully equipped police station and skilled staff in 16 States by the Comptroller and Auditor General
in adequate numbers are a pre-requisite for the police (CAG), which brought to light egregious shortcom-
to be able to perform its duty. Drinking water, clean ings like under-utilisation of funds, shortage of vehi-
toilets, storage facilities—these are the bare minimum cles, buildings and housing, non-functional telecom
facilities that are indispensable at any public office. network, and a serious lack of training of police per-
Aside from these basic requirements, there is also an sonnels. An external evaluation of the MPF scheme
urgent need to modernise and digitise our policing. Cy- commissioned by the BPRD (2010) pointed out that
bercrime is a real and growing threat, rendering it ab- the scheme should be continued for at least another
solutely necessary for the police to keep itself updated 10 years so that the Indian police force is comparable
with the latest technology. The Central government’s to its counterparts from developed countries by 2020.
campaign of ‘Digital India’ would ring hollow if the Among the various other recommendations, it sug-
police are not equipped with computers and necessary gested that there should be periodic assessment of the
software, along with skilled staff who are trained in implementation of the scheme. In tune with this rec-
operating these tools. ommendation, this chapter reports on the adequacies
and the lack through the responses of police person-
This chapter surveys the extent to which the States nel themselves. Significantly we assess this in the year
have been able to meet these infrastructural require- 2019, one year before the mandated target of 10 years
ments of policing. In the survey, the police personnel set by the 2010 study.
were asked questions regarding the availability and
access to basic physical, technological and human in- Over the last few years, the central government has
frastructure, as well as about the training imparted to typically allotted about three percent of the total
them on the various aspects of policing. Responses to police budget towards the Modernisation of Police
these questions are analysed and presented here. scheme. Yet, as reported by us previously, utilisation
of funds under this scheme remains abysmally poor
One of the primary functions of the police is to uphold across States (SPIR 2018). To promote increased utili-
and enforce the law impartially, and to protect life, lib- sation, the central government in May 2019 provided
erty, property, human rights, and dignity of the mem- financial incentives to the 10 better1 performing States
bers of the public, as per the Model Police Act 2006. – Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Telangana, Tamil
Other functions such as maintaining public order, reg- Nadu, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttara-
istering and investigating crime, collecting intelligence khand and Uttar Pradesh.
etc. complement this primary function. A necessary
prerequisite to fulfil these responsibilities is the access
to basic infrastructure, training and technology. Al- 1 “According to home ministry officials, fulfilling vacant post, use
though police is a state subject, the ‘Modernization of of emerging mobile and IT applications, GIS-based computer-aided
dispatch, online complaints system and electronic record, procurement
Police Force’ (MPF) scheme was initiated by the cen-
of modern weapons, equipment, vehicles, CCTV surveillance, data
tral government in 1969–70 to aid the States in the centres, command and control centres and welfare measures such as
construction of training centres, provision of modern provision of housing and medical facilities for police personnel and
rest-room facilities for women personnel in police stations were the
weaponry, communication equipment, forensic set-up criterion to identify ‘better’ performing states.” —The Hindu, 6 May
etc. 2019

64 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

On an average, the State governments allot three per- assigned to them. Anecdotes from the police suggest
cent of their overall budgets to the police sector. How- that basic provisions for carrying out police duties
ever, a major share is consumed by fixed expenditure are often not available, such as fuel for the vehicle, or
like salaries, while a miniscule portion goes for im- funds for cremating unclaimed dead bodies. The sur-
proving capital expenditure on training infrastructure, vey findings confirm these insufficiencies, with a size-
etc. It is well established globally that a framework able proportion of police personnel reporting experi-
of physical, human and technical infrastructure, along ences of not being able to carry out tasks properly due
with a skilled and motivated manpower, is a prereq- to the absence of facilities such as vehicles, stationery,
uisite for effective and humane policing. This chapter human resources, etc.
deals with these facilities, basic infrastructure, and the
levels of technology and training provided, as reported On doing a State-wise analysis, we find that West Ben-
by the police personnel themselves. gal, Gujarat and Punjab are the top three performing
States, while Odisha, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan are
3.1: Basic Infrastructure at the work-place
The study finds that even the basic facilities of clean Figure 3.1: One in ten police stations/units do not
toilets and drinking water are lacking in a large num- have drinking water facilities and one in five have no
ber of police units or stations2. About 18 percent of access to clean toilets
the police personnel reported that there are no clean
toilets at their workplace/station (Figure 3.1). More
than 10 percent of the police personnel reported that
there is no facility of drinking water available at their
workplace/station. Basic infrastructure for the public
is also lacking in a large number of police stations,
with about 14 percent of the police personnel report-
ing that there is no sitting area for public at their
workplace and 23 percent saying that there is no pro-
vision of food for the accused kept in police custody
(Figure 3.2).

As shown in Table 3.1, across all these four parame- All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the
ters on basic infrastructure, Bihar emerges as the most respondents did not answer.
ill-equipped State. While Nagaland performs extreme- Question asked: Are the following facilities available at your
ly poorly in providing the facility of drinking water; workplace/station?
six States – Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh,
Punjab, Telangana and Uttarakhand are around or Figure 3.2: Seating area for public and food for
below 70 percent mark on the facility for clean and suspects in police custody
functional toilets, which is below the overall average
of 81 percent. West Bengal, Odisha, Rajasthan, Delhi
and Karnataka are States which have relatively better
facilities across all four parameters.

3.2: Basic infrastructure for performing

police functions
Aside from the basic facilities such as clean toilets and
drinking water, necessary for both the police person-
nel posted at the units as well as the public, the police
also requires infrastructure for carrying out the tasks

2 It is likely that multiple police personnel from a same station/

workplace might have been reported. Hence this is not a definitive All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the
number of the stations that do not have the facility of separate respondents did not answer.
washrooms or committee against sexual harassment, but merely an
Question asked: Are the following facilities available at your
indicative number of the police personnel who have reported lack of
workplace/station?
availability of given facilities at their workplace.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 65

Table 3.1: State-wise access to basic infrastructure in police stations/units

Percentage of police personnel who reported that the following facilities are available at their police stations/workplace
Food for suspects in Sitting area for
 States Drinking water Clean toilets
police custody public
Overall 87 81 71 85
Andhra Pradesh 91 87 70 83
Assam 82 66 41 84
Bihar 67 54 67 57
Chhattisgarh 80 68 40 74
Delhi 95 88 89 96
Gujarat 93 96 77 96
Haryana 93 82 82 91
Himachal Pradesh 81 72 69 67
Jharkhand 88 95 73 83
Karnataka 91 95 86 91
Kerala 84 87 60 95
Madhya Pradesh 96 96 76 82
Maharashtra 88 84 74 88
Nagaland 59 83 37 82
Odisha 95 93 91 91
Punjab 91 71 80 82
Rajasthan 94 92 90 88
Telangana 95 63 72 91
Uttar Pradesh 88 79 63 83
Uttarakhand 84 67 75 82
West Bengal 96 97 87 97
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off.
Question asked: Are the following facilities available at your workplace/station?

Table 3.2: State-wise score on police infrastructure

Human resource– Human resource–

 States Mobility Score Stationary Score  Final Score
related Score 1 related Score 2
West Bengal 3.44 4.71 6.88 7.51 22.54
Gujarat 8.44 9.01 7.88 4.62 29.95
Punjab 8.25 9.39 6.71 6.67 31.02
Haryana 6.73 14.15 7.8 3.98 32.66
Nagaland 9.74 11.04 7.08 6.11 33.97
Telangana 12.87 4.54 12.01 8.8 38.22
Kerala 11.54 16.07 7.09 3.56 38.26
Andhra Pradesh 10.82 9.3 10.43 8.04 38.59
Delhi 10.25 15.5 10.46 6.86 43.07
Karnataka 10.67 9.46 12.13 12.29 44.55
Maharashtra 10.16 17.94 10.74 6.65 45.49
Madhya Pradesh 11.72 12.77 12.97 10.3 47.76
Jharkhand 13.45 14.67 13.42 11.51 53.05
Bihar 14.78 17.14 11.83 9.77 53.52

66 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Assam 16 16.06 12.87 9.24 54.17
Himachal Pradesh 19.55 19.79 11.95 4.06 55.35
Uttar Pradesh 16.75 20.76 12.63 7.93 58.07
Chhattisgarh 16.06 17.25 15.98 10.67 59.96
Odisha 18.67 20.33 14.68 7.68 61.36
Uttarakhand 18.32 19.75 14.5 10.43 63
Rajasthan 19.88 24.65 21.93 18.48 84.94
Note: The State rankings have been drawn using the battery of below mentioned question.
Question asked: Considering the past 2–3 years of your work experience,
How often have you needed a vehicle but the government vehicle/fuel was unavailable - many times, few times, rarely or never?
How often have you needed a vehicle but the government vehicle/fuel was unavailable?
How often have you been unable to reach the crime scene on time because of shortage of staff at the police station?
How often have you unable to escort an accused to the court because of shortage of staff at the police station many times, few times,
rarely or never?
The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking analysis and the percentages for other response options were then re-drawn
accordingly. ‘Many times’ answer was weighted as 0.3, ‘few times’ answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘rarely’ answer was weighted as 0.1 and
‘never’ was weighted as 0. A higher summated score–of a maximum score of 30 for an individual infrastructural item and a maximum
score of 120 for overall infrastructure indicates a more negative assessment.

Table 3.3: Mobility issues for Civil Police

 States Many times (%) Few times (%) Rarely (%) Never (%) Score
Overall 20 26 20 33 —
West Bengal 2 5 13 66 3.44
Haryana 10 13 10 66 6.73
Punjab 8 11 33 43 8.25
Gujarat 9 12 31 44 8.44
Nagaland 10 15 27 37 9.74
Maharashtra 10 24 19 42 10.16
Delhi 13 20 23 40 10.25
Karnataka 11 29 11 49 10.67
Andhra Pradesh 11 28 19 41 10.82
Kerala 14 24 18 38 11.54
Madhya Pradesh 21 17 20 42 11.72
Telangana 16 29. 21 32 12.87
Jharkhand 9 42 22 25 13.45
Bihar 12 41 30 17 14.78
Assam 12 48 27 12 16
Chhattisgarh 25 28 23 20 16.06
Uttar Pradesh 35 19 14 26 16.75
Uttarakhand 35 30 13 19 18.32
Odisha 38 29 16 17 18.67
Himachal Pradesh 47 1 12 20 19.55
Rajasthan 37 37 14 26 19.88
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Note: The State rankings for the question- Considering the past 2–3 years of your work experience, How often have you needed a
vehicle but the government vehicle/fuel was unavailable - many times, few times, rarely or never?--are based on summated scores that
were arrived at after weighting each response option. The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking analysis and the
percentages for other response options were then re-drawn accordingly. ‘Many times’ answer was weighted as 0.3, ‘few times’ answer
was weighted as 0.2, ‘rarely’ answer was weighted as 0.1 and ‘never’ was weighted as 0. A higher summated score (out of a maximum
score of 30) here indicates a more negative assessment.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 67

Figure 3.3: Lack of resources

How many times have you been in a situation like...

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer
Question asked: Considering the past 2–3 years of your work experience, how often have you: 1. Needed a vehicle, but the
government vehicle was not available? 2. Had to spend money from your pocket for expenses such as stationary, carbon paper etc. 3.
Been unable to reach the crime scene on time because of shortage of staff at the police station. 4. Been unable to escort an accused to
the court because of shortage of staff at the police station many times, few times, rarely or never? Answer categories of many times and
few times have been clubbed as ‘frequently; and responses of rarely or never have been clubbed as rarely.

Table 3.4: Stationary expenses for civil police

 States Many times (%) Few times (%) Rarely (%) Never (%) Score
Overall 28 25 17 30 —
Telangana 3 10 17 68 4.54
West Bengal 1 5 28 52 4.71
Gujarat 13 13 24 48 9.01
Andhra Pradesh 7 24 25 44 9.3
Punjab 12 12 30 42 9.39
Karnataka 13 19 17 51 9.46
Nagaland 16 17 20 39 11.04
Madhya Pradesh 11 33 28 28 12.77
Haryana 29 18 17 35 14.15
Jharkhand 18 32 27 22 14.67
Delhi 32 18 18 30 15.5
Assam 13 45 28 12 16.06
Kerala 26 29 16 24 16.07
Bihar 31 29 19 20 17.14
Chhattisgarh 38 18 10 27 17.25
Maharashtra 29 37 15 17 17.94
Uttarakhand 42 29 11 17 19.75
Himachal Pradesh 49 22. 6 23 19.79
Odisha 49 25 5 20 20.33
Uttar Pradesh 47 24 6 17 20.76
Rajasthan 63 27 5 6 24.65
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Note: The State rankings for the question- Considering the past 2–3 years of your work experience, How often have you spend money
from your pocket for expenses such as stationary, carbon paper etc. - many times, few times, rarely or never? — are based on summated
scores that were arrived at after weighting each response option. The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking analysis
and the percentages for other response options were then re-drawn accordingly. ‘Many times’ answer was weighted as 0.3, ‘few times’
answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘rarely’ answer was weighted as 0.1 and ‘never’ was weighted as 0. A higher summated score (out of a
maximum score of 30) here indicates a more negative assessment.

68 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

the bottom three performing States on the issues that When we look at the availability of government ve-
police personnel suffer due to lack of infrastructure hicles for the civil police (Table 3.3), about one-fifth
for performing police functions. of the civil police personnel reported that in the past
2–3 years of their work experience, they have ‘many
The availability of basic resources for performing the times’ been in a situation where they needed a vehicle,
policing duties is much worse, with roughly half of but the government vehicle (or fuel) was not available.
the civil police personnel reporting that they have fre-
quently been in situations when they needed a govern- About 28 percent of the civil police personnel report-
ment vehicle, but the vehicle/fuel was not available or ing that in the past 2–3 years of their work experience,
in situations when they had to spend on expenses such they had to many times spend on things like the sta-
as stationery, carbon paper, etc. from their own pock- tionery, carbon paper, etc. from their own pocket (Ta-
ets. About four in 10 civil police personnel admitted ble 3.4). Similarly, about 15 percent of the civil police
that they have frequently been in situations when they reported that they have many times been in situations
could not reach a crime scene on time because of lack when they could not reach the crime scene on time be-
of staff at the workplace. These figures are alarming, cause of lack of staff at the police station (Table 3.5a).
and call into question the capacity of the police force
to carry out even the most mundane tasks. Ten percent police personnel reported having many
times been in a situation where they could not escort

Table 3.5a: Police unable to reach crime scene on time because of lack of Human Resources

 States Many times (%) Few times (%) Rarely (%) Never (%) Score
Overall 15 26 25 35 —
Punjab 4 8 35 48 6.71
West Bengal 1 14 29 42 6.88
Nagaland 5 15 18 50 7.08
Kerala 6 15 18 53 7.09
Haryana 7 14 27 51 7.8
Gujarat 8 17 18 53 7.88
Andhra Pradesh 5 26 37 31 10.43
Delhi 10 21 28 37 10.46
Maharashtra 13 21 24 39 10.74
Bihar 10 27 33 29 11.83
Himachal Pradesh 15 25 21 36 11.95
Telangana 17 23 20 38 12.01
Karnataka 14 26 28 32 12.13
Uttar Pradesh 19 23 15 36 12.63
Assam 7 38 38 19 12.87
Madhya Pradesh 18 22 30 29 12.97
Jharkhand 11 38 20 27 13.42
Uttarakhand 17 36 19 26 14.5
Odisha 16 40 19 25 14.68
Chhattisgarh 20 35 21 19 15.98
Rajasthan 47 33 12 8 21.93
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Note: The State rankings for the question- Considering the past 2–3 years of your work experience, How often have you been unable to
reach the crime scene on time because of shortage of staff at the police station - many times, few times, rarely or never?--are based on
summated scores that were arrived at after weighting each response option. The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking
analysis and the percentages for other response options were then re-drawn accordingly. ‘Many times’ answer was weighted as 0.3, ‘few
times’ answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘rarely’ answer was weighted as 0.1 and ‘never’ was weighted as 0. A higher summated score (out of a
maximum score of 30) here indicates a more negative assessment.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 69

an accused to the court because of lack of staff at the tiveness of policing through adopting of principle of
police station (Table 3.5b). e-Governance”.

On the issue of basic infrastructure, Bihar and Na- More recently, in 2015, the government launched the
galand perform poorly on all the parameters whereas ‘Digital India’ campaign to ensure that all government
West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Delhi are the best per- services are made available electronically by improved
forming States. When it comes to infrastructure relat- online infrastructure including digitised government
ed to policing, Rajasthan is the worst performing State data and records could be digitised. Despite such am-
followed by Odisha and Uttarakhand. On the other bitious initiatives, digitisation remains a pipe dream,
hand, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Punjab are the top with a considerable proportion of police personnel
three performing States on policing related infrastruc- reporting the absence of basic technological facilities
ture. such as computers, CCTNS and forensics technology.

3.3: Technology at the work-place/station As shown in Table 3.6, only 68 percent of the civil
police personnel reported that they always had access
In the year 2009, the then government launched
to a functional computer at their workplace. Roughly
a Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System
the same proportion reported having access to storage
(CCTNS) for “creating a comprehensive and inte-
facility for documents at their workplace. A little above
grated system for enhancing the efficiency and effec-
half of the civil police personnel reported having access

Table 3.5b: Police unable to escort accused to court because of lack of Human Resources

 States Many times (%) Few times (%) Rarely (%) Never (%) Score
Overall 10 18 21 52 –
Kerala 1 7 15 67 3.56
Haryana 3 7 17 71 3.98
Himachal Pradesh 3 8 15 72 4.06
Gujarat 3 10 17 67 4.62
Nagaland 4 12 16 52 6.11
Maharashtra 5 16 17 57 6.65
Punjab 5 8 35 48 6.67
Delhi 5 13 25 53 6.86
West Bengal 1 23 17 45 7.51
Odisha 7 23 9 61 7.68
Uttar Pradesh 13 9 14 54 7.93
Andhra Pradesh 3 18 33 44 8.04
Telangana 12 18 15 53 8.8
Assam 5 23 29 41 9.24
Bihar 12 15 29 41 9.77
Madhya Pradesh 9 26 23 40 10.3
Uttarakhand 12 22 15 45 10.43
Chhattisgarh 15 20 14 43 10.67
Jharkhand 10 26 27 32 11.51
Karnataka 13 25 32 29 12.29
Rajasthan 40 28 8 24 18.48
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Note: The State rankings for the question - Considering the past 2–3 years of your work experience, How often have you unable to
escort an accused to the court because of shortage of staff at the police station - many times, few times, rarely or never?--are based on
summated scores that were arrived at after weighting each response option. The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking
analysis and the percentages for other response options were then re-drawn accordingly. ‘Many times’ answer was weighted as 0.3, ‘few
times’ answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘rarely’ answer was weighted as 0.1 and ‘never’ was weighted as 0. A higher summated score (out of a
maximum score of 30) here indicates a more negative assessment.

70 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 3.6: Basic technology at the work-place/station

Facilities available at the

Always Sometimes Never No response
station
Functional computer 68 22 8 2
Functional CCTNS software 55 23 17 5
Forensic technology 27 20 42 9
Storage Facility for docu-
67 20 11 2
ments
All figures are in percentages. Figures are rounded off and might not add up to 100.
Question asked: How many times are the ________ facilities provided at your police station or jurisdiction–always, sometimes or never?

to the functional CCTNS software at their workplace, On doing a comparative study of the States for tech-
however as per the data released by Ministry of Home nology available to police at their workplace/station,
Affairs (January 2019), about 14,724 police stations we find that Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana
out of 15,705 police stations (About 94 percent police are the best performing States, while Bihar, West Ben-
stations) in the country are entering all (100%) FIRs gal and Assam are the bottom three performing States
on the CCTNS software. Just a little above one- on the lack of police infrastructure (Table 3.7).
fourth of the civil police3 personnel in our survey
reported having access to forensic technology at their On the availability of the functional computer at the
workspace. workplace/station find that Madhya Pradesh, Telanga-
na and Haryana are the top three performing States,
Across all the four parameters on basic storage and whereas Rajasthan, West Bengal and Assam are the
technology, police report having a better access to a bottom three performing States (Table 3.8).
functional computer and storage facility for docu-
ments, followed by access to functional CCTNS soft- On the availability of the functional CCTNS at work-
ware. However, the facility of forensic technology at place, we find that Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Pun-
the police station is the poorest, with just about one- jab are the top three performing States, while Bihar,
fourth (27%) respondents always having access to it West Bengal and Assam are the poor performing
(Table 3.6). Conversely, when we look at the complete States (Table 3.9).
absence of these facilities, the picture becomes more
glaring. As many as 42 percent of the police personnel On the availability of forensic technology at the work-
reported never having the forensic technology facility place for civil police, we find that Punjab, Odisha and
at the police station. In 8 percent of the cases function- Haryana are the top three performing States, whereas
al computer was not available, and 11 percent person- Assam, Bihar and Nagaland are at the bottom of this
nel reported that storage facilities for documents were list (Table 3.10).
not available.
Cybercrime is a growing threat, globally and in India,
While these numbers may appear small, on the first rendering it crucial for the police systems to incorpo-
glance, it should be taken as a sign of serious infra- rate mechanisms for countering it. According to a re-
structural deficiency considering the importance of cent study, cybercrime in India has surged by 457 per-
these elementary things and facilities in discharging cent over the last five years. Yet, our survey suggests
their everyday functions and duties. that more than one in five police personnel frequently
face the lack of technology or experts to investigate
The numbers here need to be read with caution and cybercrimes (Table 3.11).
should be taken only as indicative since it is likely that
responses of multiple police personnel from the same 3.4: Training Provided to Police Personnel
station/workplace may have been reported (Table 3.6).
Training is indisputably one of the most critical com-
ponents for ensuring an efficient, effective and peo-
3 Please note that this percentage is out of the total civil police of the ple-friendly force.
total surveyed police, as most of these technological requirements are
primarily a necessity for civil police to perform their responsibilities.
Civil police constitutes 80 percent of our surveyed sample (N= 9205) The survey suggests that police are sufficiently trained

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 71

Table 3.7: State-wise score on availability of basic technology at the work-place/station

Overall
States Computer score CCTNS score Forensic score
score
Punjab 18.13 17.36 15.6 51.09
Madhya Pradesh 18.69 16.93 12.06 47.68
Haryana 18.44 15.65 13.41 47.5
Maharashtra 17.19 15.75 10.97 43.91
Kerala 16.55 15.52 11.65 43.72
Delhi 17.63 16.85 9.15 43.63
Odisha 14.06 14.52 14.22 42.8
Chhattisgarh 18.18 17.78 6.28 42.24
Himachal Pradesh 17.97 17.02 4.64 39.63
Telangana 18.49 17.34 3.6 39.43
Uttar Pradesh 16.15 15.53 6.08 37.76
Nagaland 16.5 14.54 4.76 35.8
Andhra Pradesh 14.98 12.93 7.61 35.52
Uttarakhand 14.97 13.76 6.19 34.92
Gujarat 17.22 10.55 6.91 34.68
Karnataka 15.12 10.12 8.98 34.22
Rajasthan 12.74 11.42 9.41 33.57
Jharkhand 14.84 12.42 5.81 33.07
Bihar 14.37 8.57 2.89 25.83
West Bengal 8.83 8.24 5.87 22.94
Assam 11.91 2.68 1.08 15.67
Note: The State rankings have been drawn using the battery of below mentioned question.
Question asked:
a. How many times are the functional computer facilities provided at your police station or jurisdiction–always, sometimes or never?
b. How many times are the storage unit for documents facilities provided at your police station or jurisdiction–always, sometimes or c.
never?
c. How many times are the functional CCTNS software facilities provided at your police station or jurisdiction–always, sometimes or
never?
- Always, sometimes or never?
The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking analysis and the percentages for other response options were then re-drawn
accordingly. ‘Always’ answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘some times’ answer was weighted as 0.1, ‘rarely’ answer was weighted as 0.1 and
‘never’ was weighted as 0. A higher summated score–of a maximum score of 20 for an individual item and a maximum score of 60 for
overall infrastructure indicates a more positive assessment.

Table 3.8: State-wise ranking on availability of functional computer at workplace for civil police

 States Always (%) Sometimes (%) Never (%) Total Score

Madhya Pradesh 88 11 1 18.69
Telangana 87 10 3 18.49
Haryana 87 10 3 18.44
Himachal Pradesh 84 11 5 17.97
Chhattisgarh 83 14 2 18.18
Punjab 81 13 2 18.13
Delhi 81 11 6 17.63
Gujarat 82 8 10 17.22
Maharashtra 77 17 6 17.19
Kerala 66 24 4 16.55

72 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Nagaland 66 21 6 16.5
Uttar Pradesh 69 22 8 16.15
Karnataka 56 40 4 15.12
Andhra Pradesh 55 38 6 14.98
Uttarakhand 57 34 8 14.97
Jharkhand 56 35 8 14.84
Odisha 64 13 23 14.06
Bihar 56 26 14 14.37
Rajasthan 38 51 11 12.74
Assam 47 25 28 11.91
West Bengal 20 40 31 8.83
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Note: The State rankings for the question- How many times are the facilities of fully functional computer provided at your police station
or jurisdiction–always, sometimes or never? are based on summated scores that were arrived at after weighting each response option.
The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking analysis and the percentages for other response options were then re-drawn
accordingly. ‘Always’ answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘sometimes’ answer was weighted as 0.1, ‘never’ answer was weighted as 0. A higher
summated score (out of a maximum score of 20) here indicates a more positive assessment.

Table 3.9: State-wise ranking on availability of functional CCTNS at workplace for civil police

 States Always (%) Sometimes (%) Never (%) Total Score

Chhattisgarh 80 11 5 17.78
Telangana 79 13 7 17.34
Punjab 73 21 2 17.36
Himachal Pradesh 79 9 10 17.02
Madhya Pradesh 74 19 6 16.93
Delhi 73 16 7 16.85
Maharashtra 66 19 12 15.75
Haryana 66 23 10 15.65
Uttar Pradesh 67 19 11 15.53
Kerala 55 28 6 15.52
Nagaland* 44 17 11 14.54
Odisha 67 10 22 14.52
Uttarakhand 50 34 13 13.76
Andhra Pradesh 43 40 14 12.93
Jharkhand 37 45 14 12.42
Rajasthan 32 50 18 11.42
Karnataka 21 58 20 10.12
Gujarat 41 12 36 10.55
Bihar 35 7 48 8.57
West Bengal* 25 17 39 8.24
Assam 6 14 77 2.68
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Note: The State rankings for the question- How many times are the facilities of fully functional CCTNS provided at your police station
or jurisdiction–always, sometimes or never?-- are based on summated scores that were arrived at after weighing each response option.
The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking analysis and the percentages for other response options were then re-drawn
accordingly. ‘Always’ answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘sometimes’ answer was weighted as 0.1, ‘never’ answer was weighted as 0. A higher
summated score (out of a maximum score of 20) here indicates a more positive assessment.
*24 percent of the civil police personnel in West Bengal and 28 percent of the civil police in Nagaland did not respond to this question.
Hence, N =189 for Nagaland and N=114 for West Bengal.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 73

Table 3.10: State-wise ranking on availability of forensic technology at workplace for civil police

 States Always Sometimes Never Score

Punjab 59 30 6 15.6
Odisha 65 13 22 14.22
Haryana 54 18 22 13.41
Madhya Pradesh 46 24 26 12.06
Kerala 38 17 25 11.65
Maharashtra 38 24 29 10.97
Rajasthan 26 39 32 9.41
Delhi 33 20 41 9.15
Karnataka 17 54 27 8.98
Andhra Pradesh 19 36 42 7.61
Gujarat 26 10 54 6.91
Chhattisgarh 25 9 60 6.28
Uttarakhand 18 16 51 6.19
Uttar Pradesh 22 12 59 6.08
West Bengal 7 36 41 5.87
Jharkhand 13 21 48 5.81
Nagaland* 7 13 36 4.76
Himachal Pradesh 16 14 68 4.64
Telangana 12 9 68 3.6
Bihar 10 4 70 2.89
Assam 1 8 88 1.08
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Note: The State rankings for the question- How many times are the facilities of fully functional CCTNS provided at your police station
or jurisdiction–always, sometimes or never? — are based on summated scores that were arrived at after weighting each response option.
The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking analysis and the percentages for other response options were then re-drawn
accordingly. ‘Always’ answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘sometimes’ answer was weighted as 0.1, ‘never’ answer was weighted as 0. A higher
summated score (out of a maximum score of 20) here indicates a more positive assessment.
*45 percent of the civil police in Nagaland did not respond to this question. Hence, N = 145 for Nagaland.

Figure 3.4: Physical, weaponry and crowd-control training of Civil Police Personnel

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: When was the last time you received training about ___________________– in the past 2–3 years, before that, at the time
of joining or never? Answer categories of the police who reported that they received their last training in the past 2–3 years, before that
or at the time of joining have been clubbed together into ‘yes’, and those who reported ‘never’ have been clubbed as ‘no’.

74 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 3.11: Lack of technology/experts to investigate cybercrimes

 States Many times (%) Sometimes (%) Rarely (%) Never (%) Score
Overall 22 22 20 36 —
Haryana 5 6 15 71 4.26
Punjab 3 5 30 51 4.91
Gujarat 7 14 26 48 7.57
Assam 4 24 28 40 8.8
Telangana 16 12 13 50 8.5
Maharashtra 8 20 23 41 8.81
Delhi 16 12 34 26 10.6
West Bengal 5 25 21 31 8.75
Karnataka 14 26 26 34 11.91
Kerala 17 20 10 37 10.07
Odisha 19 26 12 40 11.98
Madhya Pradesh 19 25 23 29 13.12
Himachal Pradesh 32 16 12 35 14.04
Andhra Pradesh 12 42 24 19 14.34
Uttar Pradesh 30 14 12 28 12.85
Jharkhand 22 30 21 21 14.55
Nagaland 29 8 8 25 11.04
Uttarakhand 28 31 12 22 16
Chhattisgarh 40 11 9 22 15.1
Bihar 43 11 26 14 17.51
Rajasthan 47 32 13 9 21.55
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Note: The State rankings for the question–considering the past 2–3 years of your work experience, How often have you not been able
to investigate cybercrime because of lack of technology/experts?–are based on summated scores that were arrived at after weighting
each response option. ‘Many times’ answer was weighted as 0.3, ‘sometimes’ answer was weighted as 0.2, ‘rarely’ answer was weighted
as 0.1 and ‘never’ was weighted as 0. The category of ‘no response’ was excluded from the ranking analysis and the percentages for
other response options were then re-drawn accordingly. A higher summated score (out of a maximum score of 30) here indicates a more
negative assessment.

on physical parameters, weaponry and in crowd con- the time of joining the police service (Table 3.12), sug-
trol. Only two percent of the police personnel report- gesting that in-service training is taking place rarely.
ed that they never received any physical training or
training on weaponry, while about four percent of the A different picture, from the one presented on the ba-
police personnel reported that they never received any sis of training received in, emerges when it comes to
training on crowd control (Figure 3.4). These numbers training on modules of new technology, cybercrime
are roughly the same for both civil and armed police. or forensic technology (Figure 3.5). About 85 percent
There is also no major difference between the propor- of the civil police reported that they received training
tion of constabulary force and the State senior police on new technology. However, a little less than three-
who were trained on these modules. fourth of the civil police reported that they received
any training on cybercrime and just about two-third
On an average, more than half of the police personnel of the civil police personnel reported that received any
in our sample have more than 10 years of experience. training on forensic technology. As compared to civil
Although almost every police personnel reported hav- senior State police, a higher proportion of civil con-
ing been trained in modules of crowd control, physical stabulary force reported never having been trained on
training or weaponry, more than one in two respond- issues related to new technology, forensic technology
ents reported that the last training they received was at and cybercrime (Table 3.13). This finding is in line

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 75

Table 3.12: One in two police personnel last received training on weaponry, crowd control and physical fitness at
the time of joining

 States Crowd control (%) Physical (%) Weapons (%)

Overall (51) 54 54 53
Gujarat (42) 84 73 71
Bihar (47) 79 73 72
Chhattisgarh (32) 76 78 72
Haryana (65) 74 75 79
Madhya Pradesh (43) 73 76 76
Odisha (70) 63 65 65
Punjab (49) 66 81 79
Telangana (53) 59 64 72
Uttar Pradesh (43) 52 46 50
West Bengal (45) 58 64 62
Maharashtra (51) 49 53 51
Kerala (63) 49 36 32
Rajasthan (40) 50 45 47
Uttarakhand (66) 45 49 41
Andhra (35) 34 40 40
Assam (55) 45 35 27
Nagaland (50) 43 39 42
Delhi (68) 39 44 41
Himachal (66) 47 42 31
Jharkhand (48) 40 44 47
Karnataka (47) 20 20 19
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: When was the last time you received training about ___________________–in the past 2–3 years, before that, at the time
of joining or never?
The numbers in brackets indicate the percentage of the police personnel in the given State with more than 10 years of experience.

Figure 3.5: Almost one in three civil police personnel never received training on forensic technology

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: When was the last time you received training about ___________________–in the past 2–3 years, before that, at the time
of joining or never?
Answer categories of the police who reported that they received their last training in the past 2–3years, before that or at the time of
joining have been clubbed together into ‘yes’, and those who reported ‘never’ have been clubbed as ‘no’.

76 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 3.13: Senior police officers more likely Table 3.14: Outdated training?
to be trained on technical issues
New Technology Cybercrime Forensic
New

At time of

At time of

At time of
Cyber-

joining

joining

joining

joining

joining

joining
Technol- Forensic

Never

Never

Never
After

After

After
crime
ogy
Constabu-
84 72 66
lary
Overall 62 20 14 46 23 26 38 27 30
State sen-
88 75 73 More
ior police
than 10
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of years of
the respondents did not answer.
64 16 15 48 20 27 39 23 31
expe-
Question asked: When was the last time you received
rience
training about ___________________–in the past 2–3 (50%)
years, before that, at the time of joining or never? All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not
Answer categories of the police who reported that they answer.
received their last training in the past 2–3years, before Question asked: When was the last time you received training about ________–
that or at the time of joining have been reported as in the past 2–3 years, before that, at the time of joining or never?
having received training.
The number in bracket denotes the proportion of police personnel who have
more than ten years of experience to the total police personnel in the sample.

