India is a least Police state in the world. With 1.3 billion population it has around only 16 lakh police Officers i.e only 0.8% of 1.3 billion. Whereas US has almost 9 lakhs Police officers for a population of 35 crores which constitutes to 3.85% of its population .
India , basically a land of Sanathan Dharma with a lot of good values imbibed in its culture has managed till date . Till our Great Grandfather’s generation we had Panchayat System ( a team of experienced & respected people in villages ) hearing to people’s problems, addressing it with utmost patience , giving space for both parties to express their views, counselling and then solving the disputes. In this way the society then had a fear to do mistakes and the Social Fabric was such that its population of all ages were guided and monitored ensuring everyone are abiding according to the rules of the land and if found guilty were punished instantly. BUT due to Britishers exploiting India and their forceful devastating rule with Laws made according to their benefits and the Judicial system which they imported from their country did lot of harm to India. The entire eco-system of India’s legal system was destroyed and in its place a new Legal Framework was put in place. After Independence either the New government should have completely repelled the old laws which suited the Britishers and its officers and framed New Laws to govern according to our Indian culture and civilization.
But Indian Politicians wasted the time then. Therefore, now we are facing the consequences. Most of the Indian Population are still not aware of the Legal and Judiciary system and its framework, Coz our previous three generations never believed in the Present Legal Framework and always tried their best to stay away from it . Only the officers who were associated with Britishers then understood this Framework .Rest of India was still running mainly on an different Legal eco system . Even now only a few percentage of educated understabd this Legal System : especially in cities. In rural there is a lot of unawareness. The reason for this also can be because of our present education system which does not teach an iota of the present legal framework and that’s another topic altogether.
And to give you guys a glimpse of our Judiciary – There are only 25 High Courts in our country for 27 states and 08 territories and 672 District Court for 766 districts.When India got independence the Population then was only 40 crores. But now with 130+ crore population we got to have more district and High courts . That is one point. But court not being an investigative agency depends mainly on the evidences provided by the Police Force. This is where the main catch is. The Police force is very less compared to the population and have numerous works tied up as well. From VIP security to Public policing , they have their hands full . And due to Technology there are lot more Technology related Crimes cropping up every day for which the present Police Force are not well equipped to handle , and many are not competent enough to solve such cases. It is more like a Gridlock . Until Judiciary speeds up the disposal of cases the people will not have faith going to Judiciary , AND UNTIL Police Force provides enough evidence , judiciary will not be able to dispose cases. At present we have only around 16700 police stations in India, to increase its efficiency government has an uphill task of improving existing workforce skill sets, train them to new technologies , new types of crimes and solving them. Till date if we can see and analyse, the Police Officers have failed to understand what does the court really want to prove a case. It will be a Herculean task for the Government to change the mindset of the existing workforce mainly those who have been receruited before 2000. In India usually if any one gets appointed they will have a minimum 30 years of Services to do. So if we look at the present situation by the time these people retire it will be 2030 , not just that they will be in higher positions and the same thoughts and working style will be transferred to the younger generation which will be a great loss to the future of India. Therefore it will be good if we have Private Players stepping in. That will give an impetus for public to have options whom to choose for and whom not to chose.These Private Police stations can be a Paid Service similar to Private Hospitals. Especially when it comes to Economic , Cyber Crimes people expect quick results. And people will be ready to pay for quick services. In this way people can choose between Free and Paid services. In the long run if Private Police stations do good than government owned ones, Govt can discontinue those stations according to their performances. This will be a great relief to their exchequer as well. Instead of spending Tax Payers money on inefficient officials, it can make use of the same amount for other welfare schemes or upgrading Police stations. So inefficient Government officials i.e Police Officers will have to show their efficiency and they can perform at their best in fear of losing their jobs. This will have a profound effect on the environment and Judiciary . Once criminals get to know about them being behind Bars soon due to increased efficiency in Police Stations , and relevant documents provided to court to prove their wrong doings , there will be fear among them which would help in reducing crimes. Even Judiciary will be in a position to close the case ensuring speedy justice. The Public will start believing in Judiciary , at present though there is faith , public clearly knows there is delay . Delay in Justice Provided is Justice Denied is what common man believes, but Judiciary is not able to help due to non cooperation from inefficient police officers.
Then there will be a real competition and cases will be closed quickly. Therefore akin to Banks and Insurance which have both Government’s and Private Companies working on the same guidelines governed by RBI and IRDA respectively , we need to have Private Police stations which are well equipped with latest technology and eagerness to solve the cases. As we have only 17,000 police stations in our country, we can add 34000 Private Police stations . Create a Governing Body monitoring and laying guidelines for these stations, recruitment of Officers and create an internal fair competition for such stations. Well known companies can be invited for opening these stations and only 10 stations maximum can be given to a company. We can also demarcate the cases which can be given to Private Police Stations.
Crimes against women and children
Crimes against Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes
Ø Cyber crimes,
Ø Human trafficking,
Ø Crime against senior citizens,
Ø Cognizable crimes as reported in police stations ,
Ø Crime against foreigners inter-alia foreign tourists,
Ø Offences against the State,
Ø Environment related offences
Ø Seizures of arms & drugs by police
Ø Economic crimes,
Ø Crime in railways
Ø Kidnapping and abduction.
Leaving aside these below.
Ø Police casualties and police firing,
Ø Police & civilians casualties ,
Ø Complaints against police personnel and
Ø Custodial crimes
Such new thoughts and suggestions we can have great brain storming sessions in Assembly and Parliament and finalize stringent guidelines to form a Governing body for these Police Stations. First , it should come up for discussion , later we can sit and suggest guidelines for it to become a Value Addition to society.