VISION FOR ‘POLICE 2010’ AND ‘POLICE 2020’

The most basic requirement of any good governance is a vision, an ability to look
ahead to the future of the country with great expectations and endless possibilities in
sidelines. This is potential of evolving the governance to greater heights to herald an era
of successes and prosperity. Visions carve paths to the future and prod the governance to
navigate along the couloir. It provides a break from the quotidian plod in preference to
innovative strides to fulfill the vision. Governance sans vision is like building an edifice
a tatons without a plan or blueprint. It at best is a random erection. Vision gives direction
and purpose to the governance. It gives grandeur and a proportion to the process. No
governance can be good and complete without a vision to steer ahead, and true
governance can be built only on the terra firma of a vision. The old concept of a
prosperous India is based on the vision of “Rama-Rajya”. The new concept of India
coming of age is based on the vision of a world power or a regional power in Asia. Once
a vision of that dimension is contrived to back, it is easy to put the pluses and minuses to
conceive a strategy towards the end. Otherwise, governance is nothing more than a
mechanical motion.

Shree A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the hon’ble President of India is quoted in

Introduction to the “Report of the Committee on India Vision” prepared by the Planning
Commission in December 2002 as saying, ‘A vision is not a project report or a plan
target. It is an articulation of the desired end results in broader terms.’ The same report
in Conclusion enumerates Nine Nodal points of Indian Prosperity, which as adapted and
edited to the police and policing of the 2020 vintage, can be summed up ut infra:

1. PEACE, SECURITY & NATIONAL UNITY – Physical security both from

external and internal threats—strong national defence, domestic law enforcement
and social harmony.

2. PRODUCTIVITY SECURITY – A vibrant and highly productive policing sector

that can ensure national security, generate stability, stimulate peace, and
produce a safe and confident social fabric.
 2

3. JOBS FOR ALL – A departmental commitment to ensure the right of all

poli ce personnel to be employed round the year in policing according to his
merit competence and skill.
4. KNOWLEDGE – An environment of cent per cent expertise in policing
activities all over the world including latest policing techniques, latest police
technologies, organizational and administrative updates from all over the
world, law reforms and related matters by training and exposures to maximum
police personnel.
5. HEALTH – Care towards physical well-being of all citizens.

6. TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE – Continuous expansion of the

physical infrastructure for rapid low-cost transportation and communication
that is required for effective policing competitiveness and policing aides.
Application of computers to improve access to knowledge and information,
and increase in the speed, efficiency and convenience of activities in all fields
of policing.

7. GLOBALISATION – Successful integration of Indian police with the policing

activities world over.
8. GOOD GOVERNANCE – Farsighted and dynamic leadership to maximize
effective policing, security and social justice through responsive, transparent
and accountable administration that removes all the bottlenecks to successful
policing.
9. WORK VALUES - Activation of all these nodal points requires firm and
determined adherence to high values, including prompt decision-making,
disciplined execution, systematic implementation, finely tuned co-ordination,
unceasing effort and endurance.

The report also says that the future depends not on what will happen, but on what
is decided to become, and on the will to create it. The vision of 2010 or 2020 must be one
in which all levels and sections of the police and all of its parts march forward together
into a more productive and prosperous future. The vision of ‘police 2010’ and ‘police
2020’ is discussed under these parameters provided in the report as a national
perspective with the purpose of bringing about uniformity of approach and
identification with the national thought process.
 3

PARAMETERS OF CHANGE

Panta rhei. Change is a universal phenomenon and the proof of life. Change
is the manifestation of adoption and adaptation and a carrier of the process of the
evolution. No living organism or organisation can remain unchanged between 2006
and 2010 or 2020. Necessitas non habet legem. Necessities of the environment
dictate terms for changes and changes occur inter se. That is a sign of growth. This is
so for the police also. Police being an essential service, it can never remain a
deadwood, ergo, must show signs of life and concomitant propensity for change. But
the clavis here is that natura non facit saltum. Change is a gradual process running
on the bedrock of certain definite parameters. Understanding here is prognostication.
Assessing the parameters of the change in this perspective gives clues to the
dynamics that shape the police of 2010 or 2020. A vision is possible and shapes on
the determinants decided upon on the terra firma of these parameters. Vision gives
direction to the flow of the dynamics of the change, and determination to pad-up and
execute the vision provides fuel for realizing the vision.