Table 3.15: State-wise training of civil police on new technology

Personnel who received training on

 States New technology Cyber crime Forensic
Overall 85 72 67
Andhra 94 84 83
Assam 88 62 46
Bihar 68 50 43
Chhattisgarh 76 62 59
Delhi 91 66 57
Gujarat 60 60 50
Haryana 96 91 92
Himachal Pradesh 87 64 61
Jharkhand 87 83 61
Karnataka 99 98 95
Kerala 86 64 51
Madhya Pradesh 92 88 80
Maharashtra 90 82 64
Nagaland 31 19 19
Odisha 86 64 85
Punjab 98 96 92
Rajasthan 99 97 94
Telangana 71 62 51
Uttar Pradesh 75 56 51
Uttarakhand 78 66 63
West Bengal 62 52 51
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: When was the last time you received training about ___________________–in the past 2–3 years, before that, at the time
of joining or never? Answer categories of the police who reported that they received their last training in the past 2–3years, before that or
at the time of joining have been reported as having received training.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 77

with the official data (see Chapter 1), which shows proportion of the police personnel surveyed. Basic re-
clearly that senior officers receive more training when sources are still absent in some parts of the country—
compared to the constabulary ranks. more than 10 percent of the police personnel reported
that they do not have access to drinking water at their
Half of the police personnel in our sample have been workplace/stations. As compared to other States, the
in service for more than 10 years (Table 3.14). If they availability of basic infrastructure is particularly lack-
received their ‘last’ training on forensics or technology ing in Nagaland and Bihar.
or cybercrime at the time of joining, it is quite likely
that the discourses and challenges have changed now. In the absence of these resources that are the sine qua
In such cases, it is possible that the training they re- non for policing, it is no wonder that States have been
ceived would not equip them fully to handle the mod- slow at catching up with newer challenges, such as
ern and emerging challenges. Among police personnel providing infrastructure and training on new tech-
with more than 10 years of work experience, about nologies, crimes and forensics techniques. Just a little
16 percent of the police personnel reported that they more than two-third of the civil police reported that
received their last training regarding new technology they always have access to a functional computer and
at the time of joining the force. Around one-fourth just a little more than half of the civil police reported
of the police received their last training on forensic that they have access to CCTNS program. The figures
technology at the time of joining and one fifth of these plummeted when it came to the access of forensics
experienced police personnel received their last train- technology, with roughly about a quarter of the civ-
ing on cybercrime at the time of joining. il police reporting ‘always’ having access to forensic
technology at their workplace. Police personnel are
On doing a State-wise analysis of training on modules not properly equipped to deal with the new skills for
of new technology, cybercrime and forensics, we find tackling and investigating crimes, with only two-third
that Nagaland performs poorly across all three cat- of the civil police reporting ever receiving any training
egories, followed closely by Bihar, West Bengal and in forensic technology.
Gujarat (Table 3.15). On the other hand, States like
Karnataka, Rajasthan and Punjab are better perform- The facts and figures discuss above compel one to
ing states on these aspects of policing. re-consider the causes behind the poor performance
of the police on various parameters and its lack of ef-
3.5: Summing up ficiency. We, as a country, have a long way to go to
achieve the targets of modernisation and digitisation
The police system, like all others, requires a conducive
of policing, when the reality suggests that even the
infrastructure to be able to fulfil its functions. This ba-
most basic facilities are lacking.
sic support, it appears, is still lacking for a sizeable

References

CSDS–Common Cause (2018) Status of Policing in India ‘Modernization of Police Force’ on 08 January 2019, Press
Report 2018 Chapter 7, SPIR 2018 available at https:// release – PIB, Government of India, Ministry of Home Af-
www.lokniti.org/media/upload_files/Report%20Police%20 fairs.
Survey.pdf (accessed 25 August 2019)
Shanoy, J. (2019) ‘India saw 457% rise in cyber crime in
Ernst and Young (2010) Assessment Report–Impact Assess- five years: Assocham NEC’, Times of India, 9 January Last
ment of the Modernization of the police force scheme from accesed https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/in-
the year 2000-01 to 2008-09, Bureau of Police research and dia-business/india-saw-457-rise-in-cybercrime-in-five-years-
Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of assocham-nec/articleshow/67454587.cms on 25 July 2019
India,

78 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Reinvestigating
Crime Investigation 4

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 79

T
his chapter focuses on the perceptions of personnel about the
level of crime in their area or jurisdiction. It further covers the
experiences of personnel in the course of investigation and the
hurdles faced by them, such as undue external pressure or interference
from politicians, media, public, etc., as well as the common consequences
of not complying with such pressures.
• According to 36 percent civil police personnel, crime has increased in
the last two-three years
• While police personnel who think that crime has increased are
most likely to attribute the phenomenon to societal reasons such as
unemployment and lack of education, those who think that crime has
decreased are most likely to offer improved policing (police becoming
more active, stricter, etc.) as a primary reason for crime reduction.
• Twenty-eight percent police personnel believe that pressure from
politicians is the biggest hindrance in crime investigation
• One in three personnel have very frequently experienced political
pressure in the course of crime investigation. Thirty-eight percent
personnel reported always facing pressure from politicians in cases of
crime involving influential persons
• Three out of five personnel reported transfer as the most common
consequence of not complying with such external pressures.

Photo previous page: Ghaziabad, India – October 6, 2017: Police officer investigating the scene of a daylight
encounter between Uttar Pradesh Police and two robbery accused in Sector 13, Ghaziabad.
(Credits: Sakib Ali, Hindustan Times)

80 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 4
Reinvestigating Crime Investigation

O
ne of the foremost demands of the advocates nesses may have a negative impact on their willingness
of police reforms has been “operational au- to cooperate in investigations. In this section, we try
tonomy” in police functioning. The Supreme to uncover other such obstacles reportedly faced by
Court recognised that the police are under pressure the police personnel during investigation of a crime.
to serve the interests of the political parties in power. We also analyse the level of cooperation they receive
In response, it gave directions for fixed tenures of of- from various stakeholders and the pressure mounted
ficers at key operational posts, in its landmark judg- on them during crime investigation.
ment of 2006 in the Prakash Singh vs Union of India
case. It ruled that the law and order and investiga- After looking at the work load and the resources avail-
tion functions of the police should be separated. The able to police in the previous sections, this section at-
separation of crime investigation duties of the police tempts to uncover the frailty of the broader eco-sys-
was also highlighted in the Second Administrative Re- tem of criminal justice in which the police personnel
forms Commission report. It recommended insulating operate, by examining the police attitudes and the
“crime investigation, … both from political interfer- external pressures during a criminal investigation. We
ence and from the day to day law and order functions start by looking at the crime trends from the perspec-
that the police are saddled with.” Unfortunately, these tive of police and move on to unpack their opinion on
directives have not been complied with, and severe- the measures to prevent the crimes in first place.
ly diluted by the State governments. So much so that
punishment postings and political interference contin- For example, police have made concerted efforts to
ue to be a common feature of police work. Recently, a combat crimes against women, including setting up
majority of the investigating officers of a police station anti-Romeo squads in Uttar Pradesh and daminipa-
in Himachal Pradesh were transferred after vehicles of thak/anti-chidimaarpathak in Maharashtra to control
local politicians were challaned (fined). sexual harassment of women in public places. Simi-
larly, while the jury is out on the effectiveness of in-
Apart from political interference, crime investigation creased CCTV surveillance on crime prevention, the
could also be affected by a range of other factors such Delhi Chief Minister has already announced setting up
as lack of adequate police infrastructure/resources, of around 3 lakh cameras in Assembly constituencies,
strength of police, cooperation of witnesses and vic- government schools and public areas (Jain, 2019). In
tims during investigation, etc. For example, the role a similar vein, a Chennai DCP had stated at a pub-
of witnesses in establishing the tenacity of a case is lic event his intention ‘to establish CCTV cameras
extremely important, as has been highlighted in the in every house, shop and building,’ in August 2018
judgment of Swaran Singh vs State of Punjab.1 At the (Vasudevan, 2018). In this chapter, we focus on what
same time the deplorable conditions of Indian witness- the police think of the contribution of these measures
es have come under the scanner in an empirical study in crime prevention and reduction.
(G.S. Bajpayi 2009) carried out in the capital cities of
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Ra- The overall objective of the chapter is to highlight the
jasthan. The inhospitable environment around wit- key issues plaguing the criminal investigation and to
1 “A criminal case is built on the edifice of evidence, evidence that is examine the attitude of the police towards curbing
admissible in law. For that, witnesses are required whether it is direct crime.
evidence or circumstantial evidence” (2000) 5 S.C.C. 68

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 81

 Figure 4.1: More educated police personnel more likely to perceive crime as increasing over the years

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: In your jurisdiction, do you think the overall crime in your area has increased or decreased in the last 2-3 years–
increased a lot, increased somewhat, as it is, decreased a little, or decreased a lot? The answer categories of the increased a lot and
increased somewhat have been clubbed into one category called ‘increased’, while the answer categories of decreased somewhat and
decreased a lot have been clubbed into one category called ‘decreased’.

Table 4.1: State-wise responses of civil police on increase or decrease in crime

Proportion of Net Increase (proportion of
Proportion Net increase in actual
police who believe personnel who believe that crime
of police who crime rates (total
 States crime has has increased minus proportion of
believe crime has cognizable crimes) from
decreased personnel who believe crime has
increased (%) 2014-2016
(%) decreased)
Overall 36 36 0 -
Telangana 16 73 -57 -25.7
West Bengal* 6 40 -36 -6.1
Andhra Pradesh 28 58 -30 -24.6
Nagaland 19 48 -29 8.4
Uttar Pradesh 20 49 -29 -1014.8
Rajasthan 25 47 -22 -33.9
Bihar 31 48 -17 -9.4
Gujarat* 21 34 -13 4.6
Delhi 30 39 -9 193
Jharkhand 35 44 -9 -15.5
Haryana 39 43 -4 87.6
Madhya Pradesh 37 39 -2 -25.7
Odisha 44 42 2 19.7
Punjab 28 20 8 -28.9
Assam 31 22 9 22.4
Maharashtra 38 22 16 30.4
Uttarakhand 45 18 27 -1577.9
Kerala 56 23 33 252.5
Himachal Pradesh 58 19 39 -2.3
Chhattisgarh 64 21 43 -1032.9
Karnataka 60 16 44 21.4
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer
Question asked: In your jurisdiction, do you think the overall crime in your area has increased or decreased in the last 2-3 years–
increased a lot, increased somewhat, as it is, decreased a little, or decreased a lot? The answer categories of the increased a lot and
increased somewhat have been clubbed into one category called ‘increased’, while the answer categories of decreased somewhat and
decreased a lot have been clubbed into one category called ‘decreased’.
*29 percent of civil police in Gujarat and 42 percent of the civil police in West Bengal did not respond.
1 Crime rate means the number of cases of crime per lakh of population in the State. The net increase has been calculated by subtracting the crime
rate of total cognizable crimes of 2014 from the rates of 2016 (2016-2014). Total cognizable crime rates have been taken from Crime in India,
National Crime Records Bureau (2014 and 2016).

82 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

4.1: Crime trends khand, Himachal and Chhattisgarh, a larger share of
police personnel believe that crime has increased in the
According to 36 percent of the civil police personnel
last few years, whereas the actual reported crime rates
interviewed in our survey, the overall crime in their
in these States have decreased from 2014. It needs to
jurisdiction has increased in the past 2–3 years. A sim-
be noted here that an increase in crime rates does not
ilar proportion of police also reported overall crime
necessarily indicate an actual increase in crime in that
decreasing in the past 2–3 years. Roughly, one fifth of
State, but could be reflective of higher reporting due to
the police reported that the crime rates have largely re-
better access and receptiveness of the police. It further
mained the same. There was no significant variation in
needs to be reiterated that while the respondents are
responses on account of gender, rank distribution, or
referring to increase or decrease in crime in their juris-
the number of years in service. However, as the formal
diction only, the NCRB data refers to the crime trends
education level of the civil police increases, there is a
in the entire State.
proportional hike in the perception of rise in crime in
their jurisdictions (Figure 4.1).
The various reasons given by the police for the rise in
crime have been classified into four categories—police,
Civil police from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are
society, law and economy-related issues, to facilitate
most likely to report that crime has decreased in their
better interpretation(Table 4.2). It is, however, crucial
jurisdiction in the past 2–3 years. On the contrary, civ-
to note that these are not water-tight categories and
il police from Chhattisgarh and Karnataka are most
there might be overlaps.
likely to report that the crime in their jurisdiction in
the past 2–3 years has increased.
Among those civil police personnel who reported that
crime in their jurisdiction has increased in the past 2–3
Among other States, in Nagaland, Haryana, Gujarat
years, every second police personnel reported socie-
and Delhi a larger proportion of police personnel feel
ty-related issues as the most important reason for the
that crime in their area has decreased in the last 2-3
surge. Only 10 percent believed that reasons related to
years, than those who think that crime in their area
policing could be responsible. Roughly one-fifth of the
has increased. However, crime data from NCRB sug-
civil police blame economy-related issues for the rise
gests that the reported crime rates have increased from
in crime (Figure 4.2).
2014 to 2016 (the year for which latest data is avail-
able). On the contrary, in States like Punjab, Uttara-

Table 4.2: Classification of issues behind rise in crime

“What is the most important reason behind the rise in crime?”
Police related issues Society related issues Law related issues Economy related issues
Police is not active Negligence on part of public Delay in getting justice Poverty
Police don’t reach on time Population/Over crowding Weak law and order Unemployment
Lack of staff in police Increasing number of migrants Any other law related issues Inflation
No fear of police among Increasing negativity among
Rising inequality
people people
Any other economy related
Large areas under jurisdiction Lack of education/awareness
issues
Lack of resources Increasing intolerance
Any other police related Drug addiction among young
issues boys
New technology
Political Pressure
Corruption
People’s demand not being
fulfilled
Caste based violence
Any other society related issues

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 83

 Figure 4.2: Among those who say crime has To facilitate better interpretation, various reasons cited
increased, one in two police personnel believes that by the police for the decline in crime have been clubbed
crime is rising due to societal problems into three categories—police, society, and law-related
issues (Table 4.4).There is only one response on the
economy-related issues of ‘increase in employment,’
with two percent of the civil police reporting it as the
main reason behind decrease in crime. This has hence
been subsumed under the category of ‘society-related
issues.’

Table 4.4: Classification of reasons behind decline in

crime
“What is the most important reason behind the decrease in
crime?”
Police related Society related Law related
issues issues issues
There is increasing
Police is more Better Law and
education/aware-
active order
ness
Police is more Rules and Law
High class society
strict are more strict
Police is working Government is
Increase in literacy
All figures are in percentages and rounded off.
more honestly stricter.
There is improved
Question asked: In your opinion what is the most important Ban on alcohol
reason behind this rise in crime?___________
patrolling
There is improve-
Increase in em-
ment in call service
However, if we look at the top 10 reasons, as reported ployment (2 %)
of 100
by the police personnel, without clubbing them in any
There is increase
category, the highest proportion of the civil police cite Decrease in politi-
in the number of
cal pressure
unemployment as the main reason behind the rise in staff
crime. Also, 12 percent and 11 percent of the police There is increase
Any other society
personnel believe that the lack of education or aware- in facilities provid-
related issues
ness and drug addiction among young boys respective- ed to police
ly are the main reasons for the increase in crime rates. Technology has
improved
Table 4.3: One in four police personnel believes that There is fear of
unemployment and lack of education are the main police among
reasons behind the rise in crime wrongdoers/crim-
S. Propor- inals
Top 10 reasons for crime rise
No. tion (%) There is increase
1 Unemployment 15 in CCTV

2 Lack of education/awareness 12 Any other police

related issues
3 Drug addiction among young boys 11
4 Population/over-crowding of places 7 Among those civil police personnel who believe that
5 New technology 7 there has been a decrease in crime in their jurisdic-
6 Increasing negativity among young people 5 tion in the past 2–3 years, more than half attribute
7 Lack of staff 4 the decline to police-related issues. Roughly one-fifth
believe that society related factors are responsible for
8 Political pressure 3
the phenomenon. Only six percent reported that the
9 Weak law and order 3
crime has fallen because of law-related issues.
10 Poverty 3
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off.
Question asked: In your opinion what is the most important
reason behind this rise in crime?___________

84 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Figure 4.3: Among those who say crime has 4.2: Curbing crime
decreased, one in two police personnel believe that
crime has decreased because of improved policing When we asked police personnel to rate the impor-
tance of some of the mentioned measures (Figure 4.4)
to curb crime, about three out of five civil police per-
sonnel considered installing CCTV in all areas and in-
creasing manpower as most important. Police person-
nel also felt that appointing civilians as special police
officers is least helpful in curbing crime, compared to
other measures.

We asked a similar question (most important step to

control crime) without prompting any answer catego-
ries. The various reasons given by the police to this
question have been clubbed into five categories for
better interpretation—steps related to a) size of po-
lice b) working conditions and resources available to
police c) morality of police d) policing procedures e)
external solutions (Table 4.6). About 23 percent of the
civil police reported ‘external solutions’ (steps exter-
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. nal to the functioning of the police) as most useful in
controlling crime. This was followed by steps related
Question asked: In your opinion what is the most important
reason behind this decrease in crime?___________ to police morality, with about 17 percent subscribing
to the opinion (Figure 4.5).
However, if we look at the top 10 reasons without
classifying them in any category, we find that increase Figure 4.5: Nearly one in four police personnel
in education or awareness are the most cited reasons believe that measures external to policing are
required for curbing crime
for decline in crime, with about 18 percent of the
civil police reporting it as the main reason. This was
followed by the active role of police and improved
patrolling system with about 12 percent of the civil
police reporting these as the main reasons.

Table 4.5: Reasons for decrease in crime

S.
Top ten reasons for decrease in crime
No.
1 Increasing education/awareness 18
2 Police is more active 12
3 Improved patrolling 12
4 Police is stricter 5
5 Police is working more honestly 6
6 Technology has improved 4
7 Better law and order 3
8 Increase in CCTV 3
9 Increase in staff 2
10 Rules and laws are stricter. 2 All figures are in percentages and are rounded off.

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Question asked: In your opinion, what is the most important
step that the police should take to control crime?________
Question asked: In your opinion what is the most important
reason behind this rise in crime?___________
‘Spreading education/awareness’ had the highest pro-
portion of responses among civil police personnel,
with about 13 percent police reporting it as the most

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 85

 Figure 4.4: Two out of three police personnel believe that installing CCTV cameras and increasing police
strength are the most important steps for curbing crime

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question: On a scale of one to ten, please tell me how useful is this for reducing crime in your area?
All those who rated between 01–06 have been clubbed as ‘less useful’, those who have rated between 07–09 have been marked as
‘more useful’ and those who have rated it 10 have been denoted as ‘most useful’.
Please note that these are seven different independently asked questions.

Table 4.6: Classification of measures to control crime

Steps related to working
Steps related to size of Steps related to Steps related to
conditions and resources External Steps
police attitude policing procedures
available to police
Police should work
Increase the number State should give more power FIR should be regis-
honestly and with Ban alcohol
of staff in police to police tered immediately.
dedication
Increase the number Increase facilities provided to Increase trust among There should be more
Increase employment.
of police stations police people patrolling.
Increasing the number There should not be any Police should be Investigation should Spread education or
of check posts pressure on police more strict. be done properly awareness.
Spy network should
Increase the visibility Laws/rules should be
Fixed working time be strong and far
of police in public more strict.
reaching.
Increase the use of technolo- There should not be
Appoint special teams
gy/ improved security systems delay in justice.
There should be more use of Keeping eye on previ-
CCTV cameras ously convicted
Better training of police
Improve 100 call service
Improve cyber security
Question asked: In your opinion, what is the most important step that the police should take to control crime?________

86 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

important step to control crime (Table 4.7). This was diligence. In the Kathua rape case of 2018, the role of
followed by a procedural measure, ‘that there should police officers in subverting the investigation process
be more patrolling,’ and the issue related to the size and destroying evidence has now been established by
of the police, ‘the staff in police should be increased.’ the Court (Ohri, 2018). Media, judicial and even gov-
Both these steps were considered useful by about one ernment pressure, it may be argued, are used to ensure
tenth each of the police personnel surveyed. that police perform their law-enforcement duties in a
transparent manner.
Table 4.7: Thirteen percent police personnel felt that
spreading awareness and education are the most
Conversely, there are examples of political and other
useful measures for controlling crime
forms of pressure exerted on the police to compromise
“What is the most important step that the police should
their accountability. In this section, therefore, we do
take to control crime?”
not attempt to unpack the details of pressure faced by
Spread education/awareness 13
the police, and its overall impact on the functioning of
There should be more patrolling 10 the criminal justice system. Rather, we simply report
Increase the staff in police 10 the experiences of police personnel in the investigation
Police should be more strict 8 of criminal cases.
Laws/rules should be more strict 8
Police should work honestly and with more
When we asked civil police personnel an open-ended
7 question about the biggest obstacle they faced dur-
dedication
ing crime investigation, about two-fifth cited differ-
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off.
ent forms of pressure on them as the biggest obsta-
Question asked: In your opinion, what is the most important step
that the police should take to control crime?________
cle. Also, 13 percent blamed issues related to internal
working of police for impeding crime investigation.
4.3: Obstacles during crime investigation The answers to this question were classified into four
categories—obstacles related to internal working of
Pressure on the police is viewed in a negative light, por- police, related to the pressure on police, related to the
trayed as misplaced interference having the potential legal system, and related to the society at large (Table
to derail the course of law. However, instances of der- 4.8 and Figure 4.6). Around 28 percent of the civil
eliction of duty by the police abound, where mounting police reported pressure from politicians as the biggest
public pressure have compelled officials to follow due hindrance during crime investigation. This is almost

Table 4.8: Classification of obstacles faced during investigation of crime

Internal working of police Pressure on police Legal system related Society related
Too much workload Departmental pressure / Lack of witness / witnesses High number of fake
pressure from senior officers are scared complaints
Lack of time Pressure from politicians Lack of evidence / fake Lack of awareness among
evidence/lack of witnesses people
Police does not have enough Pressure from rich and Long legal process Corruption
resources/lack of training influential people
Lack of money for Pressure from media Police spend too much time Non-cooperation of public
investigation in completing court duty
Lack of staff in police Pressure from public Delays in medical reports More juveniles are involved
in crime
Spy network is weak Pressure from human rights/ Lawyers create problems Communication
NGO
Unable to catch hold of
culprit
Investigation not done
properly
Weak law and order
Not able to reach place of
crime
Question asked: Q19: Of the various things which hinder an investigation, which is the one that hinders it the most?

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 87

three times higher than ‘lack of witnesses’, the second experience of up to 10 years reported pressure from
most cited hurdle in police investigation (Table 4.9). politicians as the biggest hindrance during crime in-
The other factors that emerged were lack of time, de- vestigation. This number progressively decreases to 22
partmental pressure and lack of cooperation from the percent for those with more than 30 years of service,
public. indicating that as the number of service years increas-
es, the likelihood of considering or citing political
Figure 4.6: Two in five police personnel feel that pressure as a major investigation hurdle decreases.
pressures on police (from various sources) are the
biggest obstacle in crime investigation
Figure 4.7: Police personnel with more years of
experience are less likely to consider political
pressure as the main hurdle in crime investigation

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off.

Question asked: Q19: Of the various things which hinder an
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off.
investigation, which is the one that hinders it the most?
Question asked: Considering the past 2-3 years of your
work experience, how often have you encountered the
In Table 4.9, we report the top five hindrances report- political pressure during investigation of a crime–many times,
ed by the police. We also observe that personnel with sometimes, rarely or never?
more years of experience are less likely to report polit-
ical pressure (Figure 4.7). 4.4: Frequency of obstacles during
investigation of crime
Table 4.9: Twenty-eight percent police personnel feel
that pressure from politicians is the biggest hindrance When asked about the frequency of political pressure
in crime investigation impeding their investigation, about one third of the
“What hinders an investigation the most?” civil police personnel reported that they have faced
(Top five reasons) political pressure ‘many times’ during an investigation
Pressure from politicians 28 in the past 2–3 years. A similar proportion also re-
Lack of witness 9 ported having faced the issue of witnesses unwilling to
Departmental pressure 7 cooperate during a crime investigation ‘many times’ in
the past 2–3 years of their work experience. A slightly
Non-cooperation of public 6
lesser proportion of about 28 percent reported having
Lack of time 5
faced departmental pressure many times, while about
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. one-fourth reported having encountered lack of time
Question asked: Of the various things which hinder an for investigation very frequently in the last 2–3 years.
investigation, which is the one that hinders it the most? Only 18 percent reported having faced the issue of vic-
tims unwilling to cooperate ‘many times’, while about
About 29 percent of the civil police personnel with 16 percent spoke of facing the issue of weak laws that

88 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Figure 4.8: Seven in ten police personnel have frequently experienced lack of cooperation from witnesses as
an obstacle during crime investigation

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Considering the past 2-3 years of your work experience, how often have you encountered the __________________
during investigation of a crime–many times, sometimes, rarely or never?

Figure 4.9: Constabulary more likely to face favour the accused and that of prosecution duties2 im-
departmental pressure during crime investigation peding crime investigation very frequently.

The proportion of constabulary in civil police person-

nel (28 percent) who reported that they have ‘many
times’ faced departmental pressure is just marginally
higher than senior State police officers (26 percent)
(Figure 4.9), who have reported the same issue. About
16 percent of the civil constabulary force reported that
they ‘never’ faced departmental pressure, as against
one fifth of State senior police officers.

Like departmental pressure, the proportion of civ-

il constabulary (35 percent) who reported having
‘many times’ faced political pressure is again margin-
ally higher than the proportion of senior State police
(30 percent) (Figure 4.10). About 14 percent of the
constabulary reported that they have ‘never’ faced po-
litical pressure, as against 34 percent of senior State
police officers.

4.5: Pressure in cases involving influential

people
In this section, we attempt to understand the pressure3
on police in cases that involves influential people.
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the re-
spondents did not answer.
2 By prosecution duties, we imply all those tasks that the police carry
Question asked: Considering the past 2-3 years of your work out to assist the prosecutor such as escorting the accused to courts,
experience, how often have you encountered the departmental framing the cases, etc.
pressure during investigation of a crime–many times,
3 While pressure could also be for enabling ‘fair’ investigation, we
sometimes, rarely or never?
imply and have used the negative connotation of the term in our study,
where pressure impedes the ‘fair’ functioning of the police.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 89

 Figure 4.10: In cases involving influential people, police are more likely to face pressure from politicians as
compared to other pressures.

All figures are in percentages and rounded off and might not add up to 100. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Considering the past 2-3 years of your work experience, how often have you encountered the following pressures
during investigation of a crime–many times, sometimes, rarely or never?

About 38 percent of the civil police reported that they Figure 4.11: Two out of five police personnel
always face political pressure in cases involving influ- reported always facing pressure during
ential persons. Roughly one third also reported ‘al- investigation of cases involving influential people.
ways’ facing pressure from their seniors in the police
force. This proportion drops to one fifth of the po-
lice ‘always’ facing pressure from media, while about
14 percent reported that they ‘always’ faced pressure
from human rights organisations/NGOs, judiciary
and the common public in cases involving influential
people (Figure 4.10).

4.6: Consequences of not complying with

such pressures
When the police personnel fail to comply with such
pressure, the most common consequence is posting or
transfer to a different area–with more than three fifth
of the civil police reporting the same.

About 12 percent reported the most common con-

sequence to be suspension or dismissal from service,
while five percent also reported threat to their person-
al safety or physical assault (Table 4.10).

About five percent narrated that the most common

consequence is harsh public criticism. The conse-
quences of not complying with pressure are similar
across different ranks. All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Question asked: When dealing with cases involving influential
persons, how often does the police feel pressure from the
_______(politicians/seniors/media/common public/human rights
supporters/judiciary)—always, sometimes, rarely or never?

90 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 4.10: Three out of five police personnel reported While police personnel who think that crime has in-
transfer as the most common consequence of not creased are most likely to attribute the phenomenon
complying with pressures
to societal reasons such as unemployment and lack of
“What is the most common consequences of not complying education, those who think that crime has decreased
with such pressures?”
are most likely to offer improved policing (police be-
Transfer/Posting to different area 63 coming more active, stricter, etc.) as a primary reason
Suspension/Dismissal 12 for crime reduction. Apart from spreading education/
Threat to personal safety 5 awareness, police-system related issues such as in-
Harsh public criticism 5 crease in strength were most widely cited steps to curb
Others 3
crime. Most civil police personnel feel that installing
CCTV cameras in all areas would be highly effective
No response 13
in controlling crime.
All figures are in percentages. Figures are rounded off and might
not add up to 100.
Police personnel also reported facing various forms of
Question asked: What is the most common consequence of not pressure during crime investigation, particularly polit-
complying with such pressures–transfer, suspension, threat to
physical safety, harsh public criticism or others? ical pressure, very frequently. About one third report-
ed having experienced political pressure many times in
4.7: Summing up the past 2–3 years of their work experience. The most
common consequence of not complying with pressure
Crime investigation is one of the most essential func- is transfer or posting to a different area. Almost 13
tions of the police. Therefore their opinions on the years after the Apex Court’s directions to States in the
rates of crimes, reasons behind the surge and ebb in Prakash Singh case, specifically to prevent such prac-
criminal incidents as well as their take on measures to tices from recurring in the future, political pressure
control them are of prime importance. At an all-India continues to remain one of the biggest hurdles in crime
level, the proportion of police who think the crime has investigation for the police.
increased in their jurisdiction is equal to the propor-
tion who think that the crime has decreased.

References

Bajpai, G. S., 2009, ‘Witness in the Criminal Justice Process: Swaran Singh vs State of Punjab (2000) 5 S.C.C. 68
Problems and Perspectives – An Empirical Study’, Indian
Law Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, November 2009. The Tribune 2018, ‘Kasauli police officers shifted’, Solan
27 June 2018. Available at < https://www.tribuneindia.
Jain, P. 2019, ‘Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal inaugurates com/news/himachal/kasauli-police-officers-shifted/794170.
CCTV installation, announces 3 lakh cameras in the city html> [Accessed 12 August 2019]
to fight crime’, India Today, 7 July 2019. Available at
<https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/delhi-arvind-kejri- Vasudevan, L. 2018, ‘Chennai cops’ Mission Sep-
wal-3-lakh-cctv-installation-crime-1564082-2019-07-07> tember: CCTV everywhere’, India Today, 05 August
[Accessed 12 August 2019] 2018. Available at < https://www.indiatoday.in/in-
dia/story/chennai-cops-mission-september-cctv-every-
Ohri, R. 2018 ‘Kathua Case: Cop ‘stopped’ seniors where-1305876-2018-08-05> [Accessed 12 August 2019]
from searching temple’, The Economic Times, 20 July
2018 < https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/pol-
itics-and-nation/kathua-case-cop-stopped-seniors-from-
searching-temple/articleshow/65062790.cms> [Accessed 12
August 2019]

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 91

 Gender
5
and Police

Navi Mumbai, India – July 8, 2019: Waterlogging at Turbhe police station in Navi Mumbai.
(Credits: Bachchan Kumar, Hindustan Times)

92 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

I
n this chapter, policing is seen from the perspective of gender. On the
one hand, we look at the experiences of women within the police
force, as well as the perceptions of all personnel regarding women in
the police. On the other hand, we look at the perceptions of personnel
regarding complaints of crimes against women and gender-based violence.
• Women police personnel are more likely to be engaged in in-house
tasks, such as maintaining registers, data, etc., while male personnel
are more likely to be involved in field-based tasks, such as investigation,
patrolling, law and order duties, etc.
• One in five female personnel reported the absence of separate toilets
for women at their police station/ workplace
• One in four policewomen said there was no sexual harassment
committee in their police station/ jurisdiction
• Over half of the personnel (both men and women) feel that men and
women in the police force are not given completely equal treatment.
Policewomen at higher ranks are more likely to report discrimination
• States like Bihar, Karnataka and West Bengal have the highest levels of
bias against women in the police force, i.e., personnel from these States
are most likely to believe that policewomen are less hardworking, less
efficient, and should focus on their household duties.
• Nearly one in five police personnel is of the opinion that gender-based
violence complaints are false and motivated to a very great extent
• Eight percent personnel are of the opinion that transgenders are very
much naturally inclined towards committing crimes

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 93

 5
Gender and Police

I
ntegration of women in police, aside from ensuring dian Constitution give effect to this objective. Clause 3
fair representation and diversity, is known to have of Article 15, recognising the structural discrimination
positive impacts on the police structure. Studies denying equal opportunity to women, particularly al-
have indicated that increasing female representation in lows the State to make special provisions for women
the police is directly associated with increased report- and children. Being a signatory to Universal Decla-
ing of violent crimes against women and decreased ration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International
domestic violence (Miller and Segal, 2018). Further, Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the
having more female officers can positively impact po- Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Dis-
lice-community relationships and the overall perfor- crimination Against Women (CEDAW) and several
mance of the police. A 2007 research paper published other conventions and treaties, India is obligated to
in the Women & Criminal Justice Journal shows that ensure equal treatment to women. Police organisa-
female officers are less likely to be named in citizen tions are one of the most visible representatives of the
complaints, compared to male officers, female of- government’s civil authority. Hence, they are legally
ficers are less likely to have allegations of excessive bound to take all the necessary measures to eliminate
force against them, and just the presence of female of- discrimination towards women, thereby ensuring that
ficers can reduce the use of force among other officers the ‘principle of equity’ is applied in its full spirit.
(Schuck and Rabe-Hemp, 2007).
Women are needed in the police force, not just for rea-
Yet, the representation of women in the Indian police sons of diversity, but also for clear legal requirements.
continues to be poor, at 7.28 percent in 2016. Police These include escorting female victims/accused, re-
forces in India lack gender sensitivity, failing to ad- cording statements from women or children who
dress the needs of women within the police forces. The come in contact with the police, and much else. Yet, as
lack of women’s representation in the police further per government data, women police constitute merely
contributes to reinforcement of gender stereotypes, 7.28 percent of the total force as on January 1, 2017,
and intensified biases, against both, women within the (see Chapter 1 of the report for an analysis of data on
police as well as women who have an interface with women in police). While the numbers have improved
the police. over a decade, going up from 3.89 percent in 2007
to 7.28 percent in 2016, the question is–is this pace
In this chapter, we look at policing from the perspec- good enough? Further, the question that we attempt to
tive of gender. We study the women personnel’s ex- address in this chapter is whether we are providing a
perience with working conditions, infrastructure and conducive work environment for women in the police
task deployment. Further, we analyse the attitudes and force?
opinions of both male and female personnel regarding
women in police. We also study police’s perceptions This chapter shines the spotlight on gender issues. It
of the complaints of crimes against women received looks at the objective differences in the professional
by them. landscape of police personnel of different genders. The
first section looks at how the personnel themselves are
The Preamble to the Constitution of India secures disadvantaged due to structural biases. The latter sec-
equality to all citizens, with respect to status and op- tion highlights the role of gender biases and their prev-
portunity. Articles 14, 15 and 16 of Part III of the In- alence in police personnel. Our aim, in these sections,

94 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

is to highlight the role of the police in practising and Table 5.1: Profile of women-police personnel surveyed
perpetuating biases and stereotypes, in a departure (%)
from the preceding section. Age (years)
18-30 41
The section begins by detailing the general working 31-40 44
conditions of women police personnel, followed by an
41-50 13
analysis of infrastructure-related problems faced by
51 and above 2
them in the workplace. It further brings to attention
the biased attitude of male police personnel towards Caste Groups
their female colleagues. Scheduled Castes 19
Scheduled Tribes 17
In the following section, we turn to the response and
Other Backward Classes 33
attitude of the police to complaints of gender-based
violence. We study the opinions of police personnel to- General 31
wards complaints of domestic violence, dowry, sexual Type of police
harassment and rape. We also analyse the views they Civil police 82
hold on the transgender and Hijra community.
Armed Police 17

5.1: Social profile of women in police Rank-wise

Constable 70
In our countrywide sample, 2416 out of the total of
11836 police personnel interviewed, or about 20 per- Head-Constable 14
cent of the sample, comprised women. While this sam- ASI/Sub-Insp./Insp. 14
ple is disproportionately higher than the actual pro- Others 2
portion of women in the police force (7%), it allows
Years of experience with police
for a disaggregated analysis of the responses of female
police personnel. less than 5 years 26
5 to 10 years 36
A majority of the women police personnel in the sam- 10 to 15 years 19
ple were married and less than 40 years of age. Fur- 15 to 20 years 10
ther, four-fifth of them were deployed in civil police, 20 to 25 years 5
holding constabulary ranks, and about three-fifth
above 25 years 3
have been in the police force for less than 10 years
(Table 5.1). Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.

