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Editorial

Endangered police chain of command

Police reform an imperative necessity
6 May 2010, 18:00 PM
EDITORIAL
That law and order has deteriorated in the country over these past many weeks and months has never been in question. And now that even senior police officers have acknowledged the situation, there are additional reasons to be worried about the state of things. What is indeed gravely disturbing is the new dimension which seems to have come into the picture. These police officials have pointed to what is clearly a break in the police chain of command owing to the close ties many of their subordinates maintain with political, usually ruling party, activists across the country. Indeed, the revelations made at a quarterly crime conference in the capital on Wednesday are but a confirmation of the politicization which has for long characterized the police service. There is not much that is new about the situation, but of late matters have clearly gone out of hand. When junior officers have the gall to defy the instructions of their superiors merely because they enjoy close ties with local political elements, it is a signal of danger for the country. The great irony here is that the political quarters, especially those wielding power, have with regularity over the years exhorted the police force to carry out their responsibilities in a professional manner and without any fear or favour. The truth, as we have known all along and which has now been vindicated by the comments of the senior police officers, has been something else. And it is that politicians at various levels and in different regions of the country have continued to exercise their influence on police officers. If that is not politicisation, what is? And if we as citizens are worried about the declining standards of the police force, owing to such politicisation, it remains for the government to ensure that the reasons behind such worries are removed. That can happen if and when the political authorities set good examples for themselves where letting the police function in a professional manner is concerned. Citizens can certainly be persuaded to believe that the slide which has come into law order because of such factors as unbridled Chhatra League lawlessness can be arrested by the government. For that to happen, the government must take immediate and harsh measures that will leave the police to do what they are expected to do under the law of the land. We realise, of course, that the virus of politicization which has been eating away at the vitals of the police administration was introduced through the brazen political nature of recruitment into the police service in the past. Quality and integrity were dispensed with and corruption, generally involving sinister financial dealings between the department and those eager to join the service, became the base of recruitment. Little wonder then that what begins in corruption will only expand through bigger corruption. But the rot must be stemmed somewhere, and soon, if the police department is not to dwindle into a body which does not have respect of the public. We have heard much about the need for reforms of the police service over a long period of time. We would now like to see some real work done on these reforms. Unless reforms are undertaken, one can be sure that the police department will mutate into a moribund department existing only to pander to the whims of the ruling circles, now and in the future.

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