POPULATION GROWTH

Increase in population does have significant impact on the challenges and the
performances of the police, and inevitably on the direction it takes for its growth.
Ability to assess the challenge provides an allee to decide upon how disadvantages
can be converted into advantage to envision the police of the 2010 or 2020 vintage in
an advantageous mould corresponding to the overall national interests.

Corresponding to the increase in the global population from 6.3 billion in

2006 to estimated 6.7 billion in 2010 and 7.5 billion in 2020, India which is home to
1/6 of the humanity is expected to have its population rise from 1.1 billion in 2006 to
1.18 billion in 2010 and 1.35 billion in 2020 ipso facto figuring to 1.6% population
growth per annum. Police being the custodian of peace, security and national unity in
the environment will have larger challenges and responsibilities to shoulder and
endure, necessitating appropriate measures to stand up to the problems and do better.
 4

GLOBALISATION

With further shrinking and diminishing of the globe to a global hamlet in the next
fifteen years thanks to advancements in the fields of transport and communication, the
magnitude of policing also becomes globalised with its own advantages and
disadvantages. The shift certainly renders policing a trans-border phenomenon touching
humanity tout ensemble. With crimes and criminality essorant and accrescently
transcending national borders, policing no more will remain an intra-border affair by
2020 and cooperation between the police in the international arena in the common
interests of the rule of law and justice will become the condition sine qua non by then.
Extradition and exchange of criminal intelligence will become centric to effective
policing processes.

It is not only transport and communication that render the globe smaller to an
aldea and contributes to bring global dimension to the criminality. Computer and Internet
revolution added another dimension to the issue along with global economic enterprises
and their global reticulations adding their own contributions to the ascensive criminal
tendencies and their global spread. Cyber crime is gaining its own currency in the police
parlance with its reverberations felt in countries across the world. It will be trans-border
cooperation or perish for the profession of policing in the milieu of the globalisation.
Terrorism as an international phenomenon against humanity will bring the need of
watching and addressing trans-border crimes into sharp focus even to the exclusion of
common intra-border crimes in priorities.

TECHNOLOGY EXPLOSIONS

Technology is a powerful vehicle of the successful policing and constitutes the

spine of effective policing. This is one factor that renders change inevitable for policing
to update itself to keep au courant with the latest technological developments affecting
police and policing as aides either in criminal or policing activities. Technology
explosions touching policing activities either as carriers of the policing activities or as
policing techniques occurred in recent past are bound to continue with accrescent pace in
coming years and the technology advancements in related fields in the next five or fifteen
 5

years will be considerable, calling for suitable updating by the police. Again it is ‘remain
fit or perish’ for the police. Au reste, it is left to the vision of the top brass how to meet
the gauntlets and make best out of the vicissitudes. If police fails here, criminals, anti-
social elements and the hors la loi will take advantage of the situation and gain upper
hand in this field to be the ultimate apollyon of the policing concept as the saviour of the
innocent and law-abiding citizens. It is an issue of whom among the police and criminals
take better advantage of the open market of the technology explosions for survival and
bring the other to its knee. Police ignore this bitter concours at its own peril.

Technology advancements in the fields of transport and communication do have

pollent impact on the policing methods as they serve as the harbinger of faster response
time and provide access to areas unthought otherwise as possible. Communication
technology is in excelsis these days and bound to make further progress in coming five or
fifteen years. Computer and Internet technologies are the other fields to be watched as a
pollent tool of the information technology. E-governance is a by-word now. It will be an
omnipresent reality in 2020 with 2010 forming a part of the transition period. It will be
particularly so in a key sector like policing with e-policing through computer and Internet
technologies in policing methods and techniques going hi-tech apart from police
administration and organizational activities being fully computerised. Computer and
Internet technologies by 2020 may change the very face of the policing all over the world
so much that the present police systems will remain by that time only as a matter of
archival interests. Policing techniques too may find revolutionary changes if extant
technological advancements are any indications. Latest technologies like DNA profiling
for identification and related activities will find universal acceptance as popular as
fingerprints and footprints now. Even the researches on stem cells coming with solutions
to decide and perhaps cure criminal tendencies cannot be ruled out. Also, feracious
researches and discoveries on super conductivity, solid fuel and liquid nitrogen and allied
subjects may find some relevance to the process of the policing and policing techniques
by the year 2020 if not earlier in 2010. What is called for is a vision and vigilance in part
of the police leaders to make use of the breakthroughs at the advent of the right time to
overtake the visionary and vigilant criminals in the concours for the superiority.
 6

