“Manipur Police- Problems and possible solutions”

(Wrote this when I was a MPS probationer in 2015. Having served in the department for about 6 years I am not sure if things have changed then and now)

Roles and Responsibilities
Problems ·         The police organization is largely a pyramidal structure, with well defined roles and responsibilities for each level. The problems do not occur as long as each police official abides by that structure, but not so when there occurs overlapping of jurisdiction or when the roles and responsibilities are not clearly define and streamline. The roles and responsibilities tend to get mixed, as the organization is bottom heavy, and most personnel do not develop specialised expertise. For example, the investigation and law and order works are still not separated. ·         There are no regular refresher courses or reinforcement of the various roles and responsibilities that personnel have to perform at each level. This, sometimes, brings about unprofessionalism in dealing with various cases or gaps in their handlings of various responsibilities. ·         Due to the pyramidal structure there exists huge gap between the top and bottom. And, there seem to be lack of efforts on the part of the heads in taking proactive measures in bridging those gaps and help improve the well-being of the police personnel at bottom. ·         There appears to be lack of coordination between the various police units in delivering services or while dealing with various events. ·         The police organization is the most visible entity representing the state apparatus, and they are expected to perform various functions from small to large. Because of these, the organization sometime gets overwhelmed. ·         The sincerity with which many police personnel perform their roles and responsibilities, sometimes, get compromised due to various pull-push factors too, say political interference. ·         Lack of proper transfer and posting policy prevents dynamism in the work profile, and sometimes, it brings about monotony in their roles and responsibilities. ·         The deliverance of roles and responsibilities by police personnel has come to be associated with abuse of power.	Possible solutions ·         There needs to be proper demarcation of roles and responsibilities among various departments and implementation of the same in letter and spirit at each level. ·         The investigation work needs to be separated from law and order as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court. This would help in developing specialised police force, delivery of justice and developing public relations. ·         Due to changing society the nature of handling cases have become very challenging. Therefore, the police personnel, at various levels, need to be provided with refresher courses so that their roles and responsibilities are in tune with the changing context. ·         There should be proper transfer and posting policy with fixed tenure system. ·          To not compromise the roles and responsibilities the ACR system should be reviewed and it should be made more scientific. The personnel who indulge in pull-push should be clearly marked/noted by the heads too. ·         There could be regular coordination meetings among the various departments, and also in the department so that roles and responsibilities could be properly streamlined. The proceedings should be recorded and circulated for actions. ·         There should be proper Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in performing duties. It should be in tandem with the vision of Manipur police (if any).
Discipline/Turn-outs
Problems ·         The discipline among the police personnel has decreased to a certain extent, especially in public’s view. It is reflected in the ways they deal with various events. ·         Since many personnel comes with certain backing (say political) the discipline shown in performing their duties are compromised, besides showing less respect to their colleagues and the departmental heads. ·         Many of the things taught and the resolutions taken during the induction training and passing-out-parade are not followed in Toto, once most personnel get confirmed in the service. ·         Many personnel perform duties in inebriated state, resulting in abuse of power in many instances. ·         The discipline that needs to be maintained during turn-outs has also degraded and the organization, as such, is losing uniformity in this regard. ·         There seem to be some sort of favouritism prevalent within the organization too. This has resulted in compromise of discipline in some ways.	Possible solutions ·         Modules on discipline (of what is expected of each level of police officials) should be properly documented and widely circulated in all departments. ·         Discipline and turn-outs should be seriously noted during discharge of duties. They should be given equal importance in grading one’s performance and promotion. ·         The protocols that need to be maintained during turn-outs should be strictly abided by. The department heads need to constantly remind the same through regular meetings with relevant stakeholders. ·         The Commanders, while performing duties, should strictly abide the rules and regulations, and ensure that all duties are performed with utmost sincerity and devotion.
Political interference
Problems ·         The political interference in police functioning is immense, and outwardly it appears that the organization has fully succumbed to the political pressure. There seem to be a strong nexus too. ·         There seem to be political interference on aspects of recruitment, transfer and posting, investigation, so on and so forth. ·         The interference has also helped in the growth of undisciplined force because of the political backing that many police personnel come with. This has led to compromise on roles and responsibilities, besides reducing respect for colleagues and superiors.	Possible solutions ·         The police organization should be able to clearly draw a line between their functioning and politics. The heads should constantly remind themselves of the administrative ethics such as anonymity and neutrality. ·         The police organization should be bold and should be able to stand up when unwanted political pressures knock at their door. Such bold decisions would go a long way in ensuring transparency and creating an efficient police force. ·         The personnel who, because of the political patronage, compromise on their duties and show indiscipline in turn-outs should be noted and actions taken.
Recruitment and Training
Problems ·         Very high corruption in times of recruitment. It seems that the highest bidder gets the post (at Non GOs level). This is due to political interference or the strong nexus that exists between the police organization and politics as such. ·         The training focuses very much on physical aspects. Not much emphasis on all-round personality development, say training does not include life skills, yoga, meditation, etc.	Possible solutions ·         There should be proper recruitment policy, and it should be ensured that merit (along with physical fitness) should be given utmost priority. ·         The training modules for the Non GOs should be properly framed and it should be made more holistic by including trainings on life skills, sports, yoga, meditation and others. ·         There should be various training programmes at regular intervals. It is also important that each training programme is monitored and evaluated systematically.