5.2: General working conditions

In this sub-section, we study the general working con- i. Tasks performed by men and women police
ditions of police personnel, seen through a gender per- personnel
spective. The section tries to analyse the main tasks We find that women police personnel are more likely
performed by both male and female police personnel to report doing tasks that requires working from the
as well as other working conditions, to assess discrep- police station as opposed to going out in the field. This
ancies and discrimination, if any. Further, we look at is in contrast to male personnel who are more likely to
the basic infrastructure of the police station and work- be engaged in field tasks (Figure 5.1).
place so as to analyse how gender inclusive they are.
This sub-section also examines whether sexual harass- In our survey, more women police personnel report-
ment committees have duly been set up at police sta- ed performing ‘in-house’ tasks, such as maintaining
tions or within the jurisdictions. registers/data, dealing with the public and filing FIRs,
NCRs and other complaints. Conversely, a higher pro-
Finally, we analyse the responses of women personnel portion of male police personnel reported performing
to questions on their willingness to switch to another ‘on-the-field’ tasks like investigation, patrolling, pro-
job if the salary and perks remain the same. This is to viding security to VIPs, maintaining law and order,
ascertain their satisfaction with the job. etc. Overall, the proportion of men performing in-

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 95

 Figure 5.1: Women police more likely to perform in-house tasks, while male police more likely to undertake on-
the-field tasks
“What are the main tasks that you perform daily at this post?”

Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: What are the two main tasks that you perform daily at this post?
Answer categories that required respondents to work from within the premises of police station/work place were qualified as ‘in house
tasks’, while categories that required respondents to work on the field were qualified as ‘on the field tasks.

house tasks was found to be seven percentage points Table 5.2: Women police personnel at senior ranks
lesser than women, whereas that of men performing more likely to be engaged in on-the-field tasks
on-the-field tasks was eight percentage points higher Women (%) Men (%)
than women. On On
In Gen- In Gen-
the the
house eral house eral
A further rank-wise distribution of women police field field
tasks duty tasks duty
tasks tasks
personnel reveals that 31 percent of women at con-
stabulary ranks (Constable and Head-constable) and Constab-
31 32 17 23 40 17
ulary
27 percent at inspector level ranks (Assistant Sub-In-
Inspec-
spector, Sub-Inspector, Inspector and Circle Inspector) 27 46 15 21 50 15
tors
are doing only in-house tasks. The gap between the
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
two rank categories increases when we compare the
respondents did not answer.
ones engaged in ‘on the field tasks,’ with 46 percent
Constabulary includes Constable and Head-constable. Inspectors
of police-women at inspector level performing ‘on the
include Assistant Sub-Inspector, Sub-Inspector, Inspector and
field tasks’, as against only 32 percent at constabulary Circle Inspector. There were not enough cases for ranks higher
ranks. As it appears, the women at senior ranks get to than the ones mentioned (only 3 police-women as against 27
police-men at the positions of ASP/DSP or other higher ranks).
perform more ‘on the field’ tasks, compared to their
subordinates. Similarly, on comparing men and wom-
en, the picture is more equitable among higher rank Maximum percentages of police-women (56%) were
police personnel. It is revealed that the gap between found to be performing in-house tasks in the NCT
police-women and police-men engaged in ‘on the field’ of Delhi, followed by Bihar (49%). The gap between
duties reduces from 8 percentage points to 4 percent- men and women performing in-house tasks was also
age points as we move move away from constabulary found to be the highest in these two States–27 per-
to inspector rank (Table 5.2). cent points in Delhi and 28 percent points in Bihar.

96 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

On the contrary, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, about 29 percent of the female personnel reported get-
Nagaland and West Bengal were found to have a neg- ting one day holiday in a week (Figure 5.2).
ligible gap between the work divisions of men and
women in police. Interestingly, Punjab and Nagaland In States like Odisha and Chhattisgarh the situation
have more women police personnel performing ‘on is much worse, with 95 and 90 percent women po-
the field’ tasks, compared to men (Table 5.3). lice respectively reporting to not getting any weekly
holidays. Maharashtra, with no women responding as
Table 5.3: Daily tasks performed (State-wise position) (%) ‘nil,’ was found to be the best performing State with
Women respect to weekly rests for personnel. This was fol-
In house On the field General lowed by Karnataka with only seven percent women
States
tasks tasks duty reporting no weekly offs (Tables 5.4).
Delhi 56 (+27) 30 (-24) 10 (+1)
Table 5.4: Weekly off-days (State-wise) (%)
Bihar 49 (+28) 30 (-19) 13 (-6)
Women Men
Haryana 43 (+7) 25 (-10) 20 (+2)
Two Two
Madhya Pradesh 43 (+12) 29 (-9) 16 (-4)
States Zero One or Zero One or
Uttar Pradesh 42 (+15) 21 (-25) 22 (+6) More More
Karnataka 39 (+10) 24 (-15) 23 (+1) Odisha 95 0 0 93 0 0
Andhra Pradesh 38 (+11) 41 (-8) 14 (+2) Chhattisgarh 90 3 0 93 2 0
Telangana 38 (+15) 36 (-13) 16 (-2) Himachal
88 1 0 91 3 0
Punjab 35 (+6) 33 (+9) 16 (-4) Pradesh

Rajasthan 32 (+11) 46 (-10) 5 (+-0) Bihar 75 15 5 74 10 4

Assam 29 (+9) 15 (-6) 23 (-1) Uttarakhand 68 3 0 72 3 0

Himachal Pradesh 26 (+5) 40 (-7) 23 (+2) Gujarat 65 5 4 71 7 2

Kerala 26 (+6) 56 (-4) 11 (-1) Andhra

52 35 6 56 27 4
Pradesh
Jharkhand 25 (+1) 28 (-5) 16 (-2)
Assam 52 8 4 59 8 6
Gujarat 20 (+2) 21 (-3) 9 (-1)
Uttar Pradesh 51 26 1 62 13 0
Maharashtra 19 (+-0) 41 (-2) 19 (-1)
Jharkhand 48 29 1 45 34 1
Chhattisgarh 19 (-3) 24 (-5) 30 (+4)
Rajasthan 47 11 5 55 15 4
Nagaland 18 (+-0) 41 (+7) 17 (-1)
Madhya
West Bengal 18 (+2) 24 (-6) 17 (+3) 41 28 0 50 21 1
Pradesh
Uttarakhand 17 (+4) 47 (-6) 18 (+5) Punjab 38 58 0 43 50 1
Odisha 15 (+3) 54 (-7) 12 (+-0) Telangana 38 2 0 31 2 0
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the Delhi 33 51 0 64 20 0
respondents did not answer.
West Bengal 32 33 10 38 26 18
The difference between responses of women and men are
Nagaland 31 31 4 27 22 11
mentioned in the brackets.
Haryana 25 44 2 27 53 0
ii. Weekly off-days Kerala 22 69 1 29 53 6
Gender inequality in our society imposes a ‘double Karnataka 7 81 8 23 66 5
burden’ on women engaged in paid work. As a result, Maharashtra 0 86 10 0 79 18
domestic responsibilities fall disproportionately upon
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
women, regardless of their employment status. In such respondents did not answer.
a scenario, fixed work shifts and weekly rest become
even more important for employed women. While iii. Staying back post duty hours
data suggests that the police women are more likely to Two out of every five women police personnel (41%)
avail these facilities than their male counterparts, the said they had to stay back ‘many times’ beyond duty
percentages of women who are not getting any weekly hours. Further, one-third of the women reported that
rest is still significant, at 48 percent. they had to stay at the police station ‘sometimes’ after
their duty hours (Figure 5.3). With eight of the States
Almost half of the women police personnel (48%) re- surveyed having more than half of the police-women
ported not getting any weekly off. What’s more, just

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 97

 Figure 5.2: One in two women police personnel does not get any weekly rest

“How many weekly offs do you get?”

Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: On an average, how many weekly off-days do you actually get? (Number of days)

Figure 5.3: Two in five women police personnel have to regularly stay back at work after duty hours

“How many times in a week are you asked to stay back at the police station even after duty hours?”

Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: With regards to your duty hours, how many times in a week are you asked to stay back at the police station even after
duty hours?

98 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

responding as ‘many times’, the picture is gloomy
Figure 5.4: Increasing workload the primary reason
throughout the country. for police women to work overtime
“What is generally the most important reason for staying
Increasing workload, emergency duties and lack back at police station after duty hours?”
of staff were the top three reasons reported by po- (Responses of women police personnel only)
lice-women for having to stay beyond the duty hours.
Twenty-nine percent of women police personnel re-
ported ‘increasing work load’ or ‘too much of work’,
as the main reason. Also, 18 percent reported ‘emer-
gency duties’ as the primary reason for working over-
time (Figure 5.4).

Table 5.5: How often do women have to stay back at

work after duty hours? (State-wise) (Responses of
women police personnel) (%)
Many
States Sometimes Rarely Never
times
Odisha 80 8 1 8
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of
Bihar 63 30 4 1 the respondents did not answer.
Telangana 63 21 4 6 ‘Miscellaneous reasons’ comprises Investigation of Cases,
Kerala 59 34 4 3 Attending Complaints & Registering Cases, Law and order,
Office order, Increasing Crime Rate, Improper Duty Timings,
Punjab 57 19 17 5 Patrolling, VIP duty, Medical Examination of Women,
Improper Staff Management. As the figures were less than 4%,
Himachal
56 32 10 2 all of them have been clubbed into one.
Pradesh
Question asked: What is generally the most important reason
Uttarakhand 54 37 3 0
for staying back at police station after duty hours? (The
Assam 50 24 11 12 question was asked only to those who reported staying back at
the police station ‘many times’, ‘sometimes’ or ‘rarely’)
Gujarat 47 20 24 6
Chhattisgarh 39 42 9 9
Rajasthan 38 46 13 3
Delhi 38 40 13 9
Maharashtra 35 46 13 3
Figure 5.5: One in every five police women reported
Karnataka 32 42 10 15 the absence of a separate toilet for women at their
Uttar Pradesh 32 39 27 2 police station

Andhra Pradesh 26 48 12 7 “Are separate toilets for women available at your police
Haryana 24 21 36 19 station/jurisdiction?”
(Responses of women police personnel only)
Jharkhand 19 46 19 13
Madhya
15 37 17 26
Pradesh
Nagaland 13 39 27 16
West Bengal 6 45 12 27
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.

iv. Separate toilets for men and women

With the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign kick-starting in
2014, access to toilets and complete sanitation cover-
age became buzzwords in the public health domain. In
its wake, the construction of toilets in every household Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of
became a high-priority agenda for every State. the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Are separate toilet for women available at
As the mission comes to a close five years later, an your police station/jurisdiction?
alarming truth stares us in the face. Even in 2019 more

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 99

than one in every five women police personnel (22%) ees. Nearly one-fourth (24%) of the police women
reported as not having a separate toilet at the police surveyed reported the absence of such a committee in
stations (Figure 5.5).1 their workplace or jurisdiction.2 (Table 5.7)

Bihar and Telangana, where three out of every five Table 5.7: One-fourth police women said that there
was no sexual harassment committee at their police
police-women (61% and 59% respectively) say they
station/jurisdiction
don’t have a separate toilet, lead the list. Delhi has the
“Are committees against sexual harassment available at
highest availability of separate toilets for women at
your police station/jurisdiction?”(responses of women
police stations. Here, 99 percent of the police-women police personnel only)
reported as having a separate toilet, closely followed States Yes No No Response
by West Bengal (96%), Jharkhand (95%), Gujarat
Bihar 18 76 6
(94%), Madhya Pradesh (93%) and Haryana (92%)
(Table 5.6). Telangana 41 47 12
Nagaland 44 28 28
Table 5.6: Separate toilets for women? (State-wise Jharkhand 58 31 11
responses of women police personnel) (%)
Chhattisgarh 63 34 3
States No Yes
Assam 64 32 4
Bihar 61 38
Uttarakhand 70 24 6
Telangana 59 40
Himachal Pradesh 71 25 5
Himachal Pradesh 48 51
Uttar Pradesh 71 22 6
Uttar Pradesh 41 58
Madhya Pradesh 71 19 10
Assam 34 65
Punjab 73 23 5
Uttarakhand 26 72
Gujarat 74 23 4
Karnataka 23 76
West Bengal 74 9 17
Nagaland 21 76
Haryana 75 15 10
Andhra Pradesh 19 81
Kerala 76 7 17
Odisha 19 82
Maharashtra 77 19 5
Chhattisgarh 19 81
Karnataka 78 22 1
Punjab 18 80
Odisha 79 18 2
Rajasthan 16 83
Rajasthan 79 16 5
Kerala 13 86
Andhra Pradesh 80 17 3
Maharashtra 13 87
Delhi 83 13 3
Haryana 8 92
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off.
Madhya Pradesh 7 93
Question asked: Are committees against sexual harassment
Gujarat 6 94 available at your police station/jurisdiction?
Jharkhand 4 95
West Bengal 1 96 The position is dismal throughout the country. In 13
Delhi 1 99 of the surveyed States, less than three-fourth of po-
lice-women reported the existence of such a commit-
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer. tee. Bihar’s situation was the worst, with 76 percent of
police-women reporting the absence of such a commit-
v. Sexual harassment committees tee. Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha are
The Sexual Harassment of women at Workplace Act better placed, with 79 percent or more police women
of 2013 makes it mandatory for all workplaces to from these States responding that the committee exists
constitute a committee which will look into sexual (Table 5.7).
harassment complaints faced by their female employ-
2 It is likely that multiple police personnel from a same station/
1 It is likely that multiple police personnel from a same station/ workplace might have been reported. Hence this is not a definitive
workplace might have been reported. Hence this is not a definitive number of the stations that do not have the committee against sexual
number of the stations that do not have the basic facility of a separate harassment, but merely an indicative number of the women police
toilet for women, but merely an indicative number of the women police personnel who have reported availability or unavailability of committee
personnel who have reported availability or lack of this basic facility at against sexual harassment at their respective police stations or within
their respective police stations. the jurisdiction of the police stations.

100 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

It’s important to note, however, that the proportion of Table 5.8: Switch the profession? (State-wise) (%)
‘no responses’ to this question was very high in several Yes No
States. While in Nagaland, as many as 28 percent of
States Women Men Women Men
police-women gave no response to the question, the
figures were on the higher side in West Bengal and Ker- Uttar Pradesh 63 56 35 44
ala as well (17% each). This could indicate the lack of Uttarakhand 54 47 27 45
awareness about the committee among policewomen. Himachal Pradesh 52 59 48 41
Gujarat 50 43 37 43
vi. Switch the job?
Nearly two in every five police-women (37%) said that Chhattisgarh 49 50 38 46
they are willing to quit the police force and go for an- Kerala 49 48 49 51
other job if the salary and perks remain the same, indi-
Jharkhand 47 31 50 62
cating a high level of dissatisfaction with their profes-
sion. With 63 percent police-women willing to give up Bihar 46 52 54 48
their job for an alternative one, which provides them Rajasthan 46 56 49 38
with the same salary and perks, Uttar Pradesh leads Delhi 40 46 57 50
the list. It is closely followed by Uttarakhand (54%)
Telangana 34 32 61 63
and Himachal Pradesh (52%). The dissatisfaction lev-
els were also very high in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh 33 36 53 57
Kerala, with almost half of the police-women willing Assam 32 26 51 55
to switch their jobs (Table 5.8). Karnataka 31 33 66 62
Andhra Pradesh 31 28 57 56
If we consider the combined figures of all the States,
dissatisfaction with a policing job was found to be Odisha 26 17 73 79
equal among both men and women. However, on a Maharashtra 25 25 70 70
deeper analysis, more police-women were found to be West Bengal 15 26 55 43
willing to switch their jobs for another, compared to
Punjab 15 17 79 76
police-men, in nine of the States surveyed. The gap was
found to be maximum in Jharkhand, with 47 percent Nagaland 14 20 70 70
police-women willing to give up their jobs as against Haryana 10 28 86 69
31 percent police-men. Police-women in Haryana and Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
Punjab were found to be most satisfied with their jobs, respondents did not answer.
with 86 percent and 79 percent respectively answering Question asked: Given a chance will you be willing to give up this
‘no’ to the job-switch question. profession and go for another job if the salary and perks remain
the same?
Interestingly, few States had a high percentage of
police-women who were indecisive when asked this
question. It is also important to mention that almost
one-third of the police-women in West Bengal could
neither say ‘yes’ nor ‘no’ on being asked the very same i. Inequalities within the Police force
question. More than half of the overall police personnel sample
admitted that men and women in police are not ‘com-
5.3: Attitude towards women in police pletely’ treated equally. On being asked to what ex-
An enabling environment and non-discriminatory at- tent are women and men police personnel given equal
titudes go a long way in ensuring women’s satisfaction treatment, less than half of the police personnel (44
with their workplace. The police culture is typically percent of the police-women and 46 percent of police
known for its patriarchal dispositions, although mas- men) said that they received complete equal treatment.
sive changes have been initiated in the system to blunt As many as 28 percent respondents were of the opin-
this image. In this sub-section, we study as to what ion that the equal treatment they received was ‘rarely’
extent both the sexes have been provided equal treat- or ‘not at all.’ The responses of male and female police
ment, and whether police women are discriminated personnel were similar to this question (Table 5.9).
against within the system.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 101

Table 5.9: About one in two personnel feels that men A notable difference of 18 percentage points was found
and women in police are not given completely equal in Kerala, with 78 percent of police-men reporting
treatment
that men and women police personnel are being
“To what extent are Women police personnel & men police treated completely equally as against 60 percent of
personnel given equal treatment?”
police-women. Other States with notable differences
in the responses of men and women in police were
Women Men
Bihar (15%), Chhattisgarh (14%), Jharkhand (12%)
Completely 44 45 and West Bengal (10%).
Somewhat 24 23
Rarely 12 12 ii. Prejudices towards women in police
Not at all 16 16 Policing is traditionally considered a man’s job. Not
surprisingly, many hold patriarchal prejudices and
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer. consider women to be incapable of handling police
duties. Their reasons for putting down women are
Question asked: There are various societal groups in police.
According to you, to what extent are the Women police person & manifold, including their perceived lack of strength, or
men police person personnel given equal treatment–completely, incapability of handling high intensity cases. They feel
somewhat, rarely or not at all? women might be better off at homes than working as
police-women. To assess the levels of such deep-seat-
Police-women posted at higher ranks (Assistant ed prejudices against women, we read out three state-
Sub-Inspector, Sub-inspector, Inspector and Circle In- ments to the respondents (both men and women) and
spector) are more likely to feel that male and female asked them if they agree or disagree with them.3 The
police are not treated equally (Table 5.10). first statement was ‘being in the police requires phys-
ical strength and aggressive behaviour which women
Table 5.10: Policewomen at higher ranks more likely to
report discrimination lack.’ The second statement was ‘women police are
incapable of handling high intensity crimes and cases’.
“To what extent are Women police personnel & men police
personnel given equal treatment?”
While third and last statement was ‘because of inflexi-
(Responses of women police personnel only) ble working hours, it is not alright for women to work
  Constabulary Inspectors in the police force as they cannot attend to homely
duties.’ Responses to these questions have been ana-
Completely 45 41
lysed here.
Somewhat 24 28
Rarely 12 12 iii. Composite prejudice index (against women in
Not at all 16 15 police)
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
In order to analyse the overall attitude of police per-
respondents did not answer. sonnel towards the women in police, we created a
Constabulary includes Constable and Head-constable. Inspectors
composite index. It took into account the responses of
include Assistant Sub-Inspector, Inspector and Circle Inspector. the police personnel on each of the three above-men-
There were not enough cases for ranks higher than the ones tioned statements. On the basis of the intensity of their
mentioned for women (only 3 police-women as against 27 police-
men at the positions of ASP/DSP or other higher ranks).
bias, we grouped the respondents into four categories-
‘high bias’, ‘medium bias’, ‘low bias’ and ‘no bias’
Our analysis reveals significant variation across States. (Please see Appendix 4 for details on index calculation
In Telangana, women police personnel report the high- methodology).
est level of discrimination with 55 percent police-wom-
en saying that they are ‘not at all’ treated equally. In One in every four male police personnel has a ‘high’
other words, two of every three police-women in Tel- degree of bias against women in police, while a signif-
angana strongly feel that there is unequal treatment. icant proportion of male police personnel were also
Similarly, in Punjab and Haryana, two of every five found to have a ‘medium’ degree of bias (16%). The
police-women (40% in Punjab and 38% in Haryana) level of prejudice is relatively lower amongst female
reported ‘rarely’ or ‘not at all’ equal treatment (Table police personnel (Table 5.13).
5.10).
3 Please note that this is not a comparative question on the prejudices
of women in police. The responses on these three statements were
In some States, male police personnel’s opinions on
recorded separately.
this question varied significantly from that of females.

102 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 5.11: Equal treatment to men and women? (State-wise) (%)
Women Men
States Completely Somewhat Rarely Not at all Completely Somewhat Rarely Not at all
Telangana 17 16 10 55 18 18 7 52
Haryana 44 19 7 31 42 19 9 28
Punjab 41 17 11 29 35 21 9 30
Karnataka 24 31 10 21 25 35 13 20
Madhya
33 33 13 20 23 38 18 20
Pradesh
Kerala 60 9 11 17 78 5 3 12
Maharashtra 46 17 13 17 38 22 18 19
Assam 58 18 8 15 53 15 13 19
Delhi 53 13 19 14 59 16 6 17
Jharkhand 30 36 20 14 42 31 15 10
Rajasthan 54 16 16 13 58 26 12 5
Gujarat 46 26 6 12 44 26 6 14
Uttar Pradesh 53 21 11 12 58 16 16 10
Odisha 47 15 13 11 50 16 10 13
Andhra Pradesh 44 29 17 10 44 29 16 10
Nagaland 44 21 13 10 41 31 15 6
West Bengal 38 24 20 9 48 25 8 12
Chhattisgarh 43 37 8 9 57 19 16 3
Uttarakhand 37 49 6 6 37 49 9 4
Bihar 17 56 23 5 32 26 26 15
Himachal
76 12 7 5 82 7 3 8
Pradesh
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.

Table 5.12: Responses to the three statements (%)

Statement 3:
Statement 1: Statement 2:
‘Because of inflexible working
‘Being in the police requires ‘Women police are incapable of
hours, it is not alright for women
physical strength and aggressive handling high intensity crimes
to work in the police force as they
behaviour which women lack’ and cases’
cannot attend to homely duties’
Overall Men Women Overall Men Women Overall Men Women
Fully agree 14 15 10 10 11 7 22 23 17
Somewhat
27 28 19 22 23 15 29 31 24
agree
Somewhat
19 19 20 25 25 26 19 18 22
disagree
Fully disagree 39 36 48 41 39 51 27 24 35
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with these arguments: 1. ‘Being in the police requires physical strength
and aggressive behaviour which women lack’ 2. ‘Women police are incapable of handling high intensity crimes and cases’ 3. ‘Because of
inflexible working hours, it is not alright for women to work in the police force as they cannot attend to homely duties’

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 103

Table 5.13: One in four male police personnel is highly States with the highest levels of prejudice among male
biased against women in police personnel are Telangana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
  Overall (%) Men (%) Women (%) Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal.
High bias 23 25 15 Among these, Telangana, with four in every five, and
Medium 15 16 12 Bihar, with three in every four policemen being highly
prejudiced, fared the worst. On the other hand, male
Low 24 24 23
police personnel from Haryana and Odisha (9 and
No bias 37 34 49
10 percent respectively had high bias) emerged as the
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the least biased.
respondents did not answer.

Comparing male and female responses State-wise, the

When we compared the responses of male police per-
differences in opinion were significant in Bihar, with
sonnel with those of females, we found a significant
three-fifth of the men surveyed agreeing with all three
difference. Men in police were found to harbour much
statements (high bias) and almost an equal proportion
stronger stereotypes compared to their female counter-
of women disagreeing with all the three (no bias). Kar-
parts. Male police personnel are more likely to agree
nataka was also notable with more than two-fifth of
with the gender-stereotypical statements (difference of
the police-men agreeing with all three, and more than
10 percent points in the high bias category), while po-
half of the police-women agreeing with none (Table
lice women are much more likely to disagree with such
5.13).
statements (difference of 15 percentage points in the
“no bias” category).

Table 5.13: Level of bias towards women in police (State-wise) (%)

Men Women
High High
States Medium Low No bias Medium Low No bias
bias bias
Bihar 60 13 11 17 18 17 10 54
Karnataka 44 11 16 28 15 16 12 57
West Bengal 39 10 20 25 30 6 26 32
Telangana 38 42 14 3 31 45 22 2
Punjab 33 17 11 37 24 24 14 38
Gujarat 31 13 31 34 12 6 35 45
Maharashtra 30 20 12 37 11 12 22 54
Madhya Pradesh 27 30 30 11 21 14 22 42
Andhra Pradesh 24 22 28 26 22 11 11 56
Uttar Pradesh 24 13 24 39 8 3 23 66
Rajasthan 23 10 8 59 26 12 6 57
Uttarakhand 22 12 16 49 13 9 14 62
Kerala 18 15 44 23 2 5 48 45
Jharkhand 17 19 38 26 13 15 28 43
Nagaland 16 21 32 31 32 6 17 45
Delhi 16 13 24 47 7 17 20 57
Chhattisgarh 15 15 34 31 16 11 34 38
Himachal Pradesh 14 9 47 31 9 4 39 48
Odisha 13 10 31 45 3 6 27 64
Assam 10 11 8 70 5 15 8 71
Haryana 9 5 43 39 7 5 47 42
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.

104 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

5.4: Gender sensitisation spondents into two categories, the ones who have less
than five years of experience with the police5, and the
At this stage, it becomes important to see whether the
ones having more than five years of work experience.
police personnel surveyed received any training on
gender sensitisation, imperative for addressing pre-ex-
Among the male respondents who joined the police
isting biases towards both–women within police and
force within last five years, 11 percent have received
women who approach the police. The current section
no such training either at the time of joining or af-
takes a penetrating look into this issue.
terwards. Among those police-men who have more
than five years of experience in the service, one-third
On being asked about the last time they received
received the training during last two-three years and
training on gender sensitisation, one in every 10 police
more than one-third (37%) received it only at the time
personnel reported never getting any such training,
of joining. Nine percent of the police-men with more
whereas, two in every five police personnel received
than five years of experience never got such training.
this specialised training only at the time of joining.
In other words, close to half (46%) of the police-men
Only one-third reported being trained on gender with-
with more than five years of experience have either
in the last two to three years.4 Further, policewomen
received such training at the time of joining, or not
were more likely to report receiving gender sensitisa-
received it at all. Also, if you have joined the police
tion training than policemen (Table 5.14).
force within last five years, likelihood of your receiv-
Table 5.14: One in three police personnel was
ing training on gender sensitisation at the time of join-
provided gender sensitisation training in the last 2-3 ing seems to have improved compared to the others.
years (Table 5.15)
“When was the last time you received training about sensi-
tisation towards women?” Across the States, Nagaland provided the least gender
Overall Men Women sensitisation training, with almost two in every five
Last 2-3 years 32 32 34 male police personnel (37%) never receiving any such
training. This is followed by Gujarat with one in every
Before that 16 16 16
four male police personnel (24%) never being trained
Time of joining 40 39 41
on gender sensitisation. Bihar, with 22 percent, and
Never 9 10 6 Assam, with 20 percent, were just slightly better. Con-
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the versely, Rajasthan was found to have no male police
respondents did not answer. personnel left untrained with respect to gender sensiti-
Question asked: When was the last time you received training sation (Table 5.16).
about sensitisation towards women?

5 Seventeen percent of the police personnel interviewed joined the

In absence of any guidelines with regard to frequency police force during last five years (15% men and 26% women).
of training, we assumed such training should be given
to the police personnel at least once in every five years,
to make them aware about the latest developments
and to test their efficiencies. Thus, we divided the re-

4 Eight percent of the police personnel interviewed joined the police

force during last three years (7% men and 13% women).

Table 5.15: Personnel who were recruited in the last five years more likely to be trained on gender sensitisation
“When was the last time you received training about sensitisation towards women?”
Men Women
Years of
experience Last 2-3 Time of Last 2-3 Time of
Before that Never Before that Never
years* joining years** joining
less than 5 years 24 11 51 11 27 11 50 8
more than 5 years 33 17 37 9 37 18 38 5
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
*7% of the police-men interviewed joined the police force during last three years.
**13% of the police-women interviewed joined the police force during last three years.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 105

Table 5.16: Training on sensitisation towards women (State-wise)(%)
“When was the last time you received training on sensitisation towards women?”
Men Women
Last 2-3 Time of Last 2-3 Time of
States Before that Never Before that Never
years joining years joining
Nagaland 16 6 15 37 37 3 18 20
Gujarat 11 7 52 24 7 3 67 20
Bihar 9 9 58 22 15 14 55 13
Assam 27 23 28 20 26 26 31 15
Telangana 28 18 37 16 35 18 43 4
Kerala 46 17 24 12 45 15 34 5
Uttarakhand 49 21 21 7 36 17 38 3
Maharashtra 35 14 41 7 45 10 38 5
Chhattisgarh 19 5 66 7 33 7 51 9
Himachal Pradesh 59 5 30 6 54 5 35 5
Odisha 40 7 44 6 30 5 57 6
Andhra Pradesh 42 25 28 5 56 16 23 6
Jharkhand 41 23 28 5 40 22 34 3
Uttar Pradesh 38 7 49 5 35 10 53 1
Punjab 26 20 49 4 29 19 48 2
Madhya Pradesh 18 27 48 3 15 21 57 3
West Bengal 14 31 41 3 11 35 39 5
Delhi 52 16 30 2 60 9 31 0
Karnataka 48 30 20 2 36 45 18 1
Haryana 23 13 61 2 27 7 66 0
Rajasthan 33 20 47 0 40 14 44 2
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.

Table 5.17: To what extent ‘domestic violence’, ‘dowry’, ‘sexual harassment’ and ‘rape’ complaints are false and
motivated? (%)

Complaints ‘domestic violence’ ‘dowry’ ‘sexual harassment’ ‘rape’

of… Overall Men Women Overall Men Women Overall Men Women Overall Men Women
A lot 26 27 24 25 25 23 18 19 17 16 16 15
Somewhat 40 39 43 34 34 36 34 34 35 27 27 29
Very rare 20 20 20 24 24 25 25 25 25 28 28 27
Not at all 10 10 11 12 12 11 18 17 20 24 24 26
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Considering your own work experience in police, to what extent ‘domestic violence’, ‘dowry’, ‘sexual harassment’ and
‘rape’ complaints false and motivated–A lot, somewhat, very rare or none at all?