ECONOMIC GROWTH

Economics and crimes algate go pari passu. They are the two faces of the same
coin in any society, more so in a democracy, and economic growth perforce affect
crime and criminal fields, ipso facto police orientations in a major way. India’s
increasingly dynamic and vibrant economic base lend credence to the view that India
can achieve and sustain higher than historical rates of economic growth in the coming
decades. The compounded effect of achieving the targeted annual GDP growth rate of
8.5 to 9 per cent over the next 20 years would result in a quadrupling of the real per
capita income and almost eliminating the percentage of Indians living below the
poverty line. This will raise India's rank from around 11th today to 4th from the top in
2020 among 207 countries given in the World Development Report in terms of GDP.
Further, in terms of per capita GDP measured in ppp India's rank will rise by a minimum
of 53 ranks from the present 153 to 100. This will mean, India will move from a low
i n c o m e country to an upper middle income country. It will be a major accomplishment
indeed that is certain to make major impact on the crime scenario of the country.

Human greed is the main culprit. Inequality and disparities of the economic
growth, particularly in an open market milieu is the second Momus. It is dumb to
presume that economic growth brings peace and stability. The truth is other way round.
Statistics have proved that economic growth in the form of unequal distribution of the
national wealth always increased the propensity towards violence, crime and instability
in the country. This will be the major concern of the police in 2020.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DYNAMICS

Factors like social inequities, conflicts arising out of the conversion of the
traditional stratified society to egalitarian society, religious extremism, interstate
territorial disputes, racial and linguistic violence and radical politics of the Maoist
Communist Party variety will continue to plague the police of both 2010 and 2020 and
keep them on their toes if not further add to their problems. India-Pakistan conflict may
also continue to plague the country in form of internal instability prompted by ISI and
such external agencies. In spite of terrorism prompted by external elements and
extremist activities from disgruntled internal elements, police is expected to maintain
the Indian social fabric intact, and this will be a major challenge to the police by 2020.
 7

TARGETS FOR THE POLICE

Peace, security and national unity are the pillars on which the edifice of the police
is constructed. Social justice and removal of the injustices from the face of the society are
its prime objectives. Crime prevention measures, crime investigation, enforcement of the
laws of the country, security measures, regulating and establishing order in the public life
for the commune bonum are the tools of the police to accomplish these objectives. Police
is duty-bound to perform these objectives and bring about a sense of safety and security
among the people, and a sense of unity without disturbing the social fabric of the country
and without offending basic human rights. People look to the police for their safety and
security. The country looks to the police as an esemplastic factor in the process of the
nationhood. And the society looks to the police for protecting their interests and basic
human rights from vested interests. In the accrescently complex society of the 2020, these
cardinal contraplex objectives of the police will continue to eat up to its vitals unless
sound police alferez finds a balance and guides policing in aurea mediocritas.

Indian police of the 2020 vintage with that of 2010 in a transition to the end will
come on par with the police of the advanced western countries and the weltgeist in
schemes for the protection and safety of the weak, feeble and exploited sections of the
society. Novel and revolutionary schemes for the protection of children, women, elderly
citizens, weaker sections and helpless foreigners from the exploitation will find favour
with the Indian police in the next five to fifteen years.

ELDERLY CITIZENS

Elderly citizens of the age 65 years or more will rise to 76 millions strength in
2020 from 58 millions in 2010 and 51 millions in 2006. This section of the society that is
weak and incapable of looking after itself needs priority attention to averruncate
exploitations of their age-related infirmities in a society in which their children because
of prolate migrations to foreign countries or other parts of the country for job-related or
other encheasons assurgently leave them to their own fate unattended. The elder citizens
are found targets of specific crimes and exploitations by unscrupulous elements, and
 8

police worth the name should have special programmes for their safety and well-being.
Police of advanced countries including the United States of America have special
schemes and programmes for the safety and protection of this section of the society.
Indian police is yet to catch up with the zeitgeist though scattered attempts are felt here
and there. But, concrete measures in this direction are yet to shape up. Indian police must
see awakening itself to this aspect of its responsibility by the year 2020.

