Police public
It is not without reason that some Government departments attract people's attention more than others and the police department certainly comes under the category that is always at the center of attention. Unlike employees of some of the other Government departments, police personnel are always in constant touch with the general public and this is all the more so in a State like Manipur where the police have to be on the alert for any eventuality given the law and order situation.
Given the important role the police department has to play it becomes all the more pressing that serious thought is given to its relations with the public. While there is no denying the fact that the State police department is stretched to the limit to perform its duty, it would certainly not harm their reputation if some thought is given to how the public perceives the police department.
Seen in this context the Training Program for the Manipur Police on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights held at the Banquet Hall of 1st MR on March 25 is a step in the right direction. As Governor Ved Marwah noted in his address at the inaugural function of the training program the police force basically remains an agency entrusted with maintaining order in a society and in discharging this basic duty, the police personnel have to invariably come into close contact with the general population and this is where its relation with the public needs to be stressed.
Police personnel particularly the top brass need to go the extra mile to realize that the oft repeated charges of brutality high handedness and corruption against police personnel is not a recent development and dates as far as 1861 when the Indian police was founded.
A sense of history and recognition of the point that the police have much more to do than merely maintaining order in accordance with the law and are needed.
The need to win the trust of the public need not be stressed here, but what any police officer worth his salt should realize is the point that the power and authority he wields should be in consonance with his responsibility towards the public at large. Many a slur has been cast against police personnel in Manipur and the State police department will certainly yield dividends if they so much as pay a little attention on this point. it would certainly not be over stating facts if we are to say that high handedness, corruption, total immunity to social niceties especially when it comes to interacting with the people at the police department.
A look at the numerous appeals to the 'authority concerned' will surly open the eyes of the police top brass of the trust they have managed to win from the public. Political leaders and top civil officials too should realize that the police force should not be abused. There can be nothing more demoralizing for the men in uniform than politicizing the police department. In a volatile State like Manipur the role of the police department cannot be over emphasized and it will take more than a workshop on human rights to give a lift to the image of the police department. It has to be an ongoing process.
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
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