106 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

5.5: Attitudes towards gender-related One in every five police personnel is of the opinion
complaints that complaints of gender-based violence are false and
motivated to a very high extent (responding ‘many’
In this section, we look at the opinions of police per-
for all the four questions), while almost an equal num-
sonnel on their experience of gender-based violence
ber of police personnel believe the complaints to be
(GBV) complaints6. We also look at the extent to
false and motivated to a high extent. There was very
which the police personnel perceive people from the
little variation on the opinions of male and female po-
Hijra or transgender community as being naturally
lice personnel on this issue (Table 5.18).
prone towards committing crimes.
Table 5.18: Nearly one in five police personnel is of the
i. Opinion on complaints of gender-based opinion that gender-based violence complaints are
violence false and motivated to a great extent
Reporting of cases of gender-based violence in India To what extent are the complaints of gender-based vio-
is abysmally low. The National Family Health Survey lence false and motivated?
(NFHS) report of 2015-16 reveals that 99 percent of Overall Men Women
cases of sexual harassment go unreported (Bhattacha-  
(%) (%) (%)
rya and Kundu, 2018).
To a very high extent 18 17 19

While numerous factors are at play here, including the High 21 21 21

fear of social stigma (SPIR 2018, chapter 6), disbelief Medium 20 20 18
by police personnel is also a major contributing factor.
Low 22 22 22
The problem is exacerbated with police unwilling to
file complaints or follow due procedures. Recent laws Not at all 17 17 19
such as the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013 Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences respondents did not answer.
Act of 2012 make it mandatory for the police to file all
cases of sexual abuse, yet cases of non-registration are Six of the States, namely, Delhi, Punjab, Karnataka,
not uncommon (Human Rights Watch, 2017). Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Assam were
found to have about half or more police personnel
In this context, the opinions of police personnel on who believed that complaints related to gender-based
whether such cases are false and motivated are perti- violence are false and motivated to ‘a very high’ or to
nent to note. These answers are linked to the response ‘a high’ extent (around 10 percentage points higher
of the police to cases of violence against women. Po- than the national average). On the other hand, States
lice personnel were asked questions about whether, in like Kerala, Telangana, Nagaland and Odisha had less
their opinion, the following complaints are false and than 10 percent police personnel with the “to a very
motivated—complaints of domestic violence, dowry, high extent” response (Table 5.19).
sexual harassment and rape.7
iii. Prejudices towards transgender and Hijra
ii. Composite index for gender based violence community
complaints Transgenders were recently given legal recognition in
In order to analyse the overall attitude of police per- India in the landmark case of National Legal Services
sonnel towards gender-based violence, we created a Authority vs Union of India (2014). But being accord-
composite index, taking into account the responses of ed legal recognition and being accepted by society for
police personnel on all four types of complaints. The being a sexual minority are two different things. It is
index was based on the extent to which police per- extremely important therefore, to evaluate the opinion
sonnel regard such complaints as false and motivated. of police personnel about this community, as the for-
The respondents were grouped into five categories–‘to mer is an arm of the State. While we may have come a
a very high extent’, ‘to a high extent’, ‘medium extent’, long way on the road to social, economic and educa-
‘to a low extent’ and ‘not at all’ (Please see Appendix 4 tional empowerment of sexual minorities with the ap-
for a detailed index calculation methodology). pointment of the first transgender police officer in Ta-
6 Please note that complaints do not necessarily imply FIR.  mil Nadu in 2017, but there’s still much to be desired.
7 Please note that this is not a comparative question on the gender
based violence complaints. We asked separate questions on these four
kinds of complaints.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 107

Table 5.19: Are gender-based violence complaints false Table 5.20: Less than one in 10 police personnel feel
and motivated? (State-wise) (%) that Hijras and transgenders are very much naturally
inclined towards committing crimes
Very Not at
States High Medium Low
high all
“In your opinion, to what extent are the Hijras/transgen-
Assam 37 11 18 12 18 der people naturally prone towards committing crimes”
Karnataka 31 19 22 22 6 Men police Women
Jharkhand 27 17 23 20 12 Overall (%) personnel police per-
(%) sonnel (%)
Rajasthan 26 16 17 10 31
Very much 8 8 7
Uttarakhand 25 17 15 32 11
Somewhat 27 27 28
Chhattisgarh 24 21 14 19 17
Rarely 32 32 30
Punjab 23 28 17 12 15
Not at all 25 25 25
Haryana 23 24 24 21 5
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
Madhya respondents did not answer.
22 27 20 20 11
Pradesh
Question asked: In your opinion, to what extent are the Hijras/
Andhra transgender people naturally prone towards committing crimes–
22 23 26 18 10
Pradesh very much, somewhat, rarely or not at all?
Gujarat 20 16 24 22 16
Table 5.21: Are transgenders and Hijras naturally prone
West Bengal 16 13 14 18 29
towards committing crimes? (State-wise responses of
Maharashtra 14 16 18 26 24 both men and women police personnel) (%)
Himachal
13 36 20 21 10 Very Some- Not at
Pradesh States Rarely
much what all
Bihar 13 19 27 29 10
Andhra
Uttar Pradesh 12 26 24 17 18 18 51 24 6
Pradesh
Delhi 8 47 20 14 7 Uttar Pradesh 18 25 17 29
Odisha 7 14 20 27 30 Maharashtra 17 38 26 11
Nagaland 5 9 8 28 45 Telangana 17 29 25 29
Telangana 3 16 26 39 16 Kerala 10 23 16 34
Kerala 1 26 21 31 15 Haryana 9 25 47 15
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the Madhya
respondents did not answer. 9 36 40 12
Pradesh
Jharkhand 9 20 46 19
Some of transgender people also identify themselves as Rajasthan 8 29 30 31
Hijras.8 In this section, we attempt to study the level of Bihar 6 27 39 26
prejudices, if any, among police personnel, about the
Chhattisgarh 6 32 30 28
transgender people and the people belonging to Hijra
Gujarat 5 35 33 23
community.
West Bengal* 5 24 32 16
A little less than one in 10 police personnel feel that Karnataka 4 28 41 25
Hijras and transgender people are naturally prone Delhi 4 24 35 25
towards committing crimes very much. More than Himachal
3 16 33 44
a quarter (27%) police personnel feel that they are Pradesh
‘somewhat’ naturally inclined towards committing Punjab 3 20 22 43
crimes. A similar proportion of police personnel Uttarakhand 3 28 36 19
(25%), however, believe that Hijras and trangenders
Odisha 2 22 25 46
are ‘not at all’ naturally inclined towards committing
Nagaland* 1 8 24 28
crimes (Table 5.20).
Assam 0 28 46 15
8 People who perform a specific social role in their communities,
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
usually making a living as street performers–singing, dancing, and
respondents did not answer.
performing blessings for donations. The two terms–‘transgender’
and ‘Hijras’should not be used interchangeably, as only a section of *In Nagaland and West Bengal, as a high as 39 percent and 23
transgender people identify themselves as Hijras. Moreover, Hijras percent of the respondents, respectively, gave no response to the
might also include people from intersex community and others. question.

108 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

On State-wise comparison, we found Andhra Pradesh Inequalities are further exacerbated by the attitude of
to have maximum respondents (both male and female) the male police personnel towards their female coun-
with 18 percent responding as ‘very much’ and 51 per- terparts, in the context of their performance. Rigid
cent responding as ‘somewhat’. Uttar Pradesh found gender roles and traditional attitudes towards women
have second highest number of respondents reporting continue to be obstacles in the progress arcs of the
as ‘very much’ (18%) followed by Maharashtra and fairer sex.
Telanagana (17% each). However, on combining re-
sponses under ‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ categories, Plugging the gaps in gender parity and equity will en-
Maharashtra (17% ‘very much’ and 38% ‘somewhat’) sure better efficiency of the police. A gender-inclusive
was found to be second after Andhra Pradesh. Odisha, police force will certainly lead to greater trust build-up
Himachal and Punjab had more than two-fifth report- between the law-enforcement agency and the public,
ing as ‘not at all’ to the question (Table 5.21). resulting in a smooth police-public interface. It would
go a long way in making the police stations more ac-
5.6: Summing up cessible for women in general. To achieve this target,
we need to look both within and outside—ameliora-
Indian police, it appears, does not create an enabling
tion of the status of women within the police force and
environment for its women personnel. Neither is it
breaking prejudices against women outside the police
a gender-friendly space, with respect to women (and
force are objectives that must be pursued simultane-
transgenders), both within and outside the police
ously. For the police, it is equally important to start
force. The first conception is reinforced by the low
looking beyond the male-female binary and to become
representation of women in police. Even the work
more sensitive of the needs of the transgenders in the
profiles of women who are part of the existing po-
country.
lice force reflect poor gender parity. Women police in
a majority of States were found engaged in more in-
house duties, making them almost invisible in public
spaces. A significant percentage of women police do
not even have access to separate toilets.

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cieties, ‘Status of Policing in India Report (SPIR 2018)’. Economic Studies. Available at <https://academic.oup.
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Human Rights Watch, ‘“Everyone Blames Me” Barriers to

Justice and Support Services for Sexual Assault Survivors

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 109

 Police and
6
the Society

New Delhi, India- April 26, 2006: Students clash with Delhi Police as they stage a protest in the capital.
(Credits: Sunil Saxena, Hindustan Times)

110 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

C
hapter 6 of the report looks at the conditions of marginalised
sections—both with the police force, as well as outside, by
studying perception of personnel towards communities such as
SCs, STs, OBCs, Muslims, migrants, etc. In the first part of the chapter,
we report the discrimination faced by the vulnerable groups within the
police force, while in the second part we move on to analyse personnel’s
perceptions about certain communities, and their inclination to commit
crimes. We also report in the chapter the level of sympathy that personnel
have towards mob violence.
• Less than half of the police personnel feel that SCs and STs within the
police are given completely equal treatment when compared to other
caste groups. SC and ST personnel are more likely to believe that
discrimination exists
• Almost one in three personnel feel that religious minorities within the
police force are not given completely equal treatment. Sikh personnel
are most likely to hold this opinion
• Fourteen percent personnel feel that Muslims are ‘very much’ naturally
prone to committing crimes, while 36 percent feel that Muslims are
‘somewhat’ naturally prone to committing crimes
• One in five police personnel believes that complaints under the
Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act are
very much false and motivated. Upper caste personnel more likely to
be of this opinion
• Twenty-four percent personnel believe that migrants are very much
naturally prone to committing crimes, 36 percent personnel feel that
they are ‘somewhat’ naturally prone to committing crimes.
• Two out of five police personnel think that children in conflict with
law between the ages of 16 to 18 years old should be treated like adult
criminals
• Thirty-five percent personnel feel (to a large extent and somewhat
combined) that it is natural for a mob to punish the culprit in case of
cow slaughter

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 111

 6
Police and the Society:
Attitude Towards Various Sections

A
s per the National Crime Record Bureau 6.1: Inequalities within the Police
(NCRB) report (2016) on Prison Statistics in
In this subsection, we assess the police on whether po-
India, two-third of the prison inmates com-
lice personnel belonging to different castes and reli-
prise undertrials. As reported in the Status of Polic-
gious groups are given equal treatment.
ing in India Report 2018, disadvantaged sections such
as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and
i. Caste-based Prejudices
Muslims are disproportionately incarcerated1. Sim-
In the survey, all respondents were asked to what ex-
ilarly, the likelihood of poor people of SC, ST and
tent, according to them, do police personnel belonging
Muslim backgrounds being awarded capital punish-
to Schedule Castes (SCs) and Schedule Tribes (STs) get
ment is also much higher. At the same time, Dalits,
equal treatment compared to others. Less than half of
tribals, and religious minorities are underrepresented
the respondents (45%) said that they are treated com-
in Indian police forces, and their representation has in
pletely equally. A significant number of police person-
fact worsened over the last five years. Data, therefore,
nel (less than one in every four) also held the opinion
suggests inherent institutional biases against certain
that SCs and STs in the police are either treated ‘rare-
sections in the society.
ly’ equally or ‘not equally at all’ (Figure 6.1).
In this chapter, we focus on discrimination faced by the
With regard to the treatment of tribal and non-trib-
personnel based on caste or religious identities. This
al police personnel, about two-fifth of the tribal po-
chapter attempts to locate police personnel amidst the
lice personnel reported the treatment to be complete-
larger social and professional hierarchies. Further, the
ly equal and one-fourth reported it to be somewhat
chapter examines the prevalence of training on human
equal. On comparison, we did not find much of a dif-
rights and caste sensitisation, and analyses the extent
ference between STs, SCs and OBCs. The only notable
to which it has been imparted to the personnel as an
difference was among police personnel belonging to
effort to address the existing prejudices.
upper-castes (general category), with exactly half of
them reporting the treatment to be completely equal
Moving on from discrimination faced by the vulnera-
(8%higher than STs).
ble sections within the police force, we further analyse
data on prejudices against certain communities and
A similar pattern was observed when we compared
minorities through a set of opinion-based questions.
the responses of SC and other police personnel, with
We conclude by presenting perceptions of police per-
11 percentage points more general category respond-
sonnel on contentious issues like juvenile delinquency,
ents believing the treatment to be completely equal.
mob violence, etc.
It is important to highlight that almost one in every
three SC police personnel (‘rarely’ and ‘not at all’ com-
1 SPIR 2018, Chapter 1: “In case of SCs, only four States (West Bengal, bined) was found to believe that there is a bias in how
Uttarakhand, Punjab and Karnataka) out of the selected 22 have SC
prisoners in proportion to or less than their population in the State; in
SCs and non-SCs are treated within police force (Table
case of STs this number is three (Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, 6.1).
Nagaland), and in case of Muslims, all of the 22 States have a higher
proportion of Muslim prisoners than the Muslim population in the
State” (page 25).

112 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Figure 6.1: Less than half of the police personnel feel that SCs and STs within the police are given completely
equal treatment when compared to other caste groups (%)
“To what extent are the tribal & non-tribal and Dalit & non-Dalit police personnel given equal treatment?”

Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: There are various societal groups in police. According to you, to what extent are: a. the tribal police personnel & non
tribal police personnel; b. Dalit police personnel & non-Dalit police personnel- given equal treatment - completely, somewhat, rarely
less or not at all?

Table 6.1: SC and ST personnel less likely to feel that A State-wise comparison revealed more polarised
they are treated in the same manner as other caste opinions on the question of whether ST and non-ST
groups
personnel are treated equally. In Telangana, a State
To what extent are ST and non-ST police personnel with 9 percent ST population and 8.4 percent ST
treated equally?
personnel in the police, 53 percent of the overall re-
spondents said that STs and non-STs were ‘not at all’
Completely

Somewhat

Not at all
Rarely

given equal treatment. States like Karnataka, Maha-

rashtra, Assam and Kerala also had more than one
in five personnel responding that the treatment was
Scheduled Caste(SC) not all equal. In Karnataka, just 4 percent respondents
39 26 13 17
respondents said that ‘completely equal’ treatment was given to ST
Scheduled Tribe(ST) and non-ST personnel. Further, we found seven of the
42 26 13 13
respondents States to have more than one-third reporting the treat-
Other Backward ment to ST police personnel to be rarely or not at all
44 24 12 16
Caste(OBC) respondents equal (Table 6.2).
General respondents 50 20 11 15
When we looked at the responses of only the tribal po-
To what extent are SC and non-SC police personnel lice-personnel in each of the States, Telangana (53%)
treated equally? and Maharashtra (55%) were found to have more
Scheduled Caste(SC) than half reporting the treatment to be rarely or not
40 24 15 17
respondents at all equal, while Karnataka had more than six out
Scheduled Tribe(ST) of ten tribal police personnel believing so (Table 6.3).
36 19 16 14
respondents
Other Backward With respect to SCs, with more than half reporting
47 20 13 17
Caste(OBC) respondents treatment to be more of unequal (‘rarely’ and ‘not at
General respondents 51 19 11 16 all’ combined), we again found Telangana to be on the
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the top of the list. Overall, 10 of the States surveyed were
respondents did not answer. found to have about one-third or more than one-third

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 113

police personnel reporting treatment to be rarely or Table 6.3: Are ST and non-ST police personnel treated
not at all equal (Table 6.4). equally? (State-wise responses of only STs) (%)
To what extent are ST and non-ST police personnel treated
State-wise disaggregation of only SC respondents pro- equally?
vides a clearer picture, with Telangana (54%), Kar-

Completely

Somewhat

Not at all
Rarely
nataka (54%) and Madhya Pradesh (50%) having States
more than half of SC police personnel believing the
treatment to be unequal (‘rarely’ and ‘not at all’ com-
bined). Bihar and Gujarat had two in every five SC Overall 42 26 13 13
police personnel having the same opinion. Conversely, Telangana 36 7 0 53
just 12 percent SC respondents from Karnataka felt Maharashtra 24 18 15 40
that they were given ‘completely equal treatment’,
Assam 57 17 1 23
when compared to non-SCs (Table 6.5).
Karnataka 6 52 26 17

ii. Prejudices against minorities Gujarat 44 14 11 13

On being asked whether the minorities2in the police Madhya Pradesh 29 46 13 11
force are given equal treatment compared to the Odisha 58 9 10 9
2 State-wise religious or linguistic minorities Jharkhand 30 54 7 9
Andhra Pradesh 61 23 8 8
Table 6.2: Are ST and non-ST police personnel treated
equally? (State-wise) (%) Rajasthan 52 14 26 8
Chhattisgarh 48 36 6 4
To what extent are ST and non-ST police personnel
treated equally? Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer. Only States with minimum 50 people
Completely

Somewhat

Not at all

from ST caste groups in the sample included; Nagaland excluded

Rarely

States because there are only ST personnel.

Sample Size: Telangana (N=58), Maharashtra (N=111), Assam
(N=82), Karnataka (N=54), Gujarat (N=105), Madhya Pradesh
Overall 45 24 12 15 (N=120), Odisha (N=152), Jharkhand (N=138), Andhra Pradesh
(N=74), Rajasthan (N=104), Chhattisgarh (N=228).
Telangana 37 6 2 53
Karnataka 4 48 23 24
Maharashtra 38 21 15 22 majority community, 45 percent of the police personnel
Assam 55 20 4 20 reported the treatment to be ‘completely’ equal. On the
Kerala 78 1 0 20
other hand, almost one in every seven (16%) reported
the treatment to be completely unequal. Compared to
Delhi 60 14 5 19
other religious minorities, Sikhs were far more likely
Haryana 37 23 16 18 to perceive the treatment as being unequal (Table 6.6).
West Bengal 44 23 10 16
Madhya Pradesh 28 37 19 15 With Telangana, Punjab and Karnataka faring the
Gujarat 46 11 20 13 worst, nine of the surveyed States had more than
Bihar 32 29 25 12 one in every three police personnel reporting unequal
treatment towards minorities within the police (‘rare-
Odisha 54 7 15 12
ly’ and ‘not at all’ combined).
Andhra Pradesh 49 29 13 8
Uttar Pradesh 55 19 10 8 Telangana had more than half of its police personnel
Himachal Pradesh 80 6 3 7 reporting treatment to be not equal at all. Conversely,
Rajasthan 53 22 19 6 just 4 percent respondents from Karnataka reported
Chhattisgarh 53 33 5 4 ‘completely equal’ treatment. Himachal Pradesh and
Kerala had highest proportion of police personnel,
Jharkhand 31 56 10 3
four in every five, reporting treatment to be complete-
Uttarakhand 36 45 14 3
ly equal (Table 6.7).
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Punjab excluded because there are no ST personnel. Nagaland
excluded because all personnel are ST.

114 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 6.4: Are SC and non-SC police personnel treated Delhi 49 19 5 21
equally? (State-wise) (%)
Bihar 27 32 22 18
To what extent are SC and non-SC police personnel
treated equally? Gujarat 44 5 22 18
Madhya Pradesh 19 31 33 17

Completely

Somewhat

Not at all
Rarely
Andhra Pradesh 35 27 20 15
States
Maharashtra 44 20 11 15
Kerala 83 3 0 14
Overall 45 20 13 16
Haryana 44 17 24 13
Telangana 38 5 6 48
Uttar Pradesh 53 24 12 9
Punjab 36 19 7 33
Jharkhand 23 43 27 6
Maharashtra 41 15 15 24
Himachal Pradesh 66 18 7 6
Karnataka 21 28 23 21
Rajasthan 32 54 11 4
Delhi 59 15 4 20
Chhattisgarh 56 33 6 4
Kerala 78 1 0 19
Uttarakhand 27 42 27 0
Madhya Pradesh 25 28 26 19
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
Assam 55 15 10 18 respondents did not answer.
Haryana 41 22 19 17 Nagaland excluded because there are no SC personnel. Sample
West Bengal 46 18 9 17 size: Andhra Pradesh (N=127), Assam (N=54), Bihar (N=115),
Gujarat (N=63), Haryana (N=152), Himachal Pradesh (N=104),
Bihar 32 28 24 16 Karnataka (N=179), Kerala (N=65), Madhya Pradesh (N=139),
Gujarat 46 12 17 14 Maharashtra (N=114), Odisha (N=104), Punjab (N=188),
Rajasthan (N=123), Uttar Pradesh (N=131), West Bengal
Odisha 53 15 6 13 (N=187), Delhi (N=57), Jharkhand (N=70), Chhattisgarh (N=97),
Uttarakhand (N=71), Telangana (N=124).
Andhra Pradesh 43 25 19 11
Uttar Pradesh 59 22 10 8
Himachal Pradesh 79 8 4 7
Jharkhand 33 36 23 7
Table 6.6: One in three Sikh personnel feels that the
Rajasthan 53 28 12 6 treatment towards minorities within the police force is
Chhattisgarh 52 25 15 4 not at all equal

Uttarakhand 36 45 13 4 “To what extent are police personnel belonging to the

minority religion and those belonging to other (majority)
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the religions treated equally?”
respondents did not answer.
Completely

Somewhat

Not at all
Nagaland excluded because there are no SC personnel.
Rarely

Table 6.5: Are SC and non-SC police personnel treated Overall 45 20 15 16

equally? (State-wise Responses of only SCs)(%)
Hindu
45 21 15 16
To what extent are SC and non-SC police personnel treated respondents
equally? Muslim
45 19 20 15
respondents
Completely

Somewhat

Not at all
Rarely

Christian
States 45 21 16 9
respondents
Sikh
37 15 12 31
Overall 40 24 15 17 respondents

Telangana 36 4 7 47 Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Assam 30 30 7 30
In our survey, 83% of respondents were Hindus, 4% Muslims, 7%
Punjab 43 22 6 26 Christian, 5% Sikhs and 1% were others.
Karnataka 12 24 29 25 Question asked: There are various societal groups in police.
Odisha 45 14 12 21 According to you, to what extent are the minority religion police
and other religion Police personnel given equal treatment -
West Bengal 50 16 7 21 completely, somewhat, rarely or not at all?

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 115

Table 6.7: Are minority police personnel treated the rule of law. It is in this context that we asked ques-
equally? (State-wise) (%) tions pertaining to training on ‘human rights’, ‘caste
“To what extent are police personnel belonging to the sensitisation’ and ‘crowd control’.
minority religion and those belonging to other (majority)
religions treated equally?”
Most police personnel were found to have received

Completely
the trainings, however, compared to human rights and

Somewhat

Not at all
Rarely
States caste sensitisation, more police personnel were found
to have received their training in crowd control. Fur-
thermore, a majority of the personnel received these
Overall 45 20 15 16 trainings only at the time of joining (Figure 6.2).
Telangana 37 5 3 51
Punjab 36 14 11 34 In absence of any guidelines with regard to frequen-
Karnataka 4 36 31 24 cy of trainings, we assumed such trainings should be
Maharashtra 39 16 18 23 given to the police personnel at least once in every five
years, to make them aware about the latest develop-
Assam 57 14 9 20
ments and to test their efficiencies. Thus, we divided
Haryana 43 20 16 19
the respondents into two categories, the ones who
Kerala 78 1 0 19 have less than five years of experience with the police,3
Madhya Pradesh 17 36 27 19 and the ones having more than five years of work ex-
West Bengal 49 17 10 17 perience.
Delhi 63 12 6 17
Among those with more than five years of experience
Gujarat 46 8 20 14
with police, more than half of the police personnel ei-
Odisha 46 20 9 14
ther received their training in human rights at the time
Bihar 31 30 26 13 of joining or never received it. Another way of looking
Andhra Pradesh 42 30 13 12 at it is that in last five years they have not been pro-
Himachal vided with any training in human rights. The situation
80 7 4 8
Pradesh is similar with respect to the other two trainings as
Nagaland 41 22 19 8 well- caste sensitisation and crowd control. Also, if
Rajasthan 50 28 16 6 you have joined the police force within last five years,
Chhattisgarh 51 25 15 5 likelihood of your receiving these trainings at the time
of joining seems to have improved compared to the
Jharkhand 33 26 37 4
others (Table 6.8).
Uttar Pradesh 65 19 13 3
Uttarakhand 34 44 18 3 On a state-wise comparison, Bihar was found to have
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the highest proportion of police personnel who have never
respondents did not answer. received training on human rights (about two in every
five). Overall, seven of the States surveyed– Bihar, As-
6.2: Training on human rights, caste sam, Gujarat, Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh
sensitisation and crowd control and Telangana—have at least one in every five police
Training modules are prepared for police personnel personnel who have never received training on human
with the goal of imparting standard and practical rights (Table 6.9).
skills, and to sensitise them towards vulnerable com-
munities. Proper training is intended to make train- With respect to training on caste sensitisation, five of
ees aware of the notions of caste, religious and other the States—Assam, Kerala, Bihar, Gujarat and Telan-
forms of inherent bias in their behaviour, and active- gana—have about one-fourth police personnel who
ly address in order to counter these prejudices in the have never received the training. Assam and Kerala
course of their duty. On the one hand, it can improve were found to have highest proportion of police per-
inter-community relations within the police, making it sonnel to have never received the training (more than
a more equal, non-discriminatory space. On the other, one in every four). Across the States, a large propor-
it might prove to be efficient in their interface with tion of police personnel seem to have received this
various groups in the society by ensuring that the in- training only at the time of joining (Table 6.10).
herent prejudices do not have the effect of subverting 3 17% of the police personnel interviewed joined the police force
during last five years.

116 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Figure 6.2: Training in human rights, caste sensitisation and crowd control (%)
“When was the last time you received training about human rights, caste sensitisation and crowd control?”

Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
*8% of the police personnel interviewed joined the police force during last three years.
Question asked: When was the last time you received training about a. human rights b. caste sensitisation c. crowd control?

Table 6.8: Training in human rights, caste sensitisation and crowd control (Experience-wise) (%)
When was the last time you received training about…

During last 2-3 At the time of

Years of experience in police Before that Never
years joining

Human rights less than 5 years (17%) 22 12 49 14

more than 5 years (83%) 27 18 39 13

Caste sensitisation less than 5 years (17%) 19 12 52 13

more than 5 years (83%) 25 17 44 11

Crowd control less than 5 years (17%) 24 10 58 6

more than 5 years (83%) 31 14 50 4

Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
17% of the police personnel interviewed joined the police force during last five years, and 83% joined before that.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 117

Almost all the States performed relatively better when 6.3: Attitude towards different sections and
we asked about the training in crowd control. The communities
highest number of police personnel reporting to have
As per some of the recent reports, two-thirds of the
never received the training were found to be in Assam
prisoners in India are undertrials. Further, as report-
(18%). In 17 of the States surveyed, more than 90 per-
ed in SPIR 2018, India’s undertrial population has a
cent of the police personnel reported to have received
disproportionate number of people from marginalised
the training at some point during their services, how-
sections and communities, such as Muslims, Dalits,
ever majority proportion seem to have received it only
Adivasis/tribals, non-literate, poor, etc.4 Citing a pat-
at the time of joining and not afterwards (Table 6.11).
tern of targeting Dalits and Adivasis, another report
hinted at the continued victimisation of the commu-
Finally, on being asked how important the trainings
in human rights, caste sensitisation and crowd control
4 A per Prison Statistics in India 2016, National Crime Records
are, between 92 to 95 percent police personnel report- Bureau, Ministry of Home affairs, about 53% of undertrials are from
ed it to be important, with more than four in five of these communities, which make up 39% share of the population of
India. 29% of under-trials are not formally literate, while 42% had not
them reporting it to be ‘very important’. completed secondary education. A quarter of all undertrials have been
in prison for more than a year.

Table 6.10: Training on caste sensitisation (State-wise)

(%)
Table 6.9: Training in human rights (State-wise) (%)
When was the last time you received training on caste
When was the last time you received training on human sensitisation?
right?
Last 2-3 Before Time of
Last 2-3 Before Time of States Never
States Never years that joining
years that joining
Overall 24 16 45 11
Overall 26 17 41 13
Assam 18 24 29 27
Bihar 8 9 43 38
Kerala 20 19 33 27
Assam 23 18 26 31
Bihar 6 6 62 24
Gujarat 7 6 56 30
Gujarat 6 6 60 24
Nagaland 23 13 25 23
Telangana 21 16 40 22
Chhattisgarh 12 2 62 20
Chhattisgarh 12 5 70 11
Uttar Pradesh 32 13 36 19
Andhra Pradesh 35 22 33 8
Telangana 21 14 44 19
Himachal
45 8 39 8
Himachal Pradesh 43 7 36 14 Pradesh
Uttarakhand 33 25 27 12 Uttarakhand 35 26 30 8
Kerala 36 14 37 11 Uttar Pradesh 33 8 51 7
Andhra Pradesh 30 23 37 8 West Bengal 9 23 51 7
Maharashtra 35 17 36 8 Odisha 31 5 58 5
Odisha 31 4 53 8 Punjab 24 17 52 5
West Bengal 14 27 44 6 Jharkhand 29 27 36 5
Madhya Pradesh 15 22 57 5 Delhi 41 16 38 4
Punjab 23 25 46 5 Maharashtra 34 13 48 3
Delhi 48 14 32 5 Haryana 20 9 68 2
Jharkhand 28 28 35 5 Karnataka 42 32 23 2
Haryana 24 13 59 3 Madhya Pradesh 11 24 61 2
Karnataka 44 29 25 2 Rajasthan 24 26 49 1
Rajasthan 27 25 47 1 Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer. Nagaland excluded because there are only ST personnel.

118 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

nities by the police (NDMJ and NCDHR, 2018). It i. Caste or religious groups
highlights that deeply entrenched prejudices play When we looked at what the police personnel think
a dominant role in the exploitation of marginalised about various communities, the data indicated a sig-
communities by the police, and points out that the nificant bias against Muslims. However, no such prej-
delayed police investigation is a major reason for the udices were reported against people from SC or ST
large number of Dalits and Adivasis in prison. communities.

Given the wide-ranging powers the police in India About half of the police personnel reported that Mus-
wield in the course of investigation, we felt it was im- lims are likely to be naturally prone towards commit-
portant to look at the perceptions of police personnel ting violence (‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ combined).
regarding the people belonging to various marginal- We observed similar trend in the reverse direction as
ised communities and sections. Therefore, we asked well, with less number of police personnel likely to re-
the police personnel to what extent, according to port that Muslims are less likely to be naturally prone
them, are people from different communities, castes, at committing violence as compared to people from
religions, economic and educational backgrounds nat- various caste-groups (Table 6.12).
urally prone towards committing crimes.5
Table 6.12: One in two police personnel feels that
5 This is not a single comparative question on the prejudices against
Muslims are likely to be “naturally prone” towards
vulnerable communities. We asked separate questions examining the committing crimes (%)
prejudices of police against different communities.  “In your opinion, to what extent are people from
the following communities naturally prone towards
committing crimes...”
Table 6.11: Training in crowd control (State-wise) (%)
Very Some- Not at
When was the last time you received training about crowd Rarely
much what all
control?
Upper-caste
Last 2-3 Before Time of 6 27 32 24
States Never Hindus
years that joining
OBCs 5 28 34 23
Overall 30 13 51 4
Dalits 7 28 30 24
Assam 28 17 36 18
Adivasis/tribals 5 26 31 27
Bihar 10 9 69 11
Muslims 14 36 25 17
Telangana 22 15 52 11
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
Nagaland 28 16 33 10 respondents did not answer.
Odisha 30 4 57 7 Question asked: In your opinion, to what extent are- a. Upper-
Gujarat 8 6 79 6 caste Hindus b. OBC people c. Dalits d. Tribals e. Muslims-
naturally prone towards committing crimes - very much,
Karnataka 47 29 19 4 somewhat, rarely or not at all?
Uttarakhand 46 6 43 4
Andhra Pradesh 46 17 32 3 When asked to what extent, according to them, are
Kerala 33 17 48 3 the members of various caste-groups naturally prone
Uttar Pradesh 40 6 51 3
towards committing crimes, there wasn’t much var-
iation in the opinions towards various caste groups.
Jharkhand 37 20 38 3
About one-third police personnel reported that people
Chhattisgarh 15 9 73 3
from all of these caste-groups were likely to be natu-
Himachal rally prone towards committing violence (‘very much’
46 7 46 2
Pradesh
and ‘somewhat’ combined) (Table 6.12). Moreover,
Maharashtra 39 10 47 2 police personnel belonging to upper-castes, OBCs, SCs
West Bengal 12 27 53 2 and STs responded quite similarly to this question.
Madhya Pradesh 15 12 72 1
Punjab 21 13 64 1 Police personnel in four of the States surveyed, name-
Delhi 47 14 38 1 ly, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Bihar,
had about two-third or more police personnel who
Haryana 23 3 74 0
held the opinion that the Muslim community is likely
Rajasthan 27 23 49 0
(‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ combined) to be natural-
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 119

ly prone towards committing violence. Four out of five Uttarakhand and Gujarat believe so, all States which
police personnel from Uttarakhand had this opinion fall under the Fifth Schedule,6 except Uttarakhand
(Table 6.13). (Table 6.15).

Police personnel from Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh As far as attitude towards other caste-groups are con-
have the highest proportion of those believing that cerned, Uttar Pradesh police have more than half of
people from Dalit communities are highly likely to the police personnel (51%) believing upper-caste Hin-
be naturally prone towards committing crimes (about dus to be ‘very much’ or ‘somewhat’ naturally prone
one in every five reported ‘very much’). Also, in Ma- towards committing crimes (19% saying ‘very much’
harashtra, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, more than and 32% saying ‘somewhat’). The proportion was rel-
half of the police personnel believe that they are like- atively higher among OBC police personnel in Uttar
ly to be naturally prone towards committing violence
(combining ‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’) (Table 6.14). 6 As per the Constitutional provision under Article 244 (1) of the
Constitution of India, the ‘Scheduled Areas’ are defined as ‘such areas
as the President may by order declare to be Scheduled Areas’ – as per
While Rajasthan and Maharashtra had about half of paragraph 6(1) of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India. The
criteria for declaring any area as a “Scheduled Area” under the Fifth
the police personnel reporting that Adivasis are likely Schedule are: Preponderance of tribal population; Compactness and
to be naturally prone towards committing crimes(‘very reasonable size of the area; A viable administrative entity such as a
much’ and ‘somewhat’ combined), about two-fifth of district, block or taluk; and Economic backwardness of the area as
compared to the neighbouring areas. Source: Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
the police personnel in Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Government of India, Declaration of 5th Schedule.

Table 6.13: Are Muslims naturally prone towards Table 6.14: Are Dalits naturally prone towards
committing crimes? (State-wise) (%) committing crimes? (State-wise) (%)

Very Some- Not at Very Some- Not at

States Rarely States Rarely
much what all much what all

Overall 14 36 25 17 Overall 7 28 30 24

Karnataka 26 23 39 11 Karnataka 22 24 34 19

Jharkhand 22 44 18 12 Uttar Pradesh 19 35 15 22

Uttar Pradesh 20 36 21 15 Odisha 16 18 23 37

Uttarakhand 19 60 16 1 Madhya
14 32 38 14
Pradesh
Rajasthan 18 29 21 32
Rajasthan 13 28 29 29
West Bengal 18 26 13 15
Assam 10 34 31 11
Bihar 16 48 19 15
Maharashtra 10 50 19 10
Haryana 15 37 31 13
Jharkhand 8 28 37 23
Madhya
15 43 33 7 Andhra
Pradesh 7 24 46 18
Pradesh
Delhi 15 28 23 20
Uttarakhand 7 50 28 6
Odisha 14 28 17 36
Punjab 6 22 22 38
Chhattisgarh 14 53 19 8
Telangana 5 30 24 39
Telangana 13 25 29 30
Delhi 4 20 32 29
Maharashtra 12 53 18 6
Chhattisgarh 4 31 33 27
Gujarat 10 39 32 17
Bihar 3 28 41 26
Himachal
8 29 34 29 Gujarat 2 31 46 15
Pradesh
Nagaland 8 29 29 9 Haryana 2 36 41 14

Assam 7 43 35 6 Himachal
1 18 36 41
Pradesh
Punjab 6 17 21 44
Kerala 1 15 23 32
Andhra
5 28 47 16 West Bengal 0 11 22 36
Pradesh
Kerala 4 30 15 16 Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer. Nagaland excluded because there are only ST personnel.