CHILDREN, WOMEN, FOREIGNERS

All weaker sections of the society need special attention of the police with
specific schemes for protection after avizefull study of crimes and criminal tendencies in
the field and adoption of a protection machinery most suited to the situation. Just having
schemes do not make any difference. There should be will to earnestly execute them and
bring safety and protection from exploitation to all the sections of the society to bring in
overall atmosphere of peace, security and freedom from exploitation in the country in
cause of its policing objectives. Indian police certainly will rise to this professional
commitment by 2020.

Child labour is a crime as well as a social dilemma in a country where for many a
square meal is a luxury. Though India has myriad Acts meant for the protection of the
weaker sections of the society like children, women, SCs & STs, and bonded labourers,
often their enforcements are found lacking in will to execute and sometimes steeped in
social problems. The confusions and incertitudes in enforcing social legislations are
likely to be overcome with the coming of age by the police by 2020 to meet the overall
objectives to bring about an atmosphere of peace, security, stability and national unity to
the country without disturbing the social fabric of the country.

In the ambience of globalization, safety and security needs of the foreigners also
warrant priority attention. Incidence of rape and extortion of foreigners is increasingly
becoming a common phenomenon in India these days. Indian police leaders will find
themselves hand-tied by 2020 to attend this menace in the interests of their own country.
 9

VISION FOR THE INDIAN POLICE

CRIME INVESTIGATION

Investigation is an area Indian police needs to improve considerably. Key to

public confidence in police investigation is a conviction rate of a minimum of 51% so
that there can be a claim that majority of the hors la loi goes behind the bar. But, it is a
far cry from the reality in any police organisation including the Central Police
Organisations in India for any category of crime. That means conviction for a crime is an
exception rather than a rule in India and crime goes unpunished. This reality must change
if police is to be relevant to the future crime situation of the country in 2020.

Another important field where Indian police needs change of its image is
completing investigation within a time-bound frame of three months, or better, less.
Justice delayed is justice denied. Time is a crucial factor in bringing a culprit to the
justice. Period that goes unpunished after a crime a la money borrowed incrementally
adds to the free life of the criminal at others’ expenses. It is not seldom in Indian situation
to see convictions coming after the death of the criminal, or after the criminal fully made
use of the res gestae, thereby rendering Indian criminal justice system and its conviction
an ironical farce. This should stop if Indian police has any passion and commitment for
justice and crime investigation process. It is another vision of the police 2020.

These are not something impossible objectives to be achieved in the next five or
fifteen years. Political will and committed police leadership at the helm can easily
achieve these targets. And fifteen years is not too short a period to accomplish these
crucial feats. After all, vision of India in 2020 is predicated on the belief that human
resources are the most important determinants of overall development, and it is here that
the Indian police needs to focus to achieve these targets. Indeed minor amendments to the
criminal laws of the country after convincing the political leadership and procedural updates
with an iron hand should be able to bring about these changes. It is a vision a portee for
accomplishment by 2010, if not by 2010 or earlier.
 10

COMMUNITY POLICING

Policing ideally is a job performed for the people, through the people, with police
acting just as catalysts in the process. Police as the specialists in the field initiate and
guide the volunteers from the public pro bono publico. They provide information and
expertise input in the process. The function of the police in policing in a democratic
milieu is just that of an alferez; a friend, guide and philosopher. Secondly, the crucible of
policing in precipitating justice needs to be transparent, and accountable to the public.
This need can be met only by involving the public in the process of the policing. Thirdly,
no police organisation however mammoth and powerful it be, can do full justice to its
work without the cooperation of the public. Ergo, true policing needs to be community
policing-centric. This aspect also covers counseling and consultation aspects at crucial
levels. Community policing lightens the quotidian burden of the policing to the police, so
that the latter can focus on macro aspects of the policing touching national interests and
international angle.