120 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Pradesh, with 58 percent believing so (9 percentage Table 6.15: Are the STs naturally prone towards
points higher than upper-caste police personnel). committing crimes? (State-wise) (%)
Very Some- Not at
States Rarely
Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have the highest much what all
number of police personnel reporting OBCs to be very Overall 5 26 31 27
likely to be naturally prone towards committing vio- Rajasthan 14 35 27 24
lence (15% reporting as ‘very much’). Combining this Madhya
12 29 39 18
with ‘somewhat’, almost half of the police personnel Pradesh
in both the States believe that the people from other Uttar Pradesh 9 19 14 36
backward classes are likely to be naturally prone to- Maharashtra 8 45 24 11
wards committing violence. Surprisingly, in Madhya
Odisha 8 16 26 45
Pradesh, as many as 22 percent OBC police person-
Telangana 8 34 21 35
nel responded ‘very much’, as against 11 percent up-
per-caste, 12 percent SC and 14 percent ST police Andhra
6 25 46 20
Pradesh
personnel. Similarly, in Karnataka, 25 percent of the
upper-caste police personnel responded ‘very much’, Jharkhand 6 20 49 22
as against only 11 percent of the OBC police-person- Karnataka 5 21 44 28
nel. Uttarakhand 4 38 25 7
Assam 3 33 43 8
There is a general perception that certain legal statutes Gujarat 3 36 42 15
are being misused as tools for blackmail by the vulner-
Bihar 2 29 38 27
able communities like SCs and STs. Even the Supreme
Court, in a much-debated judgment, held that the SC Himachal
2 13 33 42
Pradesh
and ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act) had become an
Haryana 1 24 37 26
instrument of “blackmail”. This judgment was later
reversed by the government through an amendment Delhi 1 20 28 36
in the Act to restore the original provisions. However, Kerala 0 9 14 47
such opinions by people in position of power placed West Bengal 0 11 31 33
within the criminal justice system are bound to have Chhattisgarh 0 30 28 37
an impact on the manner in which the provisions of
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
such law are implemented. It was in this context that a respondents did not answer.
question was asked to the police personnel regarding
Nagaland excluded because there are only ST personnel. Punjab
their perceptions about whether the complaints under excluded because there are no ST personnel.

Figure 6.3: One in five police personnel believes that complaints under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act are “very much” false and motivated (%)

“To what extent are complaints under the SC/ST (PoA) Act false and motivated?”

Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Considering your own work experience in police, to what extent crimes under SC/ST act complaints false and
motivated - A lot, somewhat, very rare or none at all?

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 121

‘The Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe (Preven- Table 6.17: To what extent crimes under the SC/ST
tion of Atrocities) Act, 1989’ are false and motivated, (POA) Act complaints false and motivated? (State-wise)
(%)
considering their work experience. Half of the police
personnel (‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ combined) Very Some- Not at
States Rarely
much what all
believed that complaints under the SC/ST (PoA) Act
Overall 21 32 26 15
are false and motivated. When further disaggregated,
about one fifth of the police personnel reported that Uttar Pradesh 41 42 9 4
they are to ‘a large extent’ false and motivated, while Uttarakhand 37 40 17 4
about one third held the opinion that these complaints Bihar 36 26 22 13
are somewhat false and motivated (Figure 6.3). Himachal
33 39 15 12
Pradesh
When disaggregated by caste group of police person- Karnataka 30 25 31 13
nel, we found about three-fifth of the upper-caste po- Chhattisgarh 29 31 25 8
lice personnel to be more likely to believe that in their Telangana 29 33 21 15
experience complaints under the SC/ST (PoA) Act are Andhra
27 47 20 4
false and motivated (‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ com- Pradesh
bined), while SC and ST police personnel believing so Gujarat 27 31 19 17
were 9 and 20 percentage points lesser, respectively. Delhi 26 26 25 17
Also, ST police personnel were far more likely to re- Kerala 24 42 19 7
spond ‘not at all’ to the question than caste-groups,
Madhya
with one in every four in complete disagreement (re- 23 27 41 9
Pradesh
sponding as ‘not at all’). Further, police personnel Punjab 17 42 23 11
from OBC are also more likely to have reported that
Haryana 16 39 31 7
they ‘frequently’ have found the complaints under the
Rajasthan 13 36 32 16
SC/ST (PoA) Act to be false and motivated as com-
pared to police personnel from SC or ST categories Jharkhand 12 38 34 15
(Table 6.16). Maharashtra 9 35 37 16
Odisha 8 19 33 36
Table 6.16: Upper caste police personnel much more Assam 2 34 43 15
likely to believe that complaints under the SC/ST (PoA)
Act are false and motivated, than the SC and ST police Nagaland 2 8 20 44
personnel West Bengal 2 9 31 38
“To what extent are the complaints under the SC/ST (PoA) Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
Act false and motivated?” respondents did not answer.
Very Some- Not
Responses of... Rarely
much what at all
motivated in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and
Scheduled Himachal Pradesh (Table 6.17).
18 32 29 15
Caste(SC)
Scheduled Tribe(ST) 12 27 26 25 ii. Class-based prejudices
Other Backward Class bias is an unfortunate reality in our country, with
23 33 27 13
Caste(OBC) the ‘Death Penalty India Report’ of the National Law
General 26 33 24 13 University, Delhi estimating that 74 percent of prison-
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the ers who were sentenced to death were economically
respondents did not answer. vulnerable. In order to measure prejudices on econom-
ic lines, apart from asking to what extent according
About four in every five police personnel from Uttar to them are ‘people from poor households’ naturally
Pradesh and Uttarakhand believe that complaints un- prone to committing violence, we used the categories
der the SC/ST (POA) Act are false and motivated(‘very of ‘slum-dwellers’, ‘street vendors/hawkers’, and ‘in-
much’ and ‘somewhat’ combined), with six other dustrialists’ as colloquial proxies for economic class-
States (Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tel- es.7 About 45 percent police personnel believe that
angana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala) having at least 7 This is not a single comparative question on the prejudices against
three in every five police personnel believing so. More- vulnerable communities. We asked separate questions examining the
prejudices of police against different communities. Further, there is also
over, among these States, more than one-third report- a possibility of overlapping between the first three categories, namely,
ed the complaints to be highly likely to be false and ‘people from poor households’, ‘slum-dwellers’, and ‘street vendors/
hawkers’.

122 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

people from all three above-mentioned categories are towards committing crimes (Kerala- 30%, Karnata-
more likely to be naturally prone towards committing ka- 27% and Maharashtra- 27% responding as ‘very
crimes (‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ combined). Police much’). Further, Maharashtra (69%), Kerala (65%)
personnel reporting people from poor households to and Uttarakhand (63%) had about two in every three
be more likely to be naturally prone at committing vi- reporting slum-dwellers to be more likely to be natu-
olence were 10 percentage points lesser than the other rally prone towards committing crimes (‘very much’
three categories (Table 6.18). and ‘somewhat’ combined).

Table 6.18: A little less than half of the police Moving on to our last category, Chhattisgarh had the
personnel believe that street vendors, slum dwellers
highest police personnel believing industrialists to be
and industrialists are likely to be naturally prone
towards committing crimes very likely to be naturally prone towards committing
crimes (29% responding as ‘very much’). Among the
“Are these people naturally prone towards
committing crimes?” police personnel reporting industrialists to be more
Very Some- Not
likely (‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ combined) to be
  Rarely naturally prone towards committing crimes Uttara-
much what at all
People from poor khand was at the top (67%), followed by Himachal
7 27 29 29 Pradesh (63%), Chhattisgarh (62%) and Maharashtra
households
Street vendors/hawk- (62%).
10 35 29 19
ers
Slum-dwellers 13 32 24 21
iii. Other vulnerable people or communities
In this section, we study police personnel’s perceptions
Industrialists 13 31 26 21
of specific vulnerable groups- ‘migrants’,8 ‘non-literate
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the people’, ‘Nat/Saperas’ (or the nomadic and de-notified
respondents did not answer.
tribes), and ‘transgender and Hijras’.9
Question asked: In your opinion, to what extent are a. People
from poor households. Street vendors/hawkers c. Slum-dwellers
d. Industrialists-naturally prone towards committing crimes - very The recent government decision to update the Na-
much, somewhat, rarely or not at all? tional Register of Citizens of India (NRC) in Assam,
in an effort to identify illegal immigrants, has been
On State-wise comparison, we found two in every a matter of massive debate across the country. Anti-
three police personnel from Uttarakhand (66%), and migrants sentiments, however, are not only restricted
about one in every two from Assam (55%), Mahar- to migrants from other countries, but also materialise
ashtra (55%) and Karnataka (49%) reporting people in the form of violence against migrants from different
from poor households to be more likely to be natu- States within the country. Apart from the migrants,
rally prone towards committing crimes. Also, in Kar- deep-seated prejudices exist against vulnerable com-
nataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, almost one in munities such as non-literate people, the de-notified
every five reported people from poor households to be tribes and nomadic tribes10 and transgenders.11 Police
very likely to be naturally prone towards committing is also often partisan in the harassment of these com-
crimes (18% responding as ‘very much’ in each of the munities, with numerous complaints of police violence
three States), highest among all the States. against the DNT and transgenders. In such a context,
it becomes pertinent to study the biased opinions of
For street vendors or hawkers, Andhra Pradesh po- the police against these communities.
lice had as high as four in every five police person-
8 Migrants from other States
nel reporting them to be more likely to be naturally
9 Prejudices against Transgenders and people from Hijra community
prone towards committing crimes, with 22 percent were discussed in detail in the previous section. Further, there is also a
responding as ‘very much’ and 58 percent responding possibility of overlapping in all three categories.
as ‘somewhat’. Maharashtra (68%), Madhya Pradesh 10 De-notified tribes were, in pre-Independence India, listed as
(64%), and Uttarakhand (63%) also had about two “criminal tribes” and were treated as such by the British government.
While these tribes have since been de-criminalised, prejudices against
in every three believing so. Among all the States, Ma- the community continue, with several allegations of police harassment
harashtra has maximum number of police personnel and unnecessary persecution.
responding as ‘very much’ to the question (26%). 11 Transgender persons were not given any legal recognition until
September 2018, when, in the Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India
case, the Supreme Court gave legal recognition to the “third gender”.
When asked what they think about slum-dwellers, Navtej Singh Johar vs Union of India, Supreme Court of India, Writ
quarter or more police personnel in three of the States Petition (Criminal) No.76/2016. The Court also decriminalised
consensual sexual activities between adults of any gender, by reading
reported them to be very likely to be naturally prone down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 123

Amongst these groups, with three in every five police Madhya
40 31 14 11
personnel believing so, migrants are far more likely Pradesh
to be perceived as naturally prone towards commit- Himachal
38 36 14 10
ting violence as compared to others.12 We also found Pradesh
that non-literate people are also more likely to face Maharashtra 38 43 6 5
the brunt of the prejudice of being ‘naturally prone to- Uttarakhand 35 46 14 4
wards committing violence’ as compared to the people
Gujarat 34 41 12 4
from nomadic tribes, trangenders and Hijra communi-
Telangana 30 37 14 19
ty (Table 6.19).
Delhi 29 33 22 11
Table 6.19: One in four police personnel believe that Kerala 19 37 15 16
migrants are very much naturally prone towards
committing crimes? Rajasthan 15 31 25 28
Odisha 14 23 29 29
“Are these people naturally prone towards committing
crimes?” Punjab 14 21 16 38
Very Some- Not Uttar Pradesh 14 29 20 27
  Rarely
much what at all Haryana 12 44 28 11
Migrants from Nagaland 11 31 30 8
24 36 20 14
other States
West Bengal 11 26 30 11
Non-literate people 13 33 27 19
Bihar 7 33 37 21
Nat/Saperas/NTs/
9 25 27 24 Jharkhand 6 49 29 13
DNTs
Transgenders and Assam 1 48 35 6
8 27 32 25
Hijras Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
respondents did not answer.
Question asked: In your opinion, to what extent are a. Migrants Significant proportion of police personnel in many of
from other States b. Non-literate people c. Nat/saperas/NTs/DNTs the States also believed lack of literacy to be instru-
peopled. Hijras/transgender people – naturally prone towards
committing crimes – very much, somewhat, rarely or not at all?
mental in making people ‘naturally prone towards
committing crimes’. Karnataka, Odisha and Telanga-
In four of the States, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Chhat- na had more than a quarter police personnel having
tisgarh, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand, at least four an opinion that non-literate people are highly prone
in every five police personnel were found to believe towards committing crimes (‘very much’ category),
that migrants from other States are likely to be natu- highest among all the States. Two in every three po-
rally prone towards committing crimes (‘very much’ lice personnel in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttara-
and ‘somewhat’ combined). In four others, namely, khand reported non-literates to be naturally prone
Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya to commit crimes (‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ com-
Pradesh, about three in every four believed so. More bined) (Table 6.21).
than three in every five police personnel in the NCT
Table 6.21: Are the non-literate people naturally prone
of Delhi were found to have this opinion about the towards committing crimes? (State-wise) (%)
migrants from the other States (Table 6.20).
Very Some- Not at
States Rarely
much what all
Table 6.20: Are the migrant people naturally prone
towards committing crimes? (State-wise) (%) Overall 13 33 27 19

Very Some- Not at Karnataka 31 36 23 8

States Rarely
much what all Odisha 25 25 17 28
Overall 24 36 20 14 Telangana 25 28 19 27
Chhattisgarh 51 33 8 6 Andhra
20 27 41 9
Andhra Pradesh
42 46 6 5
Pradesh Uttar Pradesh 20 36 14 20
Karnataka 40 33 24 3 Maharashtra 18 49 13 9
Delhi 18 34 19 16
12 Please note that this is not a single comparative question on the
prejudices against vulnerable communities. We asked separate questions Assam 15 43 23 6
examining the prejudices of police against different communities.

124 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Haryana 14 26 40 16 police personnel reported along the lines of what the
law says, i.e., treatment of children like adults only in
Madhya
13 33 34 16 extreme cases14 (Figure 6. 4).
Pradesh
Uttarakhand 12 55 26 2
In five of the surveyed States, half or more than half
Rajasthan 11 29 27 32
of the police personnel believe that children between
Punjab 8 24 20 37 16 and 18 years of age should be treated like adults in
Chhattisgarh 8 36 30 20 all situations. Gujarat and Jharkhand have more than
Nagaland 7 41 24 7 three in every five having this opinion about children
Jharkhand 6 29 36 26 in conflict with law. On the contrary, in States like
Bihar 3 37 37 21 Himachal Pradesh (78%), Rajasthan (72%), Chhat-
tisgarh (62%), Haryana (62%) and Odisha (61%),
Gujarat 3 40 40 13
a large majority of the police believe that children in
Himachal
3 30 36 28 conflict with law should be treated as juvenile delin-
Pradesh
quents, and not as adults (Table 6.22).
Kerala 2 27 18 27
West Bengal 2 17 23 34 With respect to children between 7-16 years of age,
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the Telangana (21%), Punjab (18%) and Karnataka
respondents did not answer. (17%) had relatively high proportion of police per-
sonnel favouring they should be treated like adult
6.4: Attitude towards juveniles criminals whenever they are in conflict with law. Also,
In 2015, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Telangana (20%) and Andhra Pradesh (17%) had a
Children) Act, 2000, which addressed the needs of significant proportion of police personnel believing
children in conflict with law and children in need of they should be treated like adults in extreme cases.
care and protection, was replaced by the Juvenile Jus-
tice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The
new Act, unlike the old one, permits juvenile delin- 6.5: Attitude towards mob violence
quents between 16 and 18 years of age to be tried as In the recent years, numerous cases of mob violence
adults in case they have committed heinous offences.13 against individuals (sometimes referred to as ‘mob
It was passed by the Parliament of India amidst pro- lynching’)on suspicions of cow-slaughter, kidnapping,
tests against such provisions by child rights’ fraterni- etc. have been reported, and the police is known to
ties. The Act was also criticised for its violation of the have played an enabling role for the people engag-
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which rec- ing in such forms of violence. This merits the need to
ognises all children less than 18 years of age as equal. understand police personnel’s opinions on the public
taking matters into their hands over issues that cause
In this backdrop, it is important to capture the po- moral outrage, such as cow slaughter or rape or kid-
lice’s opinions on this issue. For children between 7-16 napping. On the other hand, a relatively neutral cate-
years of age, a very high proportion of police person- gory of crime such as road accidents caused due to the
nel (more than four in every five) reported that they negligence of the driver has been taken for the purpose
should be treated as juvenile delinquents, however, a of comparison.
significant proportion was also found to believe that
they should be treated like adult criminals, or like adult Here, we attempt to analyse the attitude of the police
criminals in extreme cases (12%). Police was divided not towards any particular section of people, but to-
almost equally in their opinion of whether children wards the nature of crime and justifiability of a mob in
between 16-18 years of age should be treated like ju- punishing the culprit. We asked the respondents to
venile delinquents or like adult criminals. While a little what extent is it natural for the mob to punish the
less than half of the police personnel held the opinion culprits on their own in these four situations- in a case
that they should be treated like juvenile delinquents of cow-slaughter, in a case of kidnapping, in a case
and not like adults, 39 percent said that they should of rape and in a case of road accident due to driver’s
be treated like adult criminals. Only one in every ten negligence.
13 Only once the Juvenile Justice Board has conducted a preliminary
investigation to determine the severity of the offence, the offender’s
14 ‘Like adult criminals in extreme cases’ was a silent option, which
ability to comprehend consequences, and the circumstances of the
wasn’t read out to the respondents
offence

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 125

While more than one in every three police personnel Table 6.22: Should children between 16-18 years
believe it to be natural for a mob to punish the alleged treated as juveniles or adults? (State-wise) (%)
culprit in a case of cow-slaughter (‘to a large extent’ Like
Like adult
Like adult
and ‘somewhat’ combined), about two in every five States children/ criminals in
criminals
juveniles extreme cases
believe so in other three cases of crimes. Looking at
Overall 48 39 10
it the other way, a little less than half believed it to be
not natural at all for the mob to punish the culprit in a Gujarat 28 70 1
case of cow-slaughter, while more than half found it to Jharkhand 33 60 3
be natural (either ‘to a large extent’ or ‘somewhat’ or Andhra Pradesh 30 55 12
‘rarely’). In case of other three types of alleged crimes, Uttarakhand 40 54 6
about 6 to 10 percentage points lesser people were Delhi 34 50 16
found to believe the mobs’ action to be not natural at Uttar Pradesh 43 47 10
all (Table 6.23). Bihar 52 46 2
Madhya Pradesh 53 41 3
We found a notable difference in the opinions on Haryana 62 36 0
disaggregating the respondents on the basis of their Karnataka 59 36 3
Nagaland 41 36 16
Odisha 61 35 3
Figure 6.4: One out of two police personnel feel that
Telangana 35 34 30
children in conflict with law between 16 to 18 years
of age should be treated like juvenile delinquents Assam 56 31 10
Maharashtra 44 30 22
“Should children between 7-16 and 16-18 years be treated
as juveniles or adults, if they are in conflict with law?” Punjab 53 29 13
Chhattisgarh 62 29 6
Kerala 58 28 14
Rajasthan 72 28 0
West Bengal 26 24 35
Himachal Pradesh 78 21 1
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
*‘Like adult criminals in extreme cases’ was a silent option, which
wasn’t read out to the respondents.

Table 6.23: One in four police personnel believes it is

natural/justifiable for a mob to punish the culprits on
their own in cases of rape and road accident due to
driver’s negligence
“To what extent is it natural for the mob to punish the
culprits on their own in the following cases?”
To a large Some- Not at
  Rarely
extent what all
In a case of cow-
15 20 16 46
slaughter
In a case of
17 22 18 38
kidnapping
In a case of rape 22 21 17 36
In a case of road
Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of accident due to 20 21 16 40
the respondents did not answer. driver’s negligence
*‘Like adult criminals in extreme cases’ was a silent option, Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
which wasn’t read out to the respondents. respondents did not answer.
Question asked: In the criminal cases of a. Children between 7 Question asked: In your opinion, to what extent is it natural for
to 16 years of age b. Children between 16-18 years of age- do the mob to punish the culprits on their own when there is: A. a
you think they should be treated as children/ juveniles the same case of cow-slaughter B. a case of child kidnapping C. a case of
way as adult criminals? rape D. a case of road accident due to driver’s negligence- to a
large extent, somewhat, rarely or not at all?

126 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

ranks. For all the four cases of mob-violence, the sen- Table 6.24: Natural for the mob to punish the culprit in
ior officers are less likely to believe the action of mob case of cow-slaughter? (State-wise) (%)
to be natural compared to their subordinates (con- States
Very Some- Rare- Not at
stabulary ranks). much what ly all
Overall 15 20 16 46
While 28 percent of seniors were found to believe the Madhya Pradesh 39 24 19 13
mob violence in case of cow slaughter to be more of Chhattisgarh 27 15 19 36
natural (‘to a large extent’ or ‘somewhat’), the pro-
Gujarat 26 9 4 55
portion of subordinates were found to be 8 percentage
Uttar Pradesh 23 14 8 54
points higher. In the three other cases of mob violence,
this difference was found to be around 10 percentage Rajasthan 22 23 27 28
points. Following a similar trend, among the respond- Uttarakhand 21 21 7 50
ents who were in complete disagreement (respond- Andhra Pradesh 20 32 31 14
ing as ‘not at all’), the respondents at the officer level Karnataka 20 37 32 10
ranks were in higher proportion, 10 percentage points Maharashtra 20 23 8 42
higher, compared to the respondents at constabulary
Telangana 18 29 21 30
ranks. This finding makes a clear case for proper train-
Delhi 15 23 8 52
ing in essential aspects of the rule of law at all levels
in order to inculcate constitutional values and rational Jharkhand 14 52 16 16
conduct among police personnel. Bihar 13 7 13 66
Assam 9 35 44 9
On delving deeper into State-wise analysis, Madhya Himachal
8 12 8 71
Pradesh was found to have two in every five, and Pradesh
Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh about one Kerala 6 4 8 76
in every four believing it to be very natural for a mob Haryana 5 21 19 52
to punish the culprit in case of cow slaughter. Seven
Punjab 2 7 6 79
of the States had less than one in every three believing
Odisha 1 15 15 64
it to be not natural at all for the mob to punish the
culprit (Table 6.24). West Bengal 1 2 7 69
Nagaland 0 4 10 67
When asked about angry mob punishing the suspect- Note: All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
ed culprits in a case of child kidnapping, while Kar- respondents did not answer.
nataka (44%) and Telangana (41%) had more than
two in every five believing it to be completely natural,
Andhra Pradesh (35%) and Chhattisgarh (31%) had driver, Telangana (55%) and Karnataka (58%) again
around one in every three police personnel believing featured on the top of the list with about half of the
so. Further, Karnataka (1%), Andhra Pradesh (3%) police personnel believing such action by a mob to be
and Assam (4%) had negligible proportion of police totally natural. Kerala (42%), with about two in every
personnel reporting it not natural at all for the mob to five believing so, was not far behind. Among the police
take law in their own hands. personnel reporting such action to be not natural at
all for the mob, Kerala (6%) joined Karnataka (2%),
In case of an alleged rape culprit being punished by a Andhra Pradesh (4%) and Assam (6%) with a negligi-
mob, Karnataka (59%), Andhra Pradesh (42%) and ble proportion of police personnel having a dissenting
Telangana (42%) again topped the list with maximum opinion.
police personnel reporting the action of the mob to
be very natural. Madhya Pradesh (40%) and Uttara- 6.6: Summing up
khand (39%) also had about two-fifth police person-
nel believing so. Showing similar trend, Karnataka Police as an institution has not managed to provide
(8%), Andhra Pradesh (5%) and Assam (5%) were equal space for the diverse groups and communities
again found to have minimum police personnel in that make it what it is. As our findings indicate, a ma-
complete disagreement (responding as ‘not at all’). jority of the police personnel did not report the treat-
ment to be completely equal across the lines of caste
With regard to incidents of mob violence after cases and religion.
of road accidents due to suspected negligence of the

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 127

The police force, by and large, also appear to be insen- police, this training was only imparted at the time of
sitive towards the needs of protection and rehabilita- joining. These attitudes and opinions could therefore
tion for children in conflict with law, and instead hold be a reflection of the lack of proper and frequent train-
the opinion that they should be treated in the same ings. Such training, if provided regularly using proper
manner as adult criminals. With reformative, rehabili- modules, might help not just in softening their pre-
tative and restitutive techniques taking a backseat, the conceived notions towards vulnerable sections of the
police seem to be convinced of deterrent methodol- society, but in also ensuring that such biases do not
ogies of punishing those presumed guilty, even if the interfere with proper functioning of the police.
person accused is a child. Further, a significant pro-
portion of police force has a casual attitude towards An institutional bias against the marginalised sections
incidents of mob violence, believing it to be natural for further increases the vulnerability of these groups. A
the mob to take law into their own hands. healthier police-public interface can only be achieved
when these prejudices are attacked and due process is
While majority of police personnel were found to have established. Thus, there is an urgent need for the po-
received the trainings in human rights, caste sensiti- lice to come out of the web of societal prejudices and
sation and crowd control, for a large section of the prove itself efficient in upholding all the rights provid-
ed by the Constitution of India.

128 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

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Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 129

 People-friendly Police
7
or
Police-fearing People?

Patna, India – March 26, 2015: Police personnel lathicharge protestors during a demonstration against State
government. (Credits: Santosh Kumar, Hindustan Times)

130 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

T
his chapter looks at the opinions of personnel towards crime reg-
istration and the process to be followed in case of a complaint.
Further, the chapter delves into the opinions of personnel on the
hesitation of the public to approach the police. Towards the end of the
chapter, we analyse personnel’s opinions on police violence.
• Fifty-four percent police personnel are of the opinion that an increase
in the number of FIRs registered indicates an increase in crime in the
area, as opposed to an increase in registration of complaints by the
police. Senior officers are more likely to believe that it indicates an
increase in registration of complaints by police
• Three-fifth of the civil police personnel believe that no matter how
serious a crime, there should be a preliminary investigation before
registering an FIR, as opposed to direct registration of FIR
• Three in five personnel believe that the number of crimes reported are
lesser than the number of crimes committed in the society
• Two out of five personnel believe that common people are hesitant to
approach the police even when there is a need
• Nineteen percent personnel (nearly one out of five) would not
advice their daughters to go alone to a police station, outside their
jurisdiction, to report a crime
• Thirty seven percent personnel feel that for minor offences, a small
punishment should be handed out by the police rather than a legal
trial
• One out of five police personnel feel that killing dangerous criminals
is better than a legal trial
• Three out of four personnel feel that it is justified for the police to be
violent towards criminals
• Four out of five personnel believe that there is nothing wrong in the
police beating up criminals to extract confessions

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 131

 7
People-friendly Police or
Police-fearing People?

“India’s super-structure of economic prosperity is built lice was suggested as one of the solutions to address
on a weak base of an ineffective and outdated criminal this problem.
justice system.”
—Former DGP and Chairman Indian Police The Status of Policing in India Report (Common
Foundation, Prakash Singh (January 2019) Cause–CSDS 2018) highlighted that every two out of
five people in India are afraid of the police. Incidents
“From an early stage, the children should have a feel- of police brutality are common across States. From
ing that police stations are a place where the atmos- custodial deaths in Kerala to encounter killings in Ut-
phere is positive and comforting. It is like any other tar Pradesh, where the Chief Minister has himself re-
place where one could go to get one’s grievances ad- portedly claimed ‘Agar apradh karenge, toh thok diye
dressed. The policemen sitting there are like friends jaayenge,’2 which is a euphemism for fake police en-
who are there to help everyone at any point of time1” counters or an endorsement of unjust police violence.
— Delhi CP Amulya Patnaik (January 2019) No civilised administration in the world can get away
with such unfair and unjustifiable policies. Unfortu-

M
aking the Indian police force more peo- nately, India has not only failed to ratify the United
ple-centric has been the stated priority Nation’s convention on human torture3, but has also
of successive governments. The Ministry refrained from passing the Prevention of Torture Bill,
of Home Affairs, in its ranking of police stations in 2017. Lokaneeta (2018) has pointed out that there is
2017, has emphasised on the need for the police sta- a complete lack of public debate on torture in India,
tion to be an ‘inviting public space’. The high number and the problem is further compounded by the ways
of non-reporting of crime perhaps reflects how police in which torture is conceptualised and measured in
stations are viewed as spaces that threaten and intimi- the usual, public and official, discourses. For instance,
date common people. According to the Nation Family there have been multiple cases of police brutalities
Health Survey (NFHS)–round 4 (2015–16), about 99 against journalists in India in the past few years which
percent of cases of violence against women are not re- has led to the decline in the country’s ranking in the
ported. Another study by IDFC Institute (2017), says global press freedom index (Reporters without Border,
that people lodged an FIR with the police in only sev- 2018).
en percent of the total theft cases. Non-registration
of complaints obviously contributes to the negative In this chapter we examine the ways in which police
image of the police. A study by the Tata Institute of perceive the processes related to registration of the
Social Sciences (2018) reports that unruly behaviour FIR. We study the police’s perceptions about whether
of police deters about three-fourth of the Indian popu- and why people hesitate to contact them. Further, we
lation from reporting complaints. It further states that review the propensity of police to use and justify vio-
if we compute non-reporting along with non-registra- lence. Through an analysis of a set of questions about
tion of crimes, less than 10 percent of crimes in the whether they believe that police violence, to the extent
society are actually getting registered. Delinking the of killing ‘criminals’ is justified, we attempt to ascer-
crime statistics from the performance appraisal of po- tain the use of violence in everyday policing.
2 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister during an interview with the INDIA TV
1 Delhi Commissioner during the launch of outdoor play area for
news channel in June 2017.
children at the Kalkaji police station— part of the Delhi Police’s ‘Police
Uncle’ initiative, aimed at highlighting the friendly face of the police on 3 India is a signatory to the Convention Against Terrorism, but hasn’t
21 June 2019. ratified it.

132 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

7.1: Registration of FIR 54 percent of the civil police personnel are of the opin-
ion that it indicates a surge in crime in the given juris-
Crime rates are an unreliable indicator of the actual
diction. About 43 percent reported that it indicates an
prevalence of crime in a region, considering the high
increase in ‘registration’ of the complaints by the po-
levels of non-reporting of crimes. A 2017 Crime Vic-
lice. More experienced personnel are also more likely
timisation Survey conducted in major Indian cities
to believe that an increase in FIRs denotes a hike in
indicates that only about seven percent of victims of
complaints registration by police (Figure 7.1).
theft lodged an FIR. SPIR 2018 identifies the causes
for under-reporting of crime, particularly for women
Compared to the constabulary, senior officers are mar-
victims, as the fear of social stigma, harassment and
ginally more likely to agree with the statement that an
use of abusive language by the police. A common
increase in FIRs indicates an increase in registration
complaint in India is that police refuses to lodge FIRs,
of complaints by the police (Figure 7.2). On the other
presumably because of the mistaken notion that high
hand, civil police personnel with higher education lev-
crime rates would reflect poorly on its performance.
els are more likely to believe that more FIRs indicate
an increase in crime (Figure 7.3).
To verify the existence of such perceptions in the police
community, our study assessed the endorsement of the
Police personnel from Kerala, Odisha and Assam are
following statements by the police personnel: (1) An
more likely to report that increase in crime indicates
increase in the number of FIRs indicates an increase
increase in complaints registration by police. In the
in crime in the given jurisdiction; or (2) An increase
Crime in India Report 2016 of the NCRB, Kerala
in the number of FIRs does not indicate an increase in
stands out as the State with the highest rates of total
crime, rather, it indicates that there is only increase in
cognisable crimes, although the rate of violent crimes
registration of complaints by police.

Figure 7.1: Personnel with more experience more likely to believe that increase in the number of FIRs indicates
higher registration of complaints by the police

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Please tell me which statement you agree with most?
(1) Increase in number of FIRs indicates an increase in the crimes in the given jurisdiction
(2) Increase in number of FIRs does not indicate an increase in the crime. Rather it indicates that there is only increase in registration
of the complaints by police.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 133

 Figure 7.2: Senior officers more likely to believe that an increase in FIRs indicates an increase in registration of
complaints by the police

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Please tell me which statement you agree with most?
(1) Increase in number of FIRs indicates an increase in the crimes in the given jurisdiction
(2) Increase in number of FIRs does not indicate an increase in the crime. Rather it indicates that there is only increase in registration
of the complaints by police.

Figure 7.3: More educated personnel more likely to believe that an increase in FIRs indicates an increase in
crime in the jurisdiction

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Please tell me which statement you agree with most?
(1) Increase in number of FIRs indicates an increase in the crimes in the given jurisdiction
(2) Increase in number of FIRs does not indicate an increase in the crime. Rather it indicates that there is only increase in registration
of the complaints by police.

134 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

in the State is significantly lower. This may be indic- level personnel, and those with less work experience
ative of higher reporting of crimes in the State and a are more likely to report that no matter how serious a
greater willingness of the police to register FIRs (Dis- complaint, there must be a preliminary enquiry before
ney, 2016). registering an FIR, as compared to their less educated
counterparts.
On the other hand, police personnel from Gujarat,
Punjab and Karnataka were more likely to report that Highest proportion of police personnel from Kerala,
an increase in FIRs indicates a deterioration of the law Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra reported that
and order situation in the jurisdiction. for all serious crimes, FIRs must be directly registered
(Table 7.2). On the other hand, highest proportion
7.2: Preliminary investigation of serious
cases Table 7.1: Police personnel from Kerala most likely
to believe that an increase in the number of FIRs is
In the landmark case of Lalita Kumari vs Government indicative of higher registration of complaints by the
of Uttar Pradesh, 2013 the Supreme Court held that if police
a victim’s statement discloses information about a cog-
“Which statement do you agree with most?”
nisable offence4, the registration of the FIR is manda-
Increase in
tory. Yet, it is common for police personnel to refuse FIRs indicates
filing FIRs even in serious, cognisable cases. A 2017 Increase in FIRs
an increase in
States indicates an in-
Parliamentary panel headed by former Union Minister crease in crime
registration of
of Home Affairs, P Chidambaram doubted the gov- complaints by
police
ernment’s claim that about 78 percent police stations
in the country are registering 100 percent FIRs (Ahu- Kerala 24 72
ja, 2017). In the survey, we examined the perception Odisha 27 69
and level of awareness of police personnel about the Assam 35 62
process that ought to be followed in cases of serious West Bengal 35 51
crimes. Delhi 37 61
Bihar 45 53
When asked to choose between directly registering
Jharkhand 45 53
FIRs or conducting preliminary investigations for se-
rious complaints, about three-fifth of the civil police Nagaland 48 39
reported that they agreed more with the statement Uttar Pradesh 49 49
that— “No matter how serious a complaint, there Andhra Pradesh 50 46
must be a preliminary investigation before registering Madhya Pradesh 56 43
an FIR”. Only 37 percent of the civil police personnel
Uttarakhand 56 43
reported that they agreed more with the statement—
Rajasthan 57 43
“For all serious complaints, FIR must be directly reg-
istered”. As the years of experience in service increase, Haryana 58 41
there is a marginal fall in the proportion of civil police Himachal Pradesh 65 34
who say that there should be a preliminary investiga- Chhattisgarh 66 31
tion before registering an FIR (Figure 7.4). Maharashtra 67 28
Telangana 68 31
Compared to the civil constabulary, the senior State
Gujarat 72 18
police officers are marginally more likely to agree with
Punjab 73 15
the statement that there must be preliminary investiga-
tion before registering an FIR (Figure 7.5). Karnataka 87 13
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the
Similarly, as the education levels of the civil police respondents did not answer.
personnel increased, the proportion which agreed on Question asked: Please tell me which statement you agree with
having a preliminary investigation before registering most?
FIR also increased (Figure 7.6). The overall pattern (1) Increase in number of FIRs indicates an increase in the crimes
that emerges is that better educated, constabulary- in the given jurisdiction

4 Cognisable offences are those in which a police officer can arrest (2) Increase in number of FIRs does not indicate an increase in the
without warrant (First Schedule, CrPC). It includes serious and violent crime. Rather it indicates that there is only increase in registration
offences such as rape, murder, kidnapping, etc. of the complaints by police

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 135

 Figure 7.4: Regardless of the number of years of experience majority of the Police personnel not willing to
register FIR directly

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Please tell me which statement you agree with most?
(1) No matter how serious a complaint, there must be a preliminary investigation before registering an FIR;
(2): For all the serious complaints, FIR must be directly registered.

Figure 7.5: Despite seniority no alteration in reluctance for registering FIR

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Please tell me which statement you agree with most?
(1) No matter how serious a complaint, there must be a preliminary investigation before registering an FIR;
(2): For all the serious complaints, FIR must be directly registered.

136 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Figure 7.6: Better educated police personnel more likely to believe that no matter how serious a crime, a
preliminary enquiry should be conducted before registering an FIR

All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Please tell me which statement you agree with most?
(1) No matter how serious a complaint, there must be a preliminary investigation before registering an FIR;
(2): For all the serious complaints, FIR must be directly registered.

of police personnel from Himachal Pradesh,

Chhattisgarh, and Haryana are inclined to believe that Figure 7.7: Three out of five police personnel believe
no matter how serious a complaint, there must be a that the number of crimes reported are lesser than
the number of crimes committed in the society
preliminary investigation before registering an FIR.

7.3: Police people contact

About 61 percent of the civil police agreed with the
statement that ‘the number of crimes reported are less-
er than the number of crimes committed in the society’
(Figure 7.7). Bihar is at the extreme end of the spec-
trum, with more than 90 percent of the civil police
personnel reporting that they agree with the statement,
while in Telangana nearly 30 percent agreed with it.

When we asked the police their opinion on how hes-

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the
itant a common person is to contact them even when respondents did not answer.
there is a need, about 40 percent of the civil police
Question asked: There is a perception among common people
personnel reported that the common person is hesitant that the numbers of crime reported are lesser as compared to
to varying extent. Nearly 53 percent reported that the the number of crimes committed in reality. To what extent
common person is barely hesitant to contact the po- do you think this is true—completely true, somewhat true,
somewhat false, completely false?
lice (Figure 7.8). As the education level of the police
increases, the proportion which believes that the com- Answer categories of completely true and somewhat true have
been clubbed as ‘true to some extent’, whereas the answer
mon person is hesitant in contacting the police also categories of ‘completely false and somewhat false’; have been
increases (Figure 7.9). On the other hand, police per- clubbed as ‘false to some extent’.
sonnel who have spent more years in service are less

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 137

Table 7.2: State-wise opinion on preliminary
Figure 7.8: Two out of five police personnel believe
Investigation before FIR
that common people are hesitant to contact the
No matter how police even when there is a need
serious a complaint, For all serious
there must be a pre- complaints, FIR
States
liminary investiga- must be directly
tion before register- registered
ing an FIR
Kerala 34 66
Punjab 37 53
Maharashtra 40 57
Rajasthan 43 57
Assam 46 51
Nagaland 49 36
Uttarakhand 51 48
Odisha 52 47 All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the
West Bengal 64 24 respondents did not answer.

Uttar Pradesh 65 34 Question asked: In your opinion, to what extent is a common

person hesitant to contact the police even when there is a
Jharkhand 66 33 need - very hesitant, somewhat hesitant, hardly hesitant or not
Andhra Pradesh 67 30 hesitant at all?

Gujarat 68 29
Karnataka 68 32 police station alone to file a complaint, 54 percent of
Madhya Pradesh 71 28 the respondents replied in the negative, emphasising
Delhi 71 28 that they would not allow.
Telangana 74 24
Police personnel who believe that common persons
Bihar 77 22
are very hesitant in approaching the police even when
Himachal there is need, were themselves less likely to advise their
80 20
Pradesh
daughters to go to police station alone to report a wit-
Chhattisgarh 81 17 nessed crime (Figure 7.12).
Haryana 90 10
All figures are in percentages and rounded off. Rest of the 7.4: Caste and police-people contact
respondents did not answer.
As compared to other caste groups, ST civil police
Question asked: Please tell me which statement you agree with
most? personnel are more likely to report that the number
of crimes reported are lesser than the number of the
(1) No matter how serious a complaint, there must be a
preliminary investigation before registering an FIR; crimes committed (Figure 7.13).Similarly, they are
also more likely to believe that common people are
(2): For all the serious complaints, FIR must be directly registered.
hesitant to contact the police even if there is a need
(Figure 7.14).
likely to believe that the common person is hesitant in
contacting the police (Figure 7.10). Further, ST police personnel are less likely to advise
their daughter to go alone to a police station to report
We further sought to understand if police personnel a witnessed crime, as compared to police personnel
themselves, as citizens, would hesitate in contacting from other caste groups (Figure 7.14). One in four ST
the police in times of need. To measure this indirectly, personnel said they would not advise their daughter to
the personnel were asked if they would be willing to go to a police station alone, against 18 percent person-
send their own daughter alone to a police station (to nel from other caste groups. Personnel from general
report a witnessed crime) in another village/jurisdic- caste groups, on the other hand, are more likely to
tion beyond their zone of influence. About one fifth of advise their daughters to go to the police station alone.
the police person replied in the negative (Figure 7.11).
In contrast, when citizens were asked (in SPIR 2018) Fear of police can be a major deterrent for a common
if they would allow their son or daughter to visit the person to approach the police, even in times of need.

138 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Figure 7.9: Better educated personnel are more likely to believe that common people are hesitant to contact
the police in times of need

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: In your opinion, to what extent is a common person hesitant to contact the police even when there is a need - very
hesitant, somewhat hesitant, hardly hesitant or not hesitant at all?
Answer categories of ‘very hesitant’ and ‘somewhat hesitant’ have been clubbed together as ‘largely hesitant’, and answer categories of
‘hardly hesitant’ and ‘none at all’ have been clubbed as ‘barely hesitant’.

Figure 7.10: Personnel with higher experience less likely to believe that common people are hesitant to contact
the police even when there is a need

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: In your opinion, to what extent is a common person hesitant to contact the police even when there is a need - very
hesitant, somewhat hesitant, hardly hesitant or not hesitant at all?
Answer categories of ‘very hesitant’ and ‘somewhat hesitant’ have been clubbed together as ‘largely hesitant’, and answer categories of
‘hardly hesitant’ and ‘none at all’ have been clubbed as ‘barely hesitant’.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 139

 Figure 7.11 One out of five personnel would not advise their daughter to go to a police station outside their
zone of influence to report a crime

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Imagine your daughter is in another city/village, beyond your zone of influence and she witnesses a crime. Would you
advise her to go to the police station alone to report the crime—yes or No?

Figure 7.12: Personnel who believe that common people are very hesitant to approach the police less likely to
advise their own daughters to visit a police station alone

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Imagine your daughter is in another city/village, beyond your zone of influence and she witnesses a crime. Would you
advise her to go to the police station alone to report the crime—yes or No?

SPIR 2018 found that 14 percent of the citizens are tion as the main reason, and about nine percent said
highly fearful of the police, and 30 percent are some- that people are not aware of their rights (Table 7.3).
what fearful of the police. Further, it was found that
people fearful of the police are less likely to report Table 7.3: Among personnel who believe that people
are hesitant to approach the police, one in three feels
willingness to approach the police even if there is a
that it is due to fear of the police
need.
Reasons Proportion (%)

Police personnel seem to recognise that common peo- People are afraid of the police 32
ple nurture an inherent fear of the institution and People are not educated enough 13
hence, are reluctant to approach them. There were People are not aware of their rights 9
many who agreed that a common person is hesitant, Public has a biased perception of police
8
in varying degrees, to contact the police. Out of this as corrupt and unhelpful.
group, about 32 percent, or one in three personnel, re- It is not good for the family name and
7
ported that the main reason behind this attitude is fear prestige issues
of the police. Also, 13 percent reported lack of educa-

140 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Figure 7.13: ST police personnel more likely to believe that crimes are under-reported

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: There is a perception among common people that the numbers of crime reported are lesser as compared to the number
of crimes committed in reality. To what extent do you think this is true—completely true, somewhat true, somewhat false, completely
false?
The answer categories of completely true and somewhat true have been clubbed as ‘true to some extent’, whereas the answer categories
of ‘completely false and somewhat false’; have been clubbed as ‘false to some extent’.

Figure 7.14 ST personnel less likely to advise their daughters to visit a police station alone to report a crime

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Imagine your daughter is in another city/village, beyond your zone of influence and she witnesses a crime. Would you
advise her to go to the police station alone to report the crime—yes or No?

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 141

7.5: Police and violence 7.6: Willingness to use violence over legal
process
We asked police personnel four questions to under-
stand their propensity to use or justify violence. Two Compared to other States, police personnel in Chhat-
questions were asked to ascertain the perception of tisgarh, Bihar, Nagaland and Karnataka are more
their role as a punisher (for small/minor offences and likely to report that they would rather use extra-ju-
for extremely dangerous criminals) and other two dicial means to resolve matters. They are in favour of
questions on their inclination towards justifying the punishing the criminals themselves, instead of going
use of violence. On creating an index to compare the through the process of a legal trial. On the other hand,
overall inclination to both punish and to justify vio- police personnel from Punjab and Odisha are most
lence, we found that police personnel in Chhattisgarh, likely to prefer legal trial over meting out instant jus-
Nagaland, Karnataka and Bihar had a very high in- tice (Table 7.5).
clination to punish or justify violence. On the other
hand, West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab and Kerala had
the highest proportion of police personnel with zero
inclination to punish or justify violence (Table 7.4).

Table 7.4: State-wise inclination to use or justify violence

  Inclination to use or justify violence
 States High Medium Low None Index
 Overall 35 43 14 8 —
Karnataka 54 42 3 1 25.1
Chhattisgarh 61 32 6 2 25.1
Nagaland 61 30 7 2 25
Bihar 52 39 6 3 24
Gujarat 41 53 6 1 23.4
Haryana 47 37 12 4 22.8
Uttar Pradesh 44 42 10 4 22.7
Telangana 32 59 7 1 22.3
Madhya Pradesh 32 59 7 2 22.1
Jharkhand 42 41 12 5 22
Uttarakhand 32 56 10 1 22
Maharashtra 41 39 12 8 21.2
Andhra Pradesh 32 48 14 7 20.5
Assam 27 55 13 4 20.5
Delhi 27 49 19 5 19.9
Himachal Pradesh 23 45 23 9 18.2
Rajasthan 32 33 13 22 17.5
Kerala 28 24 26 22 15.9
Punjab 19 39 22 20 15.5
West Bengal 15 33 22 25 14
Odisha 9 30 39 22 12.6
All figures are in percentages. Rest did not answer.
Please see Appendix 4 to understand how this variable was created.

142 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Table 7.5: State-wise inclination to use extra-judicial officer or other person may use all means necessary to
means by punishing criminals over a legal trial effect the arrest.
Police punishing a
States Legal Trial
criminal (3) Nothing in this section gives a right to cause the
Overall 44 54 death of a person who is not accused of an offence
Andhra Pradesh 43 57 punishable with death or with imprisonment for life.
Assam 35 62
While the legal provisions provide protection to of-
Bihar 60 39
ficers only in the case when an encounter was commit-
Gujarat 42 58 ted as an act of self-defence, there has been a rise in the
Haryana 54 46 number of cases of “fake” encounters (Dixit, 2019),
Himachal Pradesh 36 64 where encounters are ‘staged’ as an act of self-de-
Karnataka 57 42 fence. In the case of People’s Union for Civil Liberties
Kerala 49 51
(PUCL) vs State of Maharashtra, 2014, the Supreme
Court issued guidelines, making it mandatory for a
Madhya Pradesh 36 64
magistrate to investigate all encounter cases. However,
Maharashtra 48 52 the phenomenon of police encounters continues, with
Nagaland 78 19 49 people being killed in Uttar Pradesh since March
Odisha 21 79 2017, majority of who were Dalits, Muslims or OBCs
Punjab 28 72 (Rahid, 2019). In such a scenario, it becomes imper-
Rajasthan 42 58 ative to find out the attitudes and perceptions of the
personnel regarding encounter killings.
Uttar Pradesh 54 46
West Bengal 44 52
About 36 percent of the civil police agreed with the
Delhi 36 64 statement that for minor offences, a minor punish-
Jharkhand 57 43 ment to the accused by the police is better than a le-
Chhattisgarh 69 30 gal trial (Figure 7.15). About 78 percent of the police
Uttarakhand 40 60 agreed with the statement that a legal trial is better
Telangana 36 64
than killing criminals, no matter how dangerous he
or she is (Figure 7.16). However, this number should
All figures are in percentages. Rest did not answer.
be read with caution as there might be an element of
Questions asked: social desirability here. Conversely, nearly one in five
Q1. Which statement do you agree most with?
(1) For small/minor offenses, a small/minor punishment by the
(19%) personnel agreed with the statement that kill-
police is better than legal trial; (2) For small/minor offenses also, ing dangerous criminals is better than a legal trial.
there should be a complete legal trial. Do you agree or disagree
with this?
Both the duration of experience and the educational
Q2. Which statement do you agree most with? level of personnel have an effect on the opinion of the
(1) For the greater good of the society, killing dangerous criminals
is better than a legal trial.(2) No matter how dangerous a personnel towards encounter killings. As the number
criminal, police should try to catch the criminals and give them a of years of experience in the police increases, the pro-
legal trial. portion of personnel who would prefer killing danger-
Note: Those who agreed with the first statement on either one or ous criminals over legal trial decreases (Figure 7.17).
both the questions have been clubbed as ‘punisher’. Those who
agreed with the second statement on both the questions have been
clubbed as ‘legal trial’. On the other hand, with the rise in educational levels,
the proportion of police personnel who would prefer
Section 46 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), killing dangerous criminals over legal trial increases
1973, lays down the procedure for arrest by a police (Figure 7.18).
officer. It provides a partial sanction for encounters,
under extreme circumstances, in cases of persons who 7.7: Attitude towards police violence
have committed an offence punishable with death or On being asked whether it is alright for the police to
imprisonment for life. Clauses 2 and 3 of the Section adopt a violent attitude towards criminals, for the
state: greater good of society, about three-fourth replied in
the affirmative (Figure 7.19). Similarly, when we ex-
(2) If such person forcibly resists the endeavour to ar- amined if the police considered it is justified to beat
rest him, or attempts to evade the arrest, such police

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 143

up criminals for extracting confessions while investi- beating up criminals to extract confessions’, while the
gating serious cases, more than four-fifth endorsed vi- term used is ‘criminal’, but by virtue of such a case
olence (Figure 7.20). Senior State police officers were necessarily being under-trial since the police is seeking
only slightly less likely to agree with these statements a confession, the person facing violence would be an
than the constabulary. accused, and not a convict.

It is crucial to note that the criminals could be either It is interesting to note that our attempts to assess the
‘convicted’ or ‘accused’. The question was deliberately co-relations between educational levels and attitudes
phrased in an ambiguous way with the use of word to violence yielded counter-intuitive results. As the
‘criminal’ instead of convict/accused. However, in the educational level of the police personnel increased,
second statement, ‘there is nothing wrong in the police so did their agreement with being violent towards

Figure 7.15: Thirty seven percent personnel feel that for minor offences, a small punishment should be handed
out by the police rather than a legal trial

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Which statement do you agree most with?
(1) For small/minor offenses, a small/minor punishment by the police is better than legal trial;
(2) For small/minor offenses also, there should be a complete legal trial. Do you agree or disagree with this?

Figure 7.16: One out of five police personnel feel that killing dangerous criminals is better than a legal trial

144 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Figure 7.17: Personnel with more years of service less likely to believe that killing dangerous criminals is better
than a legal trial

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Which statement do you agree most with?
(1) For the greater good of the society, killing dangerous criminals is better than a legal trial.
(2) No matter how dangerous a criminal, police should try to catch the criminals and give them a legal trial.

Figure 7.18 Personnel with higher levels of education more likely to agree with the statement that killing
dangerous criminals is better than a legal trial

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Which statement do you agree most with?
(1) For the greater good of the society, killing dangerous criminals is better than a legal trial.
(2) No matter how dangerous a criminal, police should try to catch the criminals and give them a legal trial.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 145

 criminals even though the differences were marginal
Figure 7.19 Three out of four personnel feel that (Figure 7.21). Similarly, police personnel with lower
it is justified for the police to be violent towards
criminals
levels of education seem to have a marginally lesser
favourable view of beating up criminals to extract
confessions (Figure 7.22).

Figure 7.21 Personnel with higher education more

likely to believe that it is alright for the police to be
violent towards criminals

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement– “For the greater good of the society, it is alright for
the police to be violent towards criminals”? Answer categories
of ‘completely agree’ and ‘somewhat agree’ have been clubbed
together as ‘agree’, and answer categories of ‘somewhat
disagree’ and ‘completely disagree have been clubbed as
‘disagree’.
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following
Figure 7.20 Four out of five personnel believe that
statement? For the greater good of the society, it is alright for
there is nothing wrong in the police beating up
the police to be violent towards criminals?
criminals to extract confessions
Answer categories of ‘completely agree’ and ‘somewhat agree’
have been clubbed together as ‘agree’, and answer categories
of ‘somewhat disagree’ and ‘completely disagree have been
clubbed as ‘disagree’.

Figure 7.22: Personnel with higher education more

likely to believe that there is nothing wrong in police
beating up criminals to extract confessions

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement— “Sometimes while investigating serious cases,
there is nothing wrong in police beating up criminals to extract
confessions”? Answer categories of ‘completely agree’ and
‘somewhat agree’ have been clubbed together as ‘agree’, and
answer categories of ‘somewhat disagree’ and ‘completely
disagree have been clubbed as ‘disagree’.
All figures are in percentages and are rounded off. Rest of the
respondents did not answer.
Question asked: Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement— “Sometimes while investigating serious cases,
there is nothing wrong in police beating up criminals to extract
confessions”?
Answer categories of ‘completely agree’ and ‘somewhat agree’
have been clubbed together as ‘agree’, and answer categories
of ‘somewhat disagree’ and ‘completely disagree have been
clubbed as ‘disagree’.

146 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

7.7: Summing up liminary investigation is necessary as against directly
registering an FIR.
It is widely acknowledged that the police, being the
most visible face of governance, has to be people-cen-
Police personnel are not unaware of the extent of un-
tric. A society cannot afford a violent relationship
der-reporting of crime in the country. Three out of
between the citizens and the police. Contributing sig-
five police personnel agreed with the perception that
nificantly to the police’s failure in developing a peo-
the number of crimes reported are far less than the
ple-friendly image is its inability to perform one of
number of crimes actually committed. Two out of five
its core functions—register crimes. This reflects in the
police personnel admitted that the fear of the police is
perception of the police personnel, with more than
the primary reason behind common person being hes-
half of them interpreting an increase in FIRs as a swell
itant in contacting the police. These findings point to
in crime numbers of the given jurisdiction, and not as
an urgent need for reducing the citizens’ fear in order
increase in complaints registration. About three fifth
to change the image of the police in their minds.
of the police agreed that even in serious cases, pre-

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media/upload_files/Report%20Police%20Survey.pdf> [Ac-
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Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 147

8 Summing Up

Chandigarh, India- May 2, 2001: Police personnel injured in the Khanpur village clash near Chandigarh.
(Credits: Samuel, Hindustan Times)

148 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 8
Summing Up

P
olice Reforms in India have been traditional- on human rights, gender sensitisation or legal proce-
ly seen from two extreme perspectives: either dures responsible for the failure in changing mindsets
from the standpoint of the oppressed who seek and ensuring adherence to the rule of law.
to limit police’s monopoly over violence and end mis-
use of power by the state, or from the perspective of The experience-based sections of the report, howev-
professional autonomy of the police as an institution, er, present a dismal picture of the conditions of work
particularly from the political class, and their right to among the personnel. Long working hours, lack of
decent working conditions. After many reports and weekly rest and basic resources as well as external
recommendations from statutory commissions gath- pressure in work are commonly reported by personnel
ered dust over decades, the cause of police reforms across States, reflecting an urgent need for enhancing
got a stimulus in the year 2006 when the landmark resources, both human as well as physical. Evidence
Supreme Court judgement in Prakash Singh vs Union from studies worldwide suggest correlations between
of India laid down directives to control political inter- effect of unjust working conditions and stress, and
ference in the functioning of the police. the increasing tendency to use violence by the police.
These are therefore issues that need to be seen together
The Status of Policing in India Report, both of the from a larger context of making police in India a more
year 2018 and the current edition, go to show that people-oriented institution intended for providing ser-
both these perspectives are not as mutually exclu- vices, and not as a tool for State oppression.
sive or independent as they appear to be. In fact, as
SPIR 2018 shows, high levels of fear of police among Police personnel in India are denied the right to un-
the citizens co-exists with high levels of satisfaction ionise or call for a strike, yet the conditions are so
with the police. Similarly, this report shows that even dismal that there have been frequent strikes by police
though there is an agreement among the personnel forces in different States. These incidents have taken
that the fear of police leads to non-reporting of crimes, place, despite the personnel knowing that they would
they simultaneously endorse the use of violent meth- be charged with treason and other serious offences in
ods which may be the reason for creating fear in the case of a strike. In June 2016, personnel from Karna-
first place. These seeming contradictions are what we taka threatened to strike in a protest against low pay,
attempt to unpack in these reports. no fixed weekly offs and abuse of power by senior of-
ficers, among other complaints (Firstpost, June 2016).
SPIR series is an attempt to induce meaningful changes In May 2015, 53,000 Home Guards (an auxiliary unit
in the system, by taking into account opinions, experi- of the police in the State) from Bihar went on an indef-
ences and attitudes of all stakeholders, particularly the inite strike (The Economic Times, May 2015).
citizens and the police personnel themselves. However,
certain debatable opinions, such as police’s inclination The problem is not just restricted to the poor service
to use violence, treat juveniles in conflict with law as conditions, but it also extends to deficient work cul-
adult criminals, or their attitudes towards women ture within the police forces. There is little recourse
within the police force suggest that the opinions of for personnel such as police women, those of junior
personnel cannot be taken at face value to change the ranks, or those from SC, ST, OBC or the minorities,
system. Instead, they actually buttress the argument who face the brunt of discrimination. Both the survey
about the lack of awareness and absence of trainings as well the official data analysed in the report suggest

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 149

that lesser resources, trainings, infrastructure, etc. are to be aware of the probable biases against any gen-
available to the personnel from disadvantaged com- der or societal groups and also of their inclination to
munities. use violence. On both these accounts, we found suffi-
cient grounds to further study and mitigate both the
These are some of the issues that we touch upon in this biases and the tendency to use or to justify violence.
report, hoping to provide a context to the debates on Police themselves are aware of the fear and hesitation
police reforms in the country, and to provide statistical of common citizens in contacting them. With multi-
evidence for many of the oft-repeated problems plagu- ple government reports and non-government findings
ing the police structure in India. highlighting the true extent of non-reporting of crimes,
it is vital that the Indian criminal justice system adopts
8.1: Findings from the survey more proactive and systematic steps for evolving peo-
ple-friendly ways of policing.
The police personnel interviewed in the survey com-
plained of high workload they have to routinely face
Despite a long list of the committees and judgements
in discharging their responsibilities. Spending exces-
advocating police reforms, it was found that the level
sive time in an environment that is stressful appears to
of awareness is dismal about the landmark verdict of
be affecting the mental and physical health of the po-
Prakash Singh vs Union of India, 2006, a vital docu-
lice personnel, especially of those at the junior levels.
ment giving specific directions for reforms in the po-
And this is compounded by the fact that the resources
licing structure of India. Only about 14 percent of the
and training regarding maintenance of law and order,
police reported that they have heard of it.
crime control or investigation, are far from adequate.
As evident from the findings, their ability to perform
When the police personnel were asked about the steps
their functions is further affected adversely by politi-
that the government should take to enable them to do
cal pressure—something that the Indian State has been
their job better, the most common response was ‘in-
aware of and yet has been unable to contain.
creasing staff and their training’, followed by ‘increase
in facilitates and infrastructure’ provided to police.
As an arm of the State that has the legal authority to
This was further followed by ‘fixing working hours’
curb the freedom of the citizens, it is crucial for police

Figure 8.1: Steps that government must take to enable the police to do its job better

All figures are in percentages and are rounded off.

Question asked: In your opinion, what are the two steps that the government must take to ensure that police can do its job in a better
way?
The percentage is based out of the total responses for the question

150 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

(Figure 8.1). The call for these steps were echoed staff at the police stations is a common impediment
across gender, rank or years of experience in police. for discharging routine duties like escorting criminals
However, it is noticed that the call for increasing staff to the court or reaching crime spots on time. When it
and their training is more pronounced for civil police comes to mobility and staffing, Rajasthan, Odisha and
as compared to the armed police. Uttarakhand are relatively worse performing States.
On the other hand, West Bengal, Gujarat and Punjab
In the following sections, the summaries of chapter- perform consistently well in providing adequate infra-
wise findings of this report are presented. structure for policing.

8.1.1 Working conditions Just above two-thirds of the civil police reported that
Working in the Indian police is no easy task. Not only they always have access to a functional computer,
do the police work for 14 hours a day on an aver- while only over half of the civil police reported that
age, their probability of getting a weekly off is at best they had access to CCTNS program. The figures
around 50 percent. The police personnel in Punjab plummeted further when it came to access to forensic
and Odisha reported working for an average of 17 technology, with roughly only about one in four civ-
and 18 hours in a day. Maharashtra is the only State il police reporting ‘always’ having access to forensic
where all the police personnel reported getting at least technology at their workplace. Of the civil police per-
one day off every week, while more than 90 percent sonnel contacted, only two out of three reported ever
police personnel in Odisha and Chhattisgarh reported receiving any training in forensic technology. Thus,
getting no weekly off. Added to this, an environment the resources and the training given to police person-
in which junior officers often have to face the brunt of nel are far from adequate for discharging their respon-
work pressure and do menial domestic duties for the sibilities properly.
seniors, the stress levels are extremely high.
8.1.3 Crime investigation
More than half of the police personnel contacted The study also found that most police personnel be-
agreed that there was lack of equal treatment of jun- lieve unemployment and lack of education are prima-
iors by senior police personnel. One out of four po- ry factors behind the rise in crime. At the same time,
lice personnel also admitted that senior officers ask they see doing their routine work well – increased pa-
their juniors to do their personal/ household jobs even trolling or a more active role by the police – as the
though they are not meant to do it, with about two- factors which are primarily responsible for decline in
fifth police also reporting that senior officers use foul crime. Although the police appreciated the utility of
language while talking to their subordinates/ juniors. CCTVs and increased street lighting in bringing crime
A staggering ratio of three out of four constabulary under control, the crucial steps that police reported
reported having very little autonomy in their jobs. are required to control crime are increasing staff and
patrolling.
Perhaps, as a result of all these conditions, the police
reported that their mental and physical health was Political interference emerged as the biggest factor
being affected by their workload. A similarly high adversely impacting crime investigation, with about
proportion reported that they are not able to devote every three out of ten police personnel reporting it.
enough time to their families. Even four out of five of This was followed by non-cooperation of witnesses.
the family members of personnel admitted that polic- In fact, in the past 2–3 years of their work experience,
ing is a stressful job. Thus, it is no surprise that the two out of three personnel reported frequently facing
police personnel feel that their workload adversely af- political pressures, while about seventy percent
fects their ability to do their job well. police personnel reported frequently having faced
non-cooperation from witnesses. This pattern is
8.1.2 Resources at disposal also seen in cases involving influential people, where
With basic facilities like a toilet or drinking water still police reported frequently facing political pressure
not available in one out of every ten police stations, and departmental pressure during investigation. The
the infrastructure is far from perfect. Bihar comes most common consequence of not complying with
across as particularly backward in providing basic fa- these pressures is transfer or posting to a different
cilities at police stations. The study confirms that the area. Thus, the system is further weakened by undue
police personnel have often been in situations where external pressures, besides harsh working conditions
lack of access to vehicles or fuel in emergencies have and scanty resources.
forced them to spend from their own pockets. Lack of

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 151

8.1.4 Police and Gender of every five police person interviewed also reported
The service conditions are equally harsh for women that in their experience, complaints under the SC/ST
and men in police forces, but women have to fight extra Prevention of Atrocities Act are often false and moti-
battles in a misogynist environment. The study found vated.
that the Indian police system reeks of bias against
women working in the police, with about one in four The study of society between elections (APU-Lokniti
male personnel demonstrating high bias against their 2018) found that more than one in four respondents
female colleagues. This situation was particularly bad from 11 States of India reported that Dalits were not
in Bihar and Karnataka, with nearly sixty percent of trying hard to alleviate poverty, as against two fifth
the police personnel reporting high bias. One in two of the respondents who reported that generations of
police women reported that completely equal treat- unfair treatment has made it difficult for Dalits/Adiva-
ment is not meted out to police men and police wom- sis to improve their economic conditions. The attitude
en. This situation is particularly bad in Telangana, of the police towards Dalits or Adivasi communities
Karnataka and Punjab. thus appears to be linked to a larger societal attitude
towards people from these communities.
Without getting into the quality of training on gen-
der sensitisation, the numbers of those who never re- The perception of a community being naturally prone
ceived any training on gender sensitisation altogether towards committing crimes was the highest for Mus-
indicates a sad state of affairs, with about one out of lims, with roughly 14 percent of the police personnel
four police personnel in Nagaland, Gujarat and Bihar holding the opinion that Muslims are very much nat-
having never received any gender sensitisation train- urally prone towards committing crimes. To put it in
ing. While there is no absolute way of ascertaining the a comparative context, about six percent of the po-
impact of training on the mindsets of police personnel, lice reported that upper caste Hindus are very much
it can certainly go a long way in ensuring adherence naturally prone towards committing crimes. This
to due processes. About one fifth of the police person- situation of perceiving Muslims as being naturally
nel reported that in their experience, the complaints of prone towards committing crimes was worse in the
gender-based violence are to a very high extent false Hindi-heartland States of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh,
and motivated. In a country where 99 percent of the Bihar and Jharkhand. It was equally bad in Karnata-
complaints of sexual violence are still unreported, this ka and Maharashtra. Similarly, police personnel were
narrative of police personnel raises pertinent questions also more likely to report that migrants from other
about the attitude of the law enforcers towards vic- States are very much naturally prone to committing
tims of gender-based violence. crimes, with this perception being strongest in Mahar-
ashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
8.1.5 Police and the society
On matters of caste-based divisions, the Indian police The APU-Lokniti study (2018) found that while 65
system comes across as a subset of the larger Indian percent of the respondents consider Hindus and Sikhs
society. On comparing the treatment meted out to po- to be generally peaceful, a similar positive perception
lice personnel from SC and ST groups, less than half of is held by only 42 percent of the respondents towards
the personnel reported that there is completely equal Muslims; a decline of more than 20 percentage points.
treatment. The extent of unequal treatment is particu- On the other hand, three percent of the respondents
larly high in Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra perceive Hindus, Christians and Sikhs to be extremely
for ST caste groups, while the situation is particularly violent but the number for Muslims is 5 percentage
bad in Telangana, Punjab, and Maharashtra for SC points higher, at eight percent. Here again, the police
caste groups. Roughly half of the police personnel re- attitude towards Muslims seems to be aligned with the
ported that the last time they received any training on societal perceptions.
caste sensitisation was at the time of joining the police
force. Further, as compared to other States, police per- 8.1.6 Police–people contact
sonnel from Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh seem more One of the first steps in the criminal justice system is
prone to a bias against SCs (reporting that Dalits are to file a complaint. It thus becomes imperative to un-
very much naturally prone to committing crimes), derstand the incentives and attitudes of the police per-
while police personnel from Rajasthan and Madhya sonnel towards the process of registering complaints.
Pradesh are more likely to have a bias against the STs More than half of the police personnel reported that
(reporting that people from ST groups are very much an increase in FIR indicates a rise in crime in their giv-
naturally prone to committing crimes). About one out en jurisdiction, as against this being an indication of

152 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

improved reporting and registering of crimes. Kerala exceeding four per officer, a benchmark set by the
and Odisha bucked this trend, with roughly about sev- Padmanabhaiah Committee, in all but two of the
enty percent of the police reporting that an increase in selected States, Bihar and West Bengal. Further, the
FIRs merely indicated increase in registration of com- vacancies are also higher at the officer-level than at
plaints by the police. the constabulary-level. Official data points to the lack
of both resources and capacity-building measures by
Similarly, three out of five personnel are of the opin- the States. Despite the constabulary forming a major
ion that no matter how serious a case, there has to be share of the police force, trainings are concentrated at
some preliminary investigation by police before regis- the officer-level in all States.
tering an FIR. This was despite the fact that a similar
proportion (60%) also believed that the crimes report- Basic infrastructure, such as communications and
ed are less than the number of crimes that are actually transport, are also poorly allocated. The official data
committed in the society. Police personnel were also on the aspect of digital infrastructure needs further
cognisant of the possibility that common people are scrutiny, since discrepancies appear on many aspects,
hesitant in approaching the police even when there is such as the lack of computers in a State like Assam
a need — primarily on account of being fearful of the which otherwise scores high on the compliance to
police. In fact, about one in five personnel themselves CCTNS. When further corresponded with survey
would not advise their daughters to report a crime at a data, it appears that official data on this aspect pro-
police station beyond their zone of influence. vides a much more optimistic picture than the actual
ground reality.
Despite reporting fear as the primary cause of a com-
mon person’s reluctance in approaching the police, Diversity, a central feature of a functional, peo-
the police personnel in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Na- ple-friendly police system, also comes out poorly when
galand, and Bihar had a comparatively higher inclina- studied through the lens of official data. The inability
tion to justify violence which could be the reason for of States to fill in the reserved seats for SCs, STs, OBCs
creating such fears. While about two out of five per- and women is coupled with the disproportionately
sonnel said they would prefer to punish the ‘culprits’ lower representation of these groups at the officer-lev-
of small or minor offenses (as against a legal trial), el ranks. It needs to be pointed out that the lack of
an overwhelming majority of three out of four police official data on several parameters of diversity, such
personnel found it normal to adopt a violent attitude as data on the number of SCs, STs and OBCs at the
towards criminals or beating up criminals to extract IPS level, or data on the proportion of Muslims in the
confessions. Nearly one out of four personnel were of police force, are hindrances in the analysis. There is a
the opinion that killing a dangerous criminal is better need for the governments to curb the tendency to hide
than a legal trial. The awareness of fear as the main all such data about vulnerable and under-represented
cause of severe under-reporting of crimes, coupled communities and bring it out in the public domain.
with a high inclination to use or justify violence under-
lines an enigma for the Indian criminal justice system. The survey reveals that the police experience undue
political pressure, particularly when dealing with cases
8.1.7 Official story involving influential persons. The most common con-
Data from the reports of the Bureau of Police Re- sequence of not giving in to such pressure is unsched-
search and Development (BPRD) and the National uled transfers. Backing this data, the official figures
Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) were analysed for the provide evidence to suggest that the rates of transfer
years 2007 to 2016 to gauge the performances of the of personnel at the ranks of SSP and DIG in under two
States on parameters of adequacy of police structure. years is high across the States. While the percentage of
It was found that the police forces across the selected officers transferred has decreased significantly post the
States, with the exception of Nagaland, are extremely Prakash Singh judgement, it continues to be extremely
under-staffed. Overall, the police in the selected States high in States such as Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The
works at just above two-thirds of its sanctioned ca- data also points to a trend of increased rates of trans-
pacity, with States such as Uttar Pradesh performing fer around the time of State elections.
much worse, with its actual strength less than half of
the State’s sanctioned strength. 8.2: Concluding remarks