PROFESSIONALISM

A major handicap of the extant Indian police is the infusion of nonprofessional

decisions to the mould of professional decisions of the policing whether it is in service
matters like postings and transfers or policing processes like investigations and
enforcement of rules and laws. All the present maladies emanate from the politicians who
are only concerned with winning of the next elections. The paramount need of the future
police is a professional image tout au contraire to present image as a handmaid of rich
and powerful. What is required is a perspicacious definition of police duties and
responsibilities and entrusting the force to perform the duties under the avizefull eyes of
the constitution without the distractions of interferences ab extra. The police should have
free hand to tackle and solve issues cropping up during the process of policing with
concomitant responsibility for any failures squarely lying on its shoulders.

Until the organisation is extricated from the grip of politicians practicing

machtpolitic, it cannot hope to rise above mediocrity either in proficiency or in character.
Such mediocrity is wont to percolate downwards in a democratic setup. Lack of character
 11

among the noumenal police leadership actually brought the police forces in India to its
knees before the political leadership of the democratic vintage where more often than not,
politicians bear the major share of the criminal activities of the country. This is a triste
affaire for both the country and its police. The situation is slipping from bad to worse ad
nauseum. Indeed these are mauvais moment for the Indian police. But, no bad days are a
jamais and the tide should change. After all, post tenebris spero lucem. It is a desperate
vision that the bad days in the annals of the Indian police will be over by 2020 and Indian
police will come clean under sound police leadership and right political leadership by that
time. This can be achieved by the creation of the Policing Authority at the helm of the
policing affairs of the country.

An All India Police Authority accountable only to the President of India at the
national level with the regional Police Boards in States as independent bodies need to be
created to oversee and take major decisions pertaining to policing and service matters
including assessment of performances and transfers more suo. A Supreme Court Judge
must head the Authority with the Union Home Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary as
members and the senior most police officer of the country as the member-secretary. The
regional Police Boards must have a High Court Judge at the helm with the Home
Secretary and the Chief Secretary as members and the State Police Chief as member-
secretary. The facticite will bring to an end interference of any kind in police affairs, thus
enabling the personnel to function in an independent atmosphere. These measures
complete with the overhaul of the UPSC will oppilate the glissade and bring back all the
former gloria of commitment to merit and character to the police. This vision though
appears a dreamer’s dream because of the exercise of machtpolitic and political
unwillingness to give up its extant prise on the police, 2020 is far away to dismiss such a
miracle outright as apocryphal. No labefactation in a national life continues in perpetuum.
This vision as the enfants perdus of resurgence and the pollicitation of the revival of the
Indian police is must for all those who have police interests in their hearts.

SPECCIALISATIONS

If policing is to be effective in the years ahead, specialisation is crucial. The year

2020 must see three distinct police services with separate recruitment and training: (1)
 12

Regulatory police or uniformed police in charge of law and order and other regulatory
duties; (2) Mainstay police in charge of crime investigation and prevention and security
and intelligence operation; (3) Social police in charge of prevention and investigation of
all social offences and implementation of social legislation. All three wings should have
their own individual organisations up to the district level with independent
Superintendents and staff as required, functioning in tandem in much the same way as the
Army, Navy and the Air Force. The vision can be brought to reality by committed police
leadership to bring true professionalism in discharge of the policing responsibilities and
enhance the public confidence in the competence of the force by 2020 or earlier.

POLICE RUN ON MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

Police will do well to formulate actions and operations in line with the latest
management principles and practices following the welt geist. The force by 2020 should
be able either to constitute an efficient gestalt of management experts to advice or hire a
management consultation firm for guidance. At any rate, the police organisation of the
2020 should be a far smaller unit than now, manned by highly committed and capable
officers who are paid and looked after well by the government.