The ratio of constabulary to officers is also skewed Law enforcing agencies all over the world face the
across States, with the number of constabulary far onerous expectation of being tough and yet people-

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 153

friendly. Democracies in particular bring in sharp police themselves approach these issues? This report
focus this duality of their role. As representatives attempts to bring out the opinions and views of the
and instruments of the coercive arm of the state, they police on their own role, their work profile and the
need to wield the stick (and occasionally the gun) but conditions in which they perform their duties.
democracies also seek to minimise the actual exercise
of coercion. Legitimacy of the police force is in part In a nutshell, this report underlines the dismal work
dependent on their ability to extract obedience and at conditions in which the police in India operates. It
the same time to only sparingly resort to exercise of also brings out, at the same time, the social stereotypes
force. Often, therefore, the police are at the receiving that the persons in uniform are unable to shake off.
end of negative public opinion. They would be In both respects, thus, the institutional neglect of two
criticised for not being tough if they fail to ensure order key responsibilities — of improving work conditions
and public security, but if they are seen to be using the and of orienting the police to a more sophisticated,
force too often, they would be condemned for doing democratic and humane work ethic — emerges as the
so. No wonder, in the SPIR 2018 we found high levels most striking finding of the study.
of fear of the police among the citizens. How do the

References

‘53,000 Home Guards Go on Indefinite Strike in Bihar’, Murali, J., June 06, 2016, ‘Karnataka Cops Prepare to
May 15, 2015, The Economic Times, last accessed Au- Strike: There’s a Lesson in this for India’, Firstpost, last ac-
gust 10, 2019. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/ cessed August 10, 2019. https://www.firstpost.com/india/
politics-and-nation/53000-home-guards-go-on-indefinite- karnataka-cops-prepare-to-strike-theres-a-lesson-in-this-
strike-in-bihar/articleshow/47297540.cms?from=mdr for-india-2818566.html
Azim Premji University and CSDS, 2018, Politics and Socie- Prakash Singh vs Union of India, Writ Petition (civil) no.
ty Between Elections, last accessed August 10, 2019. https:// 310 of 1996
azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/SitePages/pdf/Azim_Premji_
Univ_PSBE_2018.pdf

154 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Appendices

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 155

Appendix 1: Technical Details of Study Design and Sample

‘Status of Policing in India Report 2019: A Study of police were typically carried out at the police housing
Police adequacy and working conditions’ is based on quarters or the police stations in the given location.
a sample survey of 11,834 police personnel across 105
locations in 21 states of India. The surveyed states Family survey: The same process was used for sam-
were: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, pling of family members of the police personnel. The
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, only difference was that unlike the quota sampling
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, used to identify police personnel in the sampling lo-
Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, cation in the given state, convenience sampling was
Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Delhi. used to identify and interview the family members of
The survey was conducted by Lokniti-Programme for the police personnel. Also, the place of interview was
Comparative Democracy, Centre for the Study of De- typically the police housing quarters.
veloping Societies (CSDS), in the months from Febru- It was not deemed necessary that the family members
ary to April 2019. of the police personnel interviewed had to be necessar-
ily interviewed or the police personnel had to be from
I. Sampling Method those families from which a member was interviewed.
One of the key objectives of the study was to provide Table A1: Sampling framework
state-wise analysis of performance and perception of
States Proposed Sample Achieved Sample
policing. Therefore, the sample size for all 21 states
Andhra Pradesh 600 583
was pre-decided based on their size. To ensure in-
ter-state and intra-state comparison, 600 interviews Assam 600 548
per state were targeted irrespective of the size and Bihar 600 532
population of the state. Chhattisgarh 600 409
Gujarat 600 546
Stage I: Sampling of Locations
Haryana 600 440
The locations in the state were chosen using purposive
heterogeneous sampling method to capture the social Himachal Pradesh 600 598
diversity, geographical spread and the administration Jharkhand 600 531
of the police. Five locations were chosen from each Karnataka 600 594
state in such a way that two locations would capture Kerala 600 606
the policing of population in rural areas, two locations Madhya Pradesh 600 581
would capture the policing of population in the urban
Maharashtra 600 531
areas and one would preferably capture the policing
Nagaland 600 570
of population staying in capital or metropolitan cities.
The locations were also chosen keeping in mind the Odisha 600 576
geographical spread of the state (to capture the coast- Punjab 600 580
al policing, etc.). The locations with comparatively Rajasthan 600 800
higher SC and ST population were also given a higher Telangana 600 556
preference.
Uttarakhand 600 450

Stage II: Sampling of Police Uttar Pradesh 600 542

The second and final stage of sampling was the se- West Bengal 600 588
lection of the respondents. In every location, 120 re- Delhi 600 673
spondents were to be selected using quota sampling
method. Through this procedure it was ensured that II. Research Instrument
in the selected sample, every fifth respondent was a
Preparation of the Questionnaire: The English ques-
woman and that out of every five respondents inter-
tionnaire was designed after a rigorous dialogue in a
viewed, at least four were at the ranks of constables
series of meetings and discussions within the research
or head constables. This was done to ensure an ade-
team comprising of colleagues from Lokniti and Com-
quate quota of constabulary forces and the gender for
mon Cause. The main objective of the survey was to
further disaggregated studies. The interviews of the
study the working conditions of the police personnel

156 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

and the problems they face in discharging their duties. began in order to train the field investigators (FIs) and
Most questions in the questionnaire were structured, supervisors who carry out the fieldwork operations.
i.e., close-ended. However there were some that were The trainers conducted an intensive and interactive
kept open-ended in order to find out the respondent’s workshop wherein investigators underwent an ori-
spontaneous feelings about an issue without giving entation programme and were trained rigorously on
her/him a pre-decided set of options. survey method, interviewing techniques and commu-
nication with the respondents. A comprehensive and
Pre-testing and Finalizing the Questionnaire: To check detailed interviewing guide, designed on the basis of
the accuracy and credibility of the questions set in the the questionnaire and survey methodology, was pre-
questionnaire, it was necessary to administer it in the pared for the interviewers. For a better understanding
field. A pilot fieldwork was conducted on 15 Novem- of the questionnaire, mock interviews were also con-
ber 2018 and 5 December 2018 in Model town police ducted by the interviewers.
colony and Malviya Nagar Police colony. No sam-
pling of any sort was carried out during pre-testing. Fieldwork: The fieldwork of the survey took place
The pre-testing was conducted by the research team from the months of February to April 2019. Field in-
members from Lokniti and Common Cause, who vestigators, who were mainly students of social scienc-
were also involved in the questionnaire designing. Af- es belonging to colleges and universities in different
ter getting inputs from the researchers, the questions parts of the country, were selected to carry out the field
were reframed, omitted and added. This process also work. They conducted face to face interviews with the
gave insights to determine the length of questionnaire, respondents at the place of work or residence of the
writing instructions for field investigators and adding respondent using a standardized questionnaire in the
and omitting some new options in answer categories. language spoken and understood by her/ him. A total
of 11834 interviews of the police personnel and a total
Translation: It would not be justifiable to use a single of 10535 interviews of family members of the police
language questionnaire in a multi lingual country like personnel could be completed across the 21 States.
India. Therefore, translation was done for each state Data checking and analysis: All questionnaires were
by the regional team which was familiar with the lan- manually screened for consistency and quality check.
guage of each region before administering the ques- The questionnaire had codes (of pre-coded questions)
tionnaire in field. The questionnaire was translated that were used for data punching. A team was consti-
in ten (Assamese, Bangla, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, tuted for checking the codes and making corrections
Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi and Telugu) lan- if there were any mistakes. The checking and the sub-
guages. sequent data entry took place at the Lokniti-CSDS
office in Delhi. The analyses presented in this report
Training Workshop: A two-day training workshop have been done using Statistical Package for the Social
was organized in each state before the survey fieldwork Sciences (SPSS).

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 157

Appendix 2: Questionnaire

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR POLICE OFFICERS

Z1. State: ________________________

Z2. District HQ/City Name______________________

Z3. Housing Quarters Location: ____________

Z4. Closest Police Station:____________________

Z5: Location: 1. Capital City 2. City 3. District Head Quarter

Z6: Date of Interview_________

Z7: Name of Investigator:________________

My Name is _____________________________ and I am from Lokniti–CSDS: Centre for the Study of the
Developing Societies (Please mention your university’s name here), a research institute based in Delhi. We are doing
a survey of police across the country, to gather their perspective towards the police system and criminal justice
system. It covers aspects such as conditions of housing quarters, duty hours, work-stress, obstacles in investigation,
etc.

We are interviewing thousands of police personnel and their family, across the country. Based on this study, a
report on the status of policing in India will be produced.

This survey is an independent study and it is not linked to any political party or government agency. Whatever
information you provide will be kept strictly confidential. The findings of the survey will be used for research
work.

Participation in this survey is voluntary and it is entirely up to you answer or not to answer any question that I
ask. We hope that you will take part in this survey since your participation is important. It usually takes 30–40
minutes to complete this interview. Please spare some time for the interview and help me in completing this survey.

Z8: May I begin the interview now?

1. Respondent agrees to be interviewed. 2. Respondent does not agree to be interviewed.

INTERVIEW BEGINS

B1. Presently, what is your rank within the police force?

1. Constable 2. Head constable 3. Assistance sub-inspector 4. Sub-inspector
5. Inspector 6. Circle Inspector 7. ASP/Dy.SP

B1.a. Are you in civil police or armed police?

1. Civil police 2. Armed Police

B1.b. In this posting, what are the two main tasks that you perform daily?............................................................

(Record exactly, consult code book and code later)

B2. How long have you been in service? ______________ (Number of years)

B3. Where you are currently posted–Police Station, Police Outpost, Cyber Cell or anywhere else? ........................
(Record exactly, consult code book and code later)

98. Can’t say 99. Not applicable

158 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

B4. How far do you live from the police station/unit/cell/department? (Read out the answer categories)
1. Within 5 kilometers 2. Between 6-10 kilometers 3. Between 11-15 kilometers
4. Between 16-20 kilometers 5. More than 20 kilometers 8. Don’t know/can’t say

Q1. Some people are unhappy with the government provided police quarters, while some people are happy with it.
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the provided staff quarters?
(If satisfied, check ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’, If dissatisfied, check ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’)
1. Very satisfied 2. Somewhat satisfied 3. Somewhat dissatisfied 4. Very dissatisfied
8. No response

Q1 a. (If dissatisfied), what is the single most important reason for dissatisfaction with the staff quarters?
(Record exactly, consult code book and code later)

98. Can’t say/no answer 99. Not applicable

Q2. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is the smallest issue and 10 is the biggest issue, Please rate these problems for your
housing quarters: (If no answer, please code 98. can’t say/no answer)

1. Water supply issues 2. Garbage Disposal issues 3. Drainage system issues 4. Electricity issues

Any other issue____________________________(Record exactly, to be post coded)

Q3. After how much time of submitting the official application, was the housing quarter allocated?
(number of months)

98. Can’t say/No answer

Q4. On an average, how many hours a day do you actually work? (number of hours)

98. Can’t say/no answer

Q5. On an average, how many weekly off-days do you actually get? (number of days)

98. Can’t say/no answer

Q6. With regards to your duty hours, how many times in a week are you asked to stay back at the police station
even after duty hours?

1. Many times 2. Sometimes 3. Rarely 4. Never 5. Can’t say/No answer

Q.6 a what is generally the most important reason for staying back at police station after duty hours?
(Record exactly, consult code book and code later)

Q7. Do you get paid for the overtime work?

1. Yes 2. No 8. Can’t say/Don’t know

Q8. Given a chance, at this stage of your career, will you be willing to give up this profession and go for another job
if the salary and perks remain the same?
1. Yes 2. No 8. Can’t say/Don’t know

Q9 a. How many times are the following facilities provided at your police station or jurisdiction–always, sometimes
or never?
1. Always 2. Sometimes 3. Never 8. Can’t say/no answer
a. Functional computer b. Storage unit for the documents
c. Functional CCTNS software d. Forensic Technology

Q9 b. And are these facilities available at your police station/jurisdiction?

1. Yes 2. No 8. Can’t Say/No answer

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 159

 a. Functional Toilets b Separate toilet for women c. Sitting area for people
d. Drinking water e. Facility for food for prisoners in police custody
f. Committee against sexual harassment

Q10. In the last 2-3 years, how much has the overall cleanliness in the police station increased? – A lot, somewhat,
very little, or as it is?
1. A lot 2. Somewhat 3. Very little 4. As it is
8. Can’t say/No response

Q11. Considering the past 2–3 years of your work experience, How often have you ever been in the following
situations?—Many times, few times, rarely or never?
1. Many times 2. Few times 3. Rarely 4. Never
8. Can’t say/Don’t know
a. You needed a vehicle but the government vehicle/fuel was unavailable.
b. You had to spend money from your pocket for expenses such as stationary, carbon paper etc.
c. You were unable to reach the crime spot on time because of shortage of staff at the police station.
d. You were unable to escort an accused to the court because of shortage of staff at the police station.
e. You could not deal with a cybercrime because of lack of technology/experts.

Q12. When was the last time you received training on the following issues?
1. Received in the last 2–3 years. 2 Before that.
3. at the time of induction in the police force 4. Never received
8. Can’t say/No answer
a. New technology b. To solve cyber crimes c. Forensic technology
d. Human rights e. Crowd Control f. Caste sensitization
g. Physical training h. Weapons training i. New rules/orders
j. Sensitization towards women

Q13. In your jurisdiction, do you think the overall crime in your area has increased or decreased in the last 2-3
years? (If increased, check ‘increased a lot’ or ‘increased a little’; If decreased, check ‘decreased a lot’ or ‘decreased a
little’)
1. It has increased a lot 2. It has increased a little 3. It has remained the same
4. It has decreased a little 5. It has decreased a lot 8. Don’t know/Can’t say

Q13.a. (If crime has increased) In your opinion what is the most important reason behind this rise in crime? (Record
exactly, consult code book and code later)............................................................................

Q13.b. (If crime has decreased) In your opinion what is the most important reason behind this decline in crime?
(Record exactly, consult code book and code later) ............................................................................

Q14. Now I will read out some statements. Please tell me which statements you agree with the most
1. Increase in number of FIRs indicates an increase in the crimes in the given jurisdiction.
2. Increase in number of FIRs indicates that police is doing a better job of recording complaints.
1. Agree with first statement 2. Agree with second statement 8. No answer/can’t say

Q15. Now I will read out some statements. Please tell me which statements you agree with the most
1. No matter how serious a complaint, there must be a preliminary investigation before registering a FIR.
2. For all the serious complaints, FIR must be directly registered without any preliminary investigation.
1. Agree with first statement 2. Agree with second statement 8. No answer/can’t say

Q16. Considering your own work experience in police, to what extent are false and motivated cases reported to
police when it comes to following complaints—A lot, somewhat, very rare or none at all?

160 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 1. A lot 2. Somewhat 3. Very rare 4. None at all
8. Can’t say/don’t know
a. Domestic Violence b. Murder c. Theft and Robbery
d. Crimes under SC/ST act e. Dowry f. Sexual Harassment
g. Rape

Q17. In your opinion, what is the most important step that the police should take to control crime?
(Record exactly, consult code book and code later)

98. Can’t say 99. Not applicable

Q18.On a scale of one to ten, please tell me how useful the following are the following measures for reducing crime
in your area—10 being most useful and 1 being not useful at all: (If no answer, please code 98. can’t say/no answer)
a. Increase street lighting in high crime area
b. Increasing the number of police personnel
c. Installation of CCTV cameras in all areas
d. More preventive arrests of anti-social elements
e. Improving the network of informers/mukhbirs
f. Form special squads for curbing eve teasing
g. Appointing civilians as Special Police Officers

Q19. How often have you encountered the following problems during investigation of a crime—often, sometimes,
rarely or never?
1. Often 2. Sometimes 3. Rarely 4. Never 8. No response
a. Witnesses unwilling to cooperate b. Victims unwilling to cooperate
c. Lack of time to investigate d. Departmental pressure
e. Political pressure f. Weak laws that favor accused
g. Prosecution duties

Q20. Of the various things which hinder an investigation, which is the one that hinders it the most?
(Record exactly, consult code book and code later)

Q21. In your opinion, to what extent is a common person hesitant to contact the police even when there is a need—
very hesitant, somewhat hesitant, hardly hesitant or not hesitant at all?
1. Very hesitant 2. Somewhat hesitant 3. Hardly hesitant 4. Not at all hesitant
8. No response

Q21a. (If hesitant) In your opinion, what is the main reason behind this hesitance?
(Record exactly, consult code book and code later)
98. No response

Q22. Imagine your daughter is in another city/village, beyond your zone of influence and she witnesses a crime.
Would you advise her to go to the police station alone to report the crime?
1. Yes 2. No 8. No response

Q23. There is a perception among common people that the numbers of crime reported are lesser as compared to the
number of crimes committed in reality. To what extent do you think this is true? (If true, check ‘completely true’ or
‘somewhat true’; if false check ‘completely false’ or ‘somewhat false‘)
1. Completely true 2. Somewhat true
3. Somewhat false 4. Completely false 8. No response

Q24. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

(If agree, check ‘fully agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’; if disagree, check ‘fully disagree’ or ‘somewhat disagree’)
1. Fully agree 2. Somewhat agree 3. Somewhat disagree 4. Fully disagree

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 161

 8. Can’t say/ don’t know
a. The workload makes it difficult for me to do my job well.
b. I am not able to devote enough time to my family due to policing duties.
c. I am permitted to do only those tasks that are asked by my seniors.
d. My workload is affecting my physical and mental health conditions.
e. My salary is at par with the kind of work I do.
f. My work is evaluated in a neutral way.

Q25. How often do the following instances happen in the police–workplaces?

‘Senior officers talk with their juniors in a bad language.’
1. Very often 2. Somewhat often 3.Somewhat rare 4. Never
8. No response

Q26. When dealing with cases involving influential persons, how often does the police feel pressure from the
following people? —Always, sometimes, rarely or never?
1. Always 2. Sometimes 3. Rarely 4. Never
8. Can’t Say/Don’t know 9. Not applicable
a. Seniors in the police force b. Politicians
c. Public d. Media
e. Human rights organization & NGO f. Judiciary

Q27. What is the most common consequences of not complying with such pressures?
(Record exactly, consult code book and code later)
1. Punishment posting/ transfer to another area 2. Suspension/dismissal from service
3. Threat to personal safety, physical assault 4. Harsh public criticism
5. Any other (record exactly) _______________________

Q28. According to you, do the following instances happen in the police?

‘Senior officers ask their juniors to do household jobs/private-personal jobs even though they’re not meant to do it‘
2. Yes 1. No 8. No response

Q29. Now, I will read out two statements. Please tell which one you agree the most with.
1. For small/minor offenses, small/minor punishments by the police is better than legal trial.
2. For small/minor offenses also, there should be a complete legal trial.
1. Agree with first statement 2. Agree with second statement
8. No response

Q30. Sometimes there are instances, when the mob tries to punish the culprits. In your opinion, to what extent is it
natural for the mob to punish the culprits on the following issues?
a. When there is a case of cow-slaughter. b. When there is a case of child kidnapping.
c. When there is a case of rape. d. When there is a case of road accident due to driver’s negligence
1. To a large extent 2. Somewhat 3. Rarely
4. Completely unjustified. 8. Can’t say/no response

Q. 31 Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

For the greater good of the society, It is alright for the police to be violent towards criminals (If agree, check ‘fully
agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’; if disagree, check ‘fully disagree’ or ‘somewhat disagree’)
1. Fully agree 2. Somewhat agree 3. Somewhat disagree 4. Fully disagree
8. DK

Q32. In your opinion, to what extent are the following people naturally prone towards committing crimes? —very
much, somewhat more, rarely or not at all?
1. Very much 2. Somewhat more 3. Rarely 4. Not at all

162 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 8. No response/can’t say
a. Migrant people b. Hijras/trangender people c. Street vendors/hawkers
d. Muslim people e. OBC people f. Upper caste Hindu people
g. People from poor households h. Nat/saperas/NTs/DNTs people
i. Tribal people j. Dalit people k. Illiterate people
l. Industrialists m. Slum-dwellers

Q33. There are various societal groups in police. According to you, to what extent are the following groups given
equal treatment?
1. Completely 2. Somewhat more 3. Rarely 4. None at all
8. No response/can’t say
a. Tribal police person & non tribal police person personnel
b. Minority religion police & Other religion Police personnel
c. Women police person & men police person personnel
d. Dalit police person & non dalit police person personnel
e. Junior police personnel and the senior police personnel

Q34. Many people argue that working in the police is not appropriate for women. Now I am going to read out some
such arguments. Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with these arguments ? (If agree, check ‘fully agree’ or
‘somewhat agree’; if disagree, check ‘fully disagree’ or ‘somewhat disagree’)
a. Being in the police requires physical strength and aggressive behavior which women lack.
b. Women police are incapable of handling high intensity crimes and cases
c. Because of inflexible working hours, it is difficult for women to work in the police force as they cannot attend to
homely duties.

Q35. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

(If agree, check ‘fully agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’; if disagree, check ‘fully disagree’ or ‘somewhat disagree’)
‘Sometimes, while investigating serious cases, there is nothing wrong in the police beating up criminals to extract
confessions’
1. Fully agree 2. Somewhat agree 3.Somewhat disagree
4. Fully disagree 8. Don’t know/Can’t Say

Q36. In the criminal cases of children of following age groups, do you think they should be treated as children/
juveniles the same way as adult criminals?
1.Like children/juveniles 2. Like adult criminals in extreme cases (Silent option)
3. Like adult criminals 8. Don’t know/Can’t say
a. Children between 16-18 years of age b. Children between 7 to 16 years of age

Q37. I will read out two statements. Please choose one of the statements that you agree the most with:
1. For the greater good of the society, Killing dangerous criminals is better than the legal trial.
2. No matter how dangerous a criminal, police should try to catch the criminals and give them a legal trial.
1. Agree with the first statement 2. Agree with the second statement. 8. Don’t know/can’t say

Q38. In 2006, the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment on police reforms in the case of Prakash Singh vs
Union of India. Are you aware of this judgment?
2 .Yes 1. No 8. Can’t say/No response

Q38 a. (If yes) Can you name one of the directives given by the Court in this case? (open-ended)

Q39. According to you, how important is it for the police to receive training on the following issues—very
important, somewhat important, less important, and not important at all?
1. Very important 2. Somewhat important 3. Less important

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 163

 4. Not important 8. Don’t know/can’t say
a. New technology b. To solve cyber crimes
c. Forensic technology d. Human rights
e. Crowd Control f. Caste sensitization
g. Physical training h. Weapons training
i. New rules/orders j. Sensitization towards women

Q40. If police officers are posted in their home district, would they be more efficient or less efficient?
1.More efficient 2. Less efficient 3. Doesn’t make any difference 4. DK

Q41. As compared to other institutions of the government, are the police more corrupt or less corrupt?
1. More corrupt 2. Less corrupt . 3 As corrupt as others.
4 Not corrupt at all. 8. No response/can’t say

Q42. In your opinion, what are the two steps that the government must take to ensure that police can do its job in a
better way?
a___________________________________98 Can’t say
b____________________________________98 Can’t say

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

B5. What is your age? (in completed years) ______

B6. Gender: 1. Male 2. Female 3. Other

B7 Till what level have you studied? ______(Record exactly and consult codebook)

B7a: And up to what level have your father and your mother studied?
1. Father:______________________ 2. Mother:_______________________ 9. No response

B8: What is your Caste/tribe name? ______(Record exactly and consult codebook)

B8a: and what is your caste group: ______(Record exactly and consult codebook)

B9: What is your religion?______(Record exactly and consult codebook)

B10: Are you married?

1. Married 2. Married, gauna not perfomed
3. Widowed 4. Divorced
5. Separated 6. Deserted
7. Never married 8. No answer

B11: What kind of a mobile phone do you have – is it a normal one or a touch screen smart-phone?
1. Normal phone 2. Smart-phone 3. Don’t have a mobile phone 8. No response

B11 a: Is there an internet connection on your mobile?

2. Yes 1. No 9. NA

B12: How many rooms are there in this house?___

B13: How many members are there in family? _______ Adults _______Children

164 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

B14: On an average, What is the roughly monthly expenditure of the family? (Record exactly and consult codebook)

B15: Do you or members of your household have the following items?

2. Yes 1. No
a. Car/Jeep/Van b. Scooter/Motor Cycle/Moped c. Air Conditioner
d. Computer/Laptop e. Washing Machine f. Fridge
g. T.V. h. Bank/Post Office account i. ATM Debit/Credit Card
j. LPG gas connection k. Toilet in the house

B16: What is the total monthly income of the household? ______(Record exactly and consult codebook)

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR POLICE PERSONNEL’S FAMILY

*Only to be conducted with adult family members*

My Name is _____________________________ and I am from Lokniti–CSDS: Centre for the Study of the
Developing Societies (Please mention your university’s name here), a research institute based in Delhi. We are
doing a survey of police personnel across the country, to gather their perspective towards the police system and
criminal justice system. It covers aspects such as conditions of housing quarters, duty hours, work-stress, obstacles
in investigation, etc.

We are interviewing thousands of police personnel and their family across the country. Based on this study, a
report on the status of policing in India will be produced.

This survey is an independent study and it is not linked to any political party or government agency. Whatever
information you provide will be kept strictly confidential. The findings of the survey will be used for research
work.

Participation in this survey is voluntary and it is entirely up to you answer or not to answer any question that I
ask. We hope that you will take part in this survey since your participation is important. It usually takes 30–40
minutes to complete this interview. Please spare some time for the interview and help me in completing this survey.

Z9: May I begin the interview now

1. Respondent agrees to be interviewed. 2. Respondent does not agree to be interviewed.

INTERVIEW BEGINS

1 What is your relation to the respondent/person who works in police? (Record exactly, consult code book and code
later) .............................. 8. No answer/can’t say

F2. What is your Age? (Record exactly, consult code book and code later)................... 8. No answer/can’t say

F3. What is your occupation? (Record exactly, consult code book and code later) ............ 98. No answer/can’t say

F4. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the provided staff quarters? (If satisfied, check ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’, If
dissatisfied, check ‘whether’ or ‘somewhat’)
1. Very satisfied 2. Somewhat satisfied 3. Somewhat dissatisfied
4. Very dissatisfied 8. No response

F4 a. (If dissatisfied), what is the single most important reason for dissatisfaction with the staff quarters? (Record
exactly, consult code book and code later) ...................................... 98. No answer/can’t say

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 165

F5. It is often said that policing is a very stressful job. Do you agree or disagree with the statement? (If agree, check
‘fully agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’; if disagree, check ‘fully disagree’ or ‘somewhat disagree’)
1. Strongly agree 2. Somewhat agree 3. Somewhat disagree
4. Strongly disagree 8. No answer/Can’t Say

F5.a (If agrees) What do you think is the main reason for such a high level of stress? (Record exactly, consult code
book and code later) ..................................... 8. can’t say 9. Not applicable

F6. In your opinion, does your spouse/parent/child (Use the relation depending upon respondent’s relationship with
the police officer) spend enough time with the family?
1. Sufficient time 2. Less than sufficient
3. Far less than sufficient 8. No response

F7. Please tell me whether you would agree or disagree with the following statements? (If agree, check ‘fully agree’
or ‘somewhat agree’; if disagree, check ‘fully disagree’ or ‘somewhat disagree’)

2. Somewhat 3. Somewhat 4. Fully 8. Don’t

1. Fully agree
agree disagree disagree know
a. As compared to others, police officers
are more prone to getting angry and
irritable more easily.
b. As compared to others, Police officers
behave more badly with their subordi-
nate staff.
c. As compared to others, Police officers
behave more badly with their family.
d. As compared to others, Police officers
are more prone to alcoholism.
e. My spouse/child/sibling/parent (what-
ever relation with police officer) suffers
from issues of mental health
f. As compared to others, Police system
is more unfair towards those at the lower
rank

F8. If given an option, would you like your child to join the police profession in the future?
Son: 1. Yes 2. No 8. No response Daughter: 1. Yes 2. No 8. No response

F9. During the last 1-2 years, has your entire family (entire family means including the police officer):
2. Yes 1. No 8. Don’t know/Can’t say
a. Been outside on a leisure holiday b. Visited relatives out of town/village
c. Gone for a religious pilgrimage

F10. Is your spouse/parent/child (Use the relation depending upon respondent’s relationship with the police officer)
at home during the following festivals—Always, sometimes, rarely or never?

1-Always 2-Sometimes 3-Rarely 4-Never 8-No response

a. Diwali
b. Holi
c. Eid
d. State’s
important festival

F11. In your opinion, is crime higher in police locality than in other neighborhoods?
2. Yes, it is higher 1. No, it is lower
3. It is about same 8. Don’t Know/ No opinion

166 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

F11a. If yes, why? (Record exactly, consult code book and code later) ............................
98. No answer/Can’t Say 99. Not applicable

F12. It is generally believed that problems such as crime, violence etc. are higher in police neighborhoods. You have
been living between other police families. In your opinion, are the following problems greater among police families
compared to families in which members are working in other jobs?

1-Much more in police 2- equal problem (Si- 3- lesser in police

8. No answer/can’t say
families lent option) families
a. Children of the fam-
ily involved in criminal
activities
b. Domestic violence
c. Alcoholism

F13. Which one among these four sentences truly describes your economic condition? (Read out statements 1-4)
1. With our total household income we are able to fulfill all our needs and save some money.
2. With our total household income we are able to fulfill all our needs without any difficulty.
3. With our total household income we are not able to fulfill all our needs and face some difficulty.
4. With our total household income we are not able to fulfill our needs and face a lot of difficulty.
8. No answer/can’t say

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 167

Appendix 3: How indices for survey data were calculated and select tables

For the calculation of all thematic Indices (Police Actual as a percentage of sanctioned strength - officers
strength, Police infrastructure, Budget), Indices have (ASI and above)
been developed for the five-year average of each varia- Calculation of variable: (actual strength of officers/
ble, and then the individual variable Indices have been sanctioned strength of officers) * 100
averaged to arrive at the final thematic Index. For in- Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2013-2017)
stance,
Number of constables per officers (teeth to tail ratio)
Police infrastructure Index = arithmetic mean of avail- Calculation of variable: actual strength of constabu-
ability of either telephone or wireless Index, availabil- lary/actual strength of officers
ity of telephone Index, availability of wireless services
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2013-2017)
Index, and availability of vehicles Index.
Rank-wise percentages of actual to sanctioned strength
The formula used for the calculation of individual var-
of police forces as of 2016 and the rate of improve-
iable Indices is:
ment (Table 1.2)
State Index = (x - minimum observed in the last five
years) / (maximum observed in the last five years
Overall rate of improvement
minimum observed in the last five years)
Calculation of variable: Arithmetic mean of difference
where ‘x’ is the actual state figure for the variable between ‘actual as a percentage of sanctioned’ values
In the below section, the explanation for the calcu- in two consecutive years.
lation of the individual variables is given. Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2012-2017)

The overall Index State score has been created by

averaging the thematic indices of infrastructure, Rate of improvement in constabulary (Head constable
budget and strength. and constable) ranks
Calculation of variable: Arithmetic mean of difference
between ‘actual as a percentage of sanctioned constab-
i. Strength
ulary strength’ values in two consecutive years.
Average of the last Five-year percentages (2012 –
2016) (Table 1.1) Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2012-2017)

All the data regarding strength of police personnel has

been taken from the ‘Data on Police Organizations’ Rate of improvement in Officer (ASI to DGP) ranks
reports published by BPRD. For average calculation, Calculation of variable: Arithmetic mean of difference
data from year 2012 to 2016 has been considered. between ‘actual as a percentage of sanctioned officer
strength’ values in two consecutive years.
Telangana came into existence in 2014. Therefore, Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2012-2017)
data from 2014 to 2016 has been considered for cal-
culation. ii Training
Rank-wise percentage of police personnel given in-ser-
Actual as a percentage of sanctioned strength - Overall vice training (2012-16 average) (Table 1.3)
(civil + armed) All the training of police personnel related data has
Calculation of variable: (total actual strength/total been taken from the ‘Data on Police Organizations’
sanctioned strength) * 100 reports published by BPRD. For average calculation,
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2013-2017)
data from year 2012 to 2016 has been considered.

Actual as a percentage of sanctioned strength – con- Telangana came into existence in 2014. Therefore,
stabulary (head constables and constables) data from 2014 to 2016 has been considered for cal-
Calculation of variable: (actual strength of constabu- culation.
lary/sanctioned strength of constabulary) * 100
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2013-2017)

168 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Percentage of police personnel given in -service train- iii. Communication
ing: Percentage of police stations not having wireless or
Calculation of variable: (total number of police per- telephone connectivity
sonnel given in-service training/total actual strength) Communication infrastructure related data has been
* 100 taken from the ‘Data on Police Organizations’ reports
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017 published by BPRD. Purpose of the variables is to un-
derstand the availability of basic communication in-
Percentage of constables given in-service training: frastructure in states. For Telephone and wireless data
Calculation of variable: (Number of constables given for 2012 was not reported by BPRD. Therefore, for
in-service training/actual strength of constables) * 100 average calculation data from the year 2011 and 2013
to 2016 has been considered.
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017

Percentage of police stations having either telephone

Percentage of ASI/SI given in-service training:
or wireless
Calculation of variable: (Number of ASI/SI given
Calculation of variable: 100 – [(number of police sta-
in-service training/actual strength of ASI/SI) * 100
tions having neither telephone nor wireless/total num-
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017
ber of actual police stations) * 100]
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2012, 2014 - 2017)
Percentage of DySPs given in-service training:
Calculation of variable: (Number of DySPs given
Percentage of police stations having wireless
in-service training/actual strength of DySPs) * 100
Calculation of variable: 100 – [(number of police sta-
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017
tions not having wireless/total number of actual police
stations) * 100]
Percentage of IPS officers given in-service training:
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2012, 2014 - 2017)
Calculation of variable: (Number of IPS officers giv-
en in-service training/actual strength of IPS officers)
Percentage of police station having telephone
* 100
Calculation of variable: 100 – [(number of police sta-
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017
tions not having telephone/total number of actual po-
lice stations) * 100]
Expenditure on police training as a percentage of the
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2012, 2014 - 2017)
total police expenditure (Table 1.4)
All the training expenditure related data has been tak-
Adequacy of CCTNS infrastructure: Compliance
en from the ‘Data on Police Organizations’ reports
score as of December 2018 (Table 1.6)
published by BPRD. For average calculation, data
NCRB publishes CCTNS compliance score on Pragati
from year 2012 to 2016 has been considered.
Dashboard every month. The final compliance score
is based on different variables. From those, variables
Telangana came into existence in 2014. Data for year
which were based on the idea of adequacy were con-
2016 is also not available. Therefore, data from the
sidered for calculation.
year 2014 and 2015 has been considered for calcula-
tion.
Variables used:
Police station connected, No. of police stations where
Police training expenditure as a percentage of total po-
complete hardware commissioned, No. of police sta-
lice expenditure:
tions where CCTNS software deployed, capacity
Calculation of variable: (Total expenditure on police
building, No. of IIF 1 to IIF 6 in CAS, No. of IIF 8
training / total police expenditure in state) * 100
to IIF 11 and other forms in CAS, legacy data migra-
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017
tion done, Data synching at SDC, Replicate the data
at NDC, Data bank services forms entered in CCTNS,
Rate of improvement in police training expenditure
usages search and query of CCTNS, report generated
Calculation of variable: Arithmetic mean of difference
through CCTNS in the police station, no. of police
between ‘police training expenditure as a percentage
station able to access digital police portal, and fund
of total police expenditure’ values in two consecutive
utilisation.
years.
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2012-2017)

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 169

Calculation of variable: average of scores given for se- Norms:
lected variables. 1. Armed Battalions of states: Heavy vehicles 29,
Source: CCTNS Pragati Dashboard, December 2018. medium vehicles 8, light vehicles 13, motor cy-
cles 5
Number of computers per police station (2012 – 2016 2. District police line of states: Heavy vehicles 7,
average) medium vehicles 17, light vehicles 14, motor cy-
Calculation of variable: number of computers availa- cles 7
ble/total number of actual police stations 3. Police station: light vehicles 2, motor cycles 3
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2013 - 2017) 4. Police-posts: motor cycles 2

Access to Vehicular Facilities Source: BPR&D Concept paper – Modernisation and Up-
gradation of Police Infrastructure – a Five Year Projection - 2000
Mobility related data has been taken from the ‘Data
on Police Organizations’ reports published by BPRD. iv. Diversity
Purpose of the variables is to understand availability Actual percentage of SCs/STs/OBCs in proportion
of vehicles in states. Data regarding availability of ve- to the reserved percentage of SCs/STs/OBCs, and the
hicles has not been reported before 2013. Therefore, actual percentage of women in the state police force
for average calculation data from 2013 to 2016 (4 (2012-2016) Table 1.8
years) has been considered. Data on SCs, STs, OBCs and women in police has
been taken from the ‘Data on Police Organizations’
For average vehicle deficiency calculation, data from reports published by BPRD. For average calculation,
year 2012 to 2016 has been considered. data from year 2012 to 2016 has been considered.
Telangana came into existence in 2014. Therefore,
Telangana came into existence in 2014. Therefore, data from 2014 to 2016 has been considered for cal-
data from 2014 to 2016 has been considered for cal- culation.
culation.
Percentage of SCs in police in proportion to the re-
Percentage of police stations having at least a vehicle served percentage for SCs:
Calculation of variable: 100 – [(number of police sta- Actual percentage of SCs in state police force as a pro-
tions not having single vehicle/total number of actual portion of the reserved percentage of SCs in the state
police stations) * 100] police force.
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2014 - 2017)
Calculation of variable: (Percentage of actual SCs in
Type-wise vehicle deficiency in Percentage police force/Percentage of reservation of SCs in police
To calculate benchmark, norms standardised for dif- force) * 100
ferent types of vehicles for different police units by Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017.
BPRD have been used.

Benchmark calculation:
For For The HQtr. Spl. Grand total
Types of For armed For sanctioned civ-
police police Sub-total Unit/branches (Bench-
vehicles battalions il police strength
stations posts (15% extra) mark)
Number of
P Q R S -- -- --
units
Heavy duty H1=P*29 H2=(Q/1000)*9 0 0 H=H1+H2 A= H*(15/100) H+A
Medium duty M1=P*8 M2=(Q/1000)*18 0 0 M=M1+M2 B= M*(15/100) M+B
Light duty L1=P*13 L2=(Q/1000)*14 L3=R*2 0 L=L1+L2+L3 C= L*(15/100) L+C
Two/three
T1=P*5 T2=(Q/1000)*7 T3=R*3 T4=S*2 T=T1+T2+T3+T4 D= T*(15/100) T+D
wheelers
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD (2013 - 2017)
Calculation of variable: 100 – [(Number of vehicles available/number of vehicles available as per the benchmark) * 100]

170 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Percentage of STs in police in proportion to the re- Percentage of women officers (ASI to DySP ranks)
served percentage for STs: amongst women police personnel
Actual percentage of STs in state police force as a pro- Calculation of variable: (Total number of women of-
portion of the reserved percentage of STs in the state ficers/actual number of women police personnel) *
police force. 100
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017
Calculation of variable: (Percentage of actual STs in
police force/Percentage of reservation of STs in police Percentage of officers (ASI to DySP ranks) amongst
force) * 100 total number of police force
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017. Calculation of variable: (Total number of officers/ac-
tual number of police personnel) * 100
Percentage of OBCs in police in proportion to the re- Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017
served percentage for OBCs:
Actual percentage of OBCs in state police force as a
proportion of the reserved percentage of OBCs in the v. Case loads
state police force. Number of upper subordinate officers (ASI to Inspec-
tor rank) per the total reported incidents of cognisable
Calculation of variable: (Percentage of actual OBCs crimes in States
in police force/Percentage of reservation of OBCs in Calculation of variable: (Total number of personnel
police force) * 100 of ASI to Inspector Rank)/(Total reported incidents of
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017. cognisable crimes)*100
Source: Data on Police organisations, BPRD, 2017; Crime in
Percentage of women in police: India, NCRB, 2016
The percentage of women in state police in proportion
to the actual number of total police personnel in the Number of upper subordinate female officers (ASI to
state. Inspector rank) per the total reported cases of crimes
against women and children
Calculation of variable: [Actual number of women in Calculation of variable: (Total number of women per-
state police/actual number of total police personnel sonnel of ASI to Inspector Rank)/(Total reported inci-
(civil + armed) in the state] * 100 dents of crimes against women and children)*100
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017 Source: Data on Police organisations, BPRD, 2017; Crime in
India, NCRB, 2016

Percentage of officers amongst SCs, STs, OBCs, and

vi. Police Autonomy
women against the overall proportion of officers (ASI
Total number of Distt. SSPs and DIG (range) trans-
to DySP ranks) (2012-2016) Table 1.9
ferred in less than 2 years as a percentage of the actual
number of AIGP/SSP/SP/DIG
Percentage of SC officers (ASI to DySP ranks) amongst
SCs police personnel
Calculation of the variable: (Total number of Distt.
Calculation of variable: (Total number of SC officers/
SSPs and DIG range transferred in less than 2 years/
actual number of SC police personnel) * 100
Total actual number of AIGP/SSP/SP/DIG)*100
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2008-2017

Percentage of ST officers (ASI to DySP ranks) amongst vii. Budget

STs police personnel Police expenditure as a percentage of police budget
Calculation of variable: (Total number of ST officers/ (2014-16 average)
actual number of ST police personnel) * 100 Calculation of variable: (Total police expenditure in
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017 state / total budget for state) * 100
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2014-2017
Percentage of OBC officers (ASI to DySP ranks)
amongst OBC police personnel
Calculation of variable: (Total number of OBC of-
ficers/actual number of OBC police personnel) * 100
Source: Data on Police Organizations, BPRD, 2013-2017

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 171

Infrastructure:
Percentage of Percentage of No. vehicles
Percentage of Number of Percentage of
police stations police stations available as
police stations computers police stations
having wire- having tele- percentage
States having either tele- per police having vehi-
less phones of calculated
phone or wireless station cles
(2011, 2013- (2011, 2013- benchmark
(2011, 2013-16) (2012-16) (2013-16)
16) 16) (2012-16)
Andhra Pradesh 100.0 100.0 100.0 3.7 89.5 72.6
Assam 100.0 99.9 100.0 0.7 100.0 87.3
Bihar 98.0 97.3 99.2 0.6 100.0 37.5
Chhattisgarh 100.0 100.0 93.1 3.0 68.9 58.1
Gujarat 100.0 100.0 100.0 5.7 100.0 81.5
Haryana 100.0 100.0 100.0 12.6 100.0 70.2
Himachal Pradesh 100.0 100.0 100.0 7.4 99.6 48.3
Jharkhand 99.6 99.1 97.4 3.1 98.9 72.3
Karnataka 100.0 100.0 99.7 7.4 100.0 99.1
Kerala 100.0 100.0 100.0 10.1 100.0 115.1
Madhya Pradesh 100.0 100.0 92.4 7.5 100.0 64.7
Maharashtra 100.0 99.9 99.3 7.3 100.0 77.4
Nagaland 97.2 96.7 100.0 4.7 100.0 71.9
Odisha 99.9 99.2 99.3 6.4 100.0 68.4
Punjab 99.4 97.3 89.8 3.2 89.7 68.3
Rajasthan 100.0 100.0 99.8 6.1 100.0 46.5
Tamil Nadu 100.0 100.0 100.0 4.6 100.0 94.9
Telangana 100.0 100.0 100.0 4.9 95.8 112.5
Uttar Pradesh 100.0 99.3 96.6 5.7 100.0 43.6
Uttarakhand 100.0 100.0 100.0 7.7 100.0 55.2
West Bengal 100.0 100.0 100.0 5.7 100.0 71.5
Delhi UT 100.0 100.0 100.0 16.5 100.0 107.7
TOTAL (21 states +
99.6 99.3 97.8 5.7 97.5 71.8
Delhi)
AP+ Telangana 100.0 100.0 100.0 3.8 89.9 81.6
Diversity data

172 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Diversity data

STs in Police (actual as a per-

Overall officers (ASI to DySP

SC officers (ASI to DySP as a

ST officers (ASI to DySP as a

women officers (ASI to DySP

OBCs in police (actual as a

OBC officers (ASI to DySP

SCs in police (actual as a
percentage of sanctioned)

percentage of sanctioned)

as a % of total women in
% of total SCs in police)

% of total STs in police)

as a % of total OBCs in
centage of sanctioned)

as a % of total police)
Women in police (%)

police)

police)
2012- 2012-16 2012-16 2012-16 2012-16 2012-16 2012-16 2012-16 2012-16
States
16 avg avg avg avg avg avg avg avg avg
Andhra Pradesh 77.0 75.2 123.8 3.74 11.2 11.3 11.5 10.9 13.4
Assam 95.3 93.1 117.1 2.51 13.6 10.5 12.6 17.3 12.4
Bihar 66.8 122.5 70.6 5.22 19.0 22.7 11.3 7.4 17.6
Chhattisgarh 55.0 64.1 67.8 4.62 10.6 7.4 8.7 7.6 8.9
Gujarat 98.5 54.1 51.4 4.36 19.9 20.7 12.9 16.1 16.7
Haryana 57.1 3.6 50.9 7.13 9.8 NA 9.2 11.1 14.5
Himachal
98.8 127.1 58.2 11.29 10.7 13.6 6.9 2.6 12
Pradesh
Jharkhand 97.2 81.9 127.6 4.96 12.8 11.2 9.3 6.7 14
Karnataka 83.3 109.2 136.4 5.40 13.0 15.2 11.7 11.5 12.5
Kerala 86.5 57.9 87.5 6.08 14.7 11.3 8.4 3.3 8.9
Madhya
65.0 52.1 62.5 4.85 20.1 21.8 9.9 27.7 16.9
Pradesh
Maharashtra 91.6 98.8 132.0 10.82 24.1 21.4 19.2 7.3 17.1
Nagaland NA 101.7 NA 3.26 NA 3.8 NA 22.4 6.4
Odisha 88.9 92.1 118.5 8.66 14.1 8.8 8.3 13.8 15.6
Punjab 101.8 0.0 136.6 6.44 7.8 NA 9.0 6.7 11.9
Rajasthan 75.4 88.9 55.7 7.77 9.5 7.0 6.0 4.2 8.7
Tamil Nadu 70.4 49.0 66.0 13.62 10.4 10.4 11.0 12.3 9.6
Telangana 79.3 144.6 145.3 2.83 12.9 NA NA 8.0 13.6
Uttar Pradesh 40.2 38.8 49.3 4.10 8.1 7.8 8.4 6.2 8.1
Uttarakhand 100.8 152.5 105.3 8.08 6.7 6.1 4.8 7.5 7
West Bengal 62.1 67.1 22.6 6.47 18.1 12.7 13.0 8.3 23.8
Delhi UT 90.9 88.7 73.6 8.00 17.8 18.2 4.0 20.0 20.6
AP+Telangana 73.8 91.0 122.3 3.39 13.7 10.0 12.2 10.1 13.3
Selected states
NA NA NA 6.71 11.5 11.6 11.1 10.1 13.4
average
Police autonomy data

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 173

 Total number of Distt. SSPs and DIG (range) transferred in less than 2 years as a percentage of the actual number
of AIGP/SSP/SP/DIG
2012-16 2007-16
 States 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
avg avg
Andhra Pradesh 6.9 11.7 7.8 10.9 10.5 7.3 7.3 11.9 2.8 9.2 7.7 8.6
Assam 8 6.1 14.3 34.9 24.1 16.5 7.9 13.4 13.5 13.1 12.9 15.2
Bihar NR 20 15.9 19.1 20.3 10.3 24.4 33 29.5 13.4 22.1 20.7
Chhattisgarh 13.1 14.5 54.9 49.1 40.4 36 63.5 14.5 16.3 8.8 27.8 31.1
Gujarat 25 23.7 6.5 0 66.7 80.6 33.3 58.8 52.6 12.1 47.5 35.9
Haryana NR NA 23.9 19.3 0 58 33.3 700 36.2 73.1 180.1 124.9
Himachal
15.6 13.1 17.9 15.6 2.6 16.5 31.3 13.9 10.6 9.5 16.4 14.7
Pradesh
Jharkhand 53.2 22.9 51.9 28.4 21.6 6.8 37.2 40.6 29.2 9.1 24.6 30.1
Karnataka 5.7 6.8 3.7 12.4 3.1 3.5 5.3 7.5 4 8 5.7 6
Kerala 22.6 15.2 27.3 10.8 0 2.4 16.7 17.2 5.4 8 9.9 12.6
Madhya Pradesh 23.8 20.7 44.6 11.5 13 12.4 36.5 20.4 15.4 41.8 25.3 24
Maharashtra NR NA NA 5.8 9.3 15.4 0 11 9.6 1.7 7.5 7.5
Nagaland 8.3 13.3 33.3 14 6.5 5.9 0 0 0 2.2 1.6 8.4
Odisha 16.9 31.7 10.9 10 21.7 11.3 5.2 11.8 5.6 13.4 9.5 13.9
Punjab 16.4 8 12.5 38.7 15.3 17.8 15.1 18.5 13.5 16 16.2 17.2
Rajasthan 0 0 0 0 12.3 21.2 97.7 29.7 29.5 37.4 43.1 22.8
Tamil Nadu 44.2 29.6 17.9 26.3 83.1 24.3 24.1 22 14.5 18.4 20.7 30.4
Telangana NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 2.2 11.6 0 4.6 4.6
Uttar Pradesh 194.9 257.9 215.9 100.5 NA 50.8 95.1 82.9 81.1 13.4 64.7 121.4
Uttarakhand 46.2 39.3 8.3 12.5 46.7 32.3 21.6 43.3 34.9 55.8 37.6 34.1
West Bengal 1.6 5.5 10.5 3.3 9.9 3.5 10.5 16.6 18.8 7.6 11.4 8.8
Delhi UT 13.6 9.1 0 0 1.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.4
TOTAL (ALL
31.2 27.6 29.5 19.4 15.8 16.6 23 20.9 18.3 11.9 18.1 21.4
INDIA)
AP+ Telangana 6.9 11.7 7.8 10.9 10.5 7.3 7.3 8 6.1 5.1 6.8 8.2
Selected states 36.6 32.1 33.5 23.3 18.3 18.6 26.9 25.2 21 13.2 21 24.9

174 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

Appendix 4: How indices for official data were calculated and select tables

Composite prejudice index (against women in police) Composite index for gender based violence complaints

The Index was constructed by taking into account the The Index was constructed by taking into account the
agreement with three statements asked in the survey. four questions asked in the survey. They are:
Q15a: Considering your own work experience in po-
They are: lice, to what extent domestic violence complaints false
Q33a: Being in the police requires physical strength and motivated?
and aggressive behavior which women lack. Q15e: Considering your own work experience in po-
Q33b: Women police are incapable of handling high lice, to what extent dowry complaints false and moti-
intensity crimes and cases. vated?
Q33c: Because of inflexible working hours, it is not Q15f: Considering your own work experience in po-
alright for women to work in the police force as they lice, to what extent sexual harassment complaints
cannot attend to homely duties. false and motivated?
Q15g: Considering your own work experience in po-
In each question, the response options offered to lice, to what extent rape complaints false and moti-
the respondent were ‘completely agreed’, ‘somewhat vated?
agreed’, ‘somewhat disagreed’, ‘and completely disa-
greed’. Across all the questions, a no response catego- In each question, the response options offered to the
ry was also provided, in case the respondent refused to respondent were–‘A lot’, ‘somewhat’, ‘very rare’ or
answer the question. ‘none at all’? Across all the questions, a no response
category was also provided, in case the respondent re-
The following are the steps followed to construct the fused to answer the question.
index:
Step 1: The categories of fully agreed and somewhat The following are the steps followed to construct the
agreed were clubbed into one category as ‘agreed’ index:
while the categories of fully disagreed and somewhat Step 1: The categories of ‘a lot’ and ‘somewhat’ were
disagreed were clubbed into other category as ‘disa- clubbed into one category as ‘many’ while the catego-
greed’. ries of ‘very rare’ and ‘none at all’ were clubbed into
Step 2: The respondents who agreed on all the three other category as ‘few’.
statements were clubbed into one category as ‘high Step 2: The respondents who responded ‘many’ on
bias’. The respondents who agreed on two statements all the four questions were clubbed into one catego-
were clubbed into other category as ‘medium bias’. ry as ‘to a very high extent’. The respondents who
The respondents who agreed on one statement have responded more ‘many’ than ‘few’ in the asked four
been clubbed as ‘low bias’. The respondents who questions have been clubbed as ‘to a high extent’. The
did not agree with any of the three statements were respondents who responded ‘many’ or ‘few’ on just
clubbed as ‘no bias’. one question and had no opinion on other questions,
and the respondents who responded ‘many’ on two
questions and responded ‘few’ on two questions have
been clubbed into ‘medium extent’. The respondents
who responded more ‘few’ than ‘many’ in the asked
four questions have been clubbed as ‘to a low extent’.
The respondents who disagreed on all the four ques-
tions were clubbed into one category as ‘not at all’.

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 175

Appendix 5: Findings from the survey on select questions from Police survey

Age categories Proportion

18–25 5
26–35 43
36–45 33
46–55 17
Above 55 years 2

Caste Groups Proportion

SC 19
ST 16
OBC 32
Other Caste groups 32

Religion Proportion
Hindu 83
Muslims 4
Christians 7
Sikh 5
Buddhists 1

Gender Proportion
Male 80
Female 20

Type Proportion
Civil Police 78
Armed Police 21

Rank Proportion
Constables 60
Head Constables 18
Assistant Sub Inspector 9
Sub Inspector 8
Inspector 2
Circle Inspector 1
Others 2

‘Considering the past 2-3 years of your work experience, how often have you encountered the Political pressure
during investigation of a crime - many times, sometimes, rarely or never?’
States Many times Some times Rarely Never
Andhra Pradesh 22 47 21 10
Assam 7 34 32 19
Bihar 25 30 19 24
Chhattisgarh 64 19 8 5
Gujarat 18 49 15 13
Haryana 44 26 12 15
Himachal Pradesh 46 28 11 13
Jharkhand 24 44 24 7

176 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Karnataka 38 24 16 22
Kerala 29 35 15 10
Madhya Pradesh 44 30 14 10
Maharashtra 30 28 26 14
Nagaland 7 21 25 25
Odisha 14 39 15 30
Punjab 41 41 14 2
Rajasthan 47 31 12 10
Telangana 26 43 16 13
Uttarakhand 63 19 14 3
Uttar Pradesh 62 18 5 9
West Bengal 11 50 12 5
Delhi 20 15 15 47
Overall 34 31 16 15

‘Do you agree or disagree with the following statements—for the greater good of the society, it is alright for the
police to be violent towards criminals?’
States Completely agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Completely disagree
Andhra Pradesh 20 59 11 8
Assam 52 32 6 5
Bihar 42 45 5 6
Chhattisgarh 43 42 3 4
Gujarat 60 29 5 4
Haryana 60 21 3 8
Himachal Pradesh 30 34 10 25
Jharkhand 27 44 14 13
Karnataka 44 51 2 0
Kerala 18 37 6 38
Madhya Pradesh 51 39 5 3
Maharashtra 26 56 12 6
Nagaland 31 41 14 9
Odisha 16 19 5 50
Punjab 16 52 11 18
Rajasthan 37 24 9 29
Telangana 74 38 7 13
Uttarakhand 45 35 6 4
Uttar Pradesh 50 31 8 8
West Bengal 10 47 9 12
Delhi 42 35 7 13
Overall 38 38 7 13

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 177

‘There are various societal groups in the police. According to you, to what extent are the following groups
given equal treatment—completely, somewhat, rarely, or not at all?

Between junior police personnel and senior police personnel’

States Completely Somewhat Rarely Not at all
Andhra Pradesh 32 34 24 9
Assam 53 17 11 17
Bihar 27 39 24 9
Chhattisgarh 32 26 20 19
Gujarat 46 24 8 13
Haryana 38 21 12 27
Himachal Pradesh 60 25 6 7
Jharkhand 21 37 29 12
Karnataka 21 40 16 17
Kerala 69 8 7 14
Madhya Pradesh 30 27 21 20
Maharashtra 38 22 17 19
Nagaland 35 32 15 8
Odisha 59 9 7 13
Punjab 34 22 11 29
Rajasthan 47 27 18 8
Telangana 16 21 11 47
Uttarakhand 33 39 24 3
Uttar Pradesh 56 23 14 6
West Bengal 44 31 5 9
Delhi 52 26 8 13
Overall 40 26 15 15

‘Many people argue that working in the police is not appropriate for women. Now I am going to read out
some such arguments. Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with these arguments?’

Being in the police requires physical strength and aggressive behavior which women lack.
States Completely agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Completely disagree
Andhra Pradesh 11 37 18 33
Assam 4 20 19 55
Bihar 41 23 27 9
Chhattisgarh 11 21 14 50
Gujarat 8 32 25 31
Haryana 6 7 7 76
Himachal Pradesh 8 10 8 75
Jharkhand 6 46 24 22
Karnataka 15 44 12 28
Kerala 8 15 14 62
Madhya Pradesh 19 34 27 18
Maharashtra 8 30 13 47
Nagaland 8 39 27 24
Odisha 17 37 16 53

178 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 Punjab 17 37 16 30
Rajasthan 9 25 9 54
Telangana 57 28 4 8
Uttarakhand 4 28 11 57
Uttar Pradesh 9 21 17 53
West Bengal 17 34 28 15
Delhi 10 17 13 58
Overall 14 27 19 39

‘Women police are incapable of handling high intensity crimes and cases.’
States Completely agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Completely disagree
Andhra Pradesh 3 33 26 37
Assam 2 13 26 57
Bihar 38 26 24 12
Chhattisgarh 5 14 23 55
Gujarat 7 27 32 30
Haryana 6 7 19 64
Himachal Pradesh 6 12 10 72
Jharkhand 7 19 48 25
Karnataka 13 31 21 30
Kerala 9 14 14 63
Madhya Pradesh 5 33 35 25
Maharashtra 13 28 17 41
Nagaland 5 29 30 34
Odisha 6 10 76 6
Punjab 13 23 28 36
Rajasthan 8 20 11 57
Telangana 24 29 9 33
Uttarakhand 3 24 16 55
Uttar Pradesh 11 21 18 50
West Bengal 17 28 26 22
Delhi 7 15 17 60
Overall 10 22 25 41

‘Because of inflexible working hours, it is not alright for women to work in the police force as they cannot
attend to homely duties.’
States Completely agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Completely disagree
Andhra Pradesh 18 33 16 32
Assam 3 16 26 53
Bihar 39 31 20 9
Chhattisgarh 38 20 12 25
Gujarat 21 35 17 18
Haryana 26 29 13 27
Himachal Pradesh 32 29 10 29
Jharkhand 6 35 36 20
Karnataka 16 32 12 38
Kerala 30 36 8 20

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 179

 Madhya Pradesh 24 41 23 10
Maharashtra 18 33 13 33
Nagaland 7 34 27 28
Odisha 23 18 53 5
Punjab 25 29 20 25
Rajasthan 13 23 16 47
Telangana 30 43 8 12
Uttarakhand 19 19 22 38
Uttar Pradesh 26 23 17 33
West Bengal 29 27 15 18
Delhi 17 26 15 38
Overall 22 29 19 27

‘Now I will read out one statement. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?’

‘Sometimes, while investigating serious cases, there is nothing wrong in the police beating up criminals to ex-
tract confessions’
States Completely agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Completely disagree
Andhra Pradesh 26 54 12 5
Assam 44 41 8 4
Bihar 52 41 3 4
Chhattisgarh 65 27 3 3
Gujarat 75 24 1 0
Haryana 66 23 2 7
Himachal Pradesh 53 30 7 9
Jharkhand 30 51 11 6
Karnataka 58 38 1 2
Kerala 19 34 13 32
Madhya Pradesh 59 36 2 1
Maharashtra 32 53 9 6
Nagaland 46 44 4 4
Odisha 25 41 4 21
Punjab 17 40 20 19
Rajasthan 45 23 9 22
Telangana 69 25 1 3
Uttarakhand 67 29 1 1
Uttar Pradesh 66 25 5 4
West Bengal 19 47 6 17
Delhi 53 32 7 7
Overall 47 36 6 8

180 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

‘In 2006, the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment on police reforms in the case of Prakash Singh vs
Union of India. Are you aware of this judgment?’
States No Yes Can’t Say
Andhra Pradesh 48 17 35
Assam 58 8 33
Bihar 95 3 3
Chhattisgarh 89 6 5
Gujarat 66 8 27
Haryana 76 10 14
Himachal Pradesh 90 6 4
Jharkhand 71 19 10
Karnataka 79 20 1
Kerala 73 25 2
Madhya Pradesh 66 18 16
Maharashtra 72 9 19
Nagaland 75 6 19
Odisha 68 12 20
Punjab 86 2 12
Rajasthan 73 9 18
Telangana 80 9 11
Uttarakhand 64 23 12
Uttar Pradesh 60 30 11
West Bengal 47 21 32
Delhi 68 21 11
Overall 72 13 15

‘If police officers are posted in their home district, would they be more efficient or less efficient?’
States More efficient Less efficient Does not make any difference
Andhra Pradesh 26 31 42
Assam 41 22 34
Bihar 50 17 32
Chhattisgarh 63 15 20
Gujarat 54 23 18
Haryana 70 2 28
Himachal Pradesh 77 7 15
Jharkhand 35 20 42
Karnataka 33 55 10
Kerala 92 3 4
Madhya Pradesh 50 19 29
Maharashtra 48 12 36
Nagaland 37 19 35
Odisha 45 36 11
Punjab 61 12 23
Rajasthan 37 18 43
Telangana 40 22 35

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 181

 Uttarakhand 44 17 36
Uttar Pradesh 56 19 18
West Bengal 57 7 26
Delhi 61 7 26

‘As compared to other institutions of the government, are the police more corrupt or less corrupt?’
States More corrupt Less corrupt As corrupt as others Not corrupt at all
Andhra Pradesh 5 56 9 19
Assam 11 31 39 13
Bihar 10 55 18 16
Chhattisgarh 6 41 17 24
Gujarat 7 51 20 4
Haryana 3 48 9 34
Himachal Pradesh 3 52 3 42
Jharkhand 15 35 16 29
Karnataka 2 49 20 25
Kerala 3 73 13 10
Madhya Pradesh 7 48 9 23
Maharashtra 3 49 5 25
Nagaland 11 47 28 4
Odisha 4 42 4 37
Punjab 11 28 21 34
Rajasthan 6 20 12 62
Telangana 2 43 14 31
Uttarakhand 5 34 13 43
Uttar Pradesh 9 54 10 25
West Bengal 5 18 12 34
Delhi 4 34 16 42

Appendix 6: Findings from the survey on select questions from Police Family Survey

Please tell me whether you would agree or disagree with the following statements?

As compared to others, police officers are more prone to getting angry and irritable more easily.
Fully Agree 22
Somewhat Agree 39
Somewhat Disagree 17
Fully Disagree 19

As compared to others, Police officers behave more badly with their subordinate staff.
Fully Agree 12
Somewhat Agree 24
Somewhat Disagree 27
Fully Disagree 28

182 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

As compared to others, Police officers behave more badly with their family.
Fully Agree 11
Somewhat Agree 21
Somewhat Disagree 25
Fully Disagree 36

As compared to others, Police officers are more prone to alcoholism.

Fully Agree 12
Somewhat Agree 23
Somewhat Disagree 24
Fully Disagree 32

As compared to others, Police officers suffer more from mental health issue.
Fully Agree 31
Somewhat Agree 32
Somewhat Disagree 16
Fully Disagree 15

As compared to others, Police system is more unfair towards those at the lower rank.
Fully Agree 13
Somewhat Agree 23
Somewhat Disagree 19
Fully Disagree 27

If given an option, would you like your son/Daughter to join the police profession in the future?
Son Daughter
No 30 45
Yes 59 43

In your opinion, is crime higher in police locality than in other neighborhoods?

States No, its less Yes Equally
Andhra Pradesh 61 16 12
Assam 38 7 33
Bihar 45 11 41
Chhattisgarh 62 16 16
Gujarat 68 3 4
Haryana 76 5 4
Himachal Pradesh 85 3 8
Jharkhand 61 3 23
Karnataka 67 8 14
Kerala 76 2 17
Madhya Pradesh 61 17 12
Maharashtra 82 5 6
Nagaland 52 4 17
Odisha 49 16 25
Punjab 54 4 22
Rajasthan 74 17 5

Status of Policing in India Report 2019 | 183

 Telangana 57 3 14
Uttarakhand 47 13 14
Uttar Pradesh 61 5 19
West Bengal 37 4 22
Delhi 76 2 18
Overall 61 8 17

In your opinion, are the following problems found more among police families compared to non-police families?
Children involved in criminal Domestic violence Alcoholism
activities
Much More in police families 7 8 11
Same 29 36 32
Lesser in police 53 45 44

Which one among these four sentences truly describes your economic condition?
1. With our total household income we are able to fulfill all our needs and save some money.
2. With our total household income we are able to fulfill all our needs without any difficulty.
3. With our total household income we are not able to fulfill all our needs and face some difficulty.
4. With our total household income we are not able to fulfill our needs and face a lot of difficulty.

With our household income, we are able to fulfill

Not able to fulfil our
All our needs and save All our needs without Not able to fulfil all
States needs and face a lot of
some money any difficulty our needs
difficulty
Andhra Pradesh 18 34 31 12
Assam 36 34 12 3
Bihar 33 41 20 6
Chhattisgarh 27 32 29 13
Gujarat 23 38 31 8
Haryana 28 42 22 8
Himachal Pradesh 35 36 26 3
Jharkhand 12 35 37 15
Karnataka 21 30 39 10
Kerala 21 40 33 4
Madhya Pradesh 37 41 14 7
Maharashtra 16 17 41 21
Nagaland 19 30 37 10
Odisha 14 42 24 20
Punjab 33 48 15 2
Rajasthan 18 62 17 3
Telangana 29 45 20 5
Uttarakhand 21 21 42 12
Uttar Pradesh 32 33 28 6
West Bengal 22 34 36 2
Delhi 32 43 19 4
Overall 25 37 327 8

184 | Status of Policing in India Report 2019

 New Delhi, India – November 19, 2008:
86 years old Sharbati Devi being helped by
a policeman to cast her vote in Sadar Bazar
Constituency.
(Credits: Mohd Zakir, Hindustan Times)

The Centre for the Study of the Developing Societies

(CSDS) is one of India’s leading institutes for research
in the social sciences and humanities. Since its
inception in 1963, the Centre has been known for its
critical outlook on received models of development
and progress. It is animated by a vision of equality and
democratic transformation. Lokniti is a research
programme of the CSDS established in 1997. It houses
a cluster of research initiatives that seek to engage
with national and global debates on democratic
politics by initiating empirically grounded yet
theoretically oriented studies. The large volume of data
collected by Lokniti on party politics and voting
behaviour has gone a long way in helping social

STATUS OF POLICING
science scholars makings sense of Indian elections and
democracy.

Common Cause is a registered society dedicated to

IN INDIA REPORT 2019

championing public causes, campaign for probity in
public life and integrity of institutions. It seeks to
promote democracy, good governance and public
policy reforms thorough advocacy, interventions by
formal and informal policy engagements. Common
Cause is especially known for the difference it has
made through a large number of Public Interest
Litigations filed in the Courts, such as the recent ones POLICE ADEQUACY AND
on the cancellation of the entire telecom spectrum;
cancellation of arbitrarily allocated coal blocks; Apex
Court’s recognition of individuals right to die with
WORKING CONDITIONS
dignity and legal validity of living will.

Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)

29 Rajpur Road, Civil Lines, Delhi 110 054
Tel: +91-11-2394 2199
E-mail: [email protected] | www.csds.in

Common Cause
Common Cause House, 5, Institutional Area,
Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110 070
Phone: +91-11-26131313
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:www.commoncause.in