The last three decades have seen tremendous expansion in the police force. For
lack of an organisational plan and the foresight to assess future demands, haphazard
growth has resulted. Organisational sensibilities such as workload, unit of control,
accountability functional conveniences, span of control and information flow are never
given the attention they need building an organisation. As a result, while a few posts in
the police are overburdened with work, there are many which have no work or
accountability. The lopsided growth of the organisation has spawned acute likes and
dislikes for various positions. Naturally, probity and objectivity are sacrificed in favour of
survival and protection of career interests. Corruption is rampant. This may not be the
sole reason for the falling standards of policing. Yet, it is a major cause. By 2020, police
administration should be able to see the vestigial retrorsum from the prolate
conspurcation.
 13

Rationalisation of the police structure to bring about a balance among the various
posts in the same rank would certainly help to ameliorate the situation. It would also help
to eliminate the wastage of government funds on unnecessary posts. Creation of such
posts to accommodate unwanted elements cannot be tolerated in a serious department like
the police. A systemic growth plan for balanced expansion is what is called for, if the
department is to meet the tasks ahead.

LEAN AND MEAN FORCE

The piece de resistance of the policing by 2020 will be perficient performance

with minimal visible presence. This means a far more professional organisation than
now. This means far more skilled policing than now. This means better management of
the police organisation, better equipped force, men of higher calibre and devotion to work
and more contented people manning the police hierarchy.

The police of the 2020 will be required to shed its idée fixe for the show of
strength in place of efficient policing. The stress in future will be on lean and fit
policing. The structural deformity of the chorisis and overweight caused by redundant
posts, undefined jobs, lack of accountability, epinosic equation of rights and
responsibilities, top-heavy structure, erratic span of control, demotivating factors,
nonprofessional ambience and uninspiring leadership must become a matter of the past
by the year 2020 with the police going perforce competitive en face gargantuan
challenges from criminals posing threat to the raison d’etre of the police and its relevance
to the extant society.

RESPONSE TIME

The key to the success of the police is its response time, the speed with which it
responds to the gauntlets of the crime. Where time is a precious commodity and a
difference of a couple of seconds make the difference of success and failure of a police
operation, persistent efforts to shorten response time will get the priority in excelsis. The
thrust of the police administration of the next fifteen years must be directed to bettering
the response time as speed will be the mainstay of crimes and criminals of the coming
 14

age. Short response time implies improved communication and transport network and
highly motivated human resources, ever ready to handle challenges. Outmoded
communication and transport facilities in disrepair conditions most of the time have no
relevance there and casual manpower is rather passe in that ambience. Coming years
must see the police force in the finest fettle in terms of orgtanisation, manpower and
equipments and the force becoming a highly organised and efficient limb of the state
apparatus.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

India in its long history saw governance of all kinds, proportions and dimensions
and survived through them. It saw the worst and the best in its 2500 years of recorded
history. It, like other old civilizations of the world, has worked as the crucible of various
experiments in governance. The governance and policing in India now is based on this
long experience. It is the collective will for good governance that is lacking in India. The
consequence is that the hoi polloi suffer and the country fails to reach the height it is
potential of. The besoin of the extant India is the evolution of a collective will to have
good governance. People must pool their energies to force good governance for the
country. Indeed the job is not easy and the resistance from those in charge of the
governance whose interests lie in the status quo is bound to be hard. But, this cannot be
an encheason to leave the matter of this dimension unattended as the fate of one billion
people depends on this development. Only such a collective will can devolve truly good
governance and policing for the country.

Creation of a self-contained police machinery in place of the present mere nuts

and bolts of the administration is the cardinal need ahead. The nasty political and
bureaucratic interferences in professional policing have done no good to the country and
its police in the last six decades. Insulating the police from the vice prise of the
ectogenetic pressures and influences needs to become a reality in fifteen years since,
should the police have relevance in the governance of the country. This is possible only
by the metamorphosis of the police to an independent body with goals and objectives
perspicuously defined and laid down. The new police have to be responsible only to the
 15

constitution through a suitable machinery of checks and counterchecks exercised by

constitutional bodies manned by people of proven track-record in matters of integrity,
competence and other mental attributes and chosen from academic, bureaucratic and
political fields as well as public life. The change may bring a semblance of justice and
fairplay to administration and ipso facto infuse a value system to the Indian public life
and bring the fear of god to force strict adherence to probity and the rule of law in public
life. India has no alternative to this metamorphosis should the country survive the moral
crisis and degringolade of the national spirit, it witnessed since independence.

P. KUMAR
Superintendent Of Police
ADS, COD, CID Headquarters,
Carlton House, Palace Road,
BANGALORE- 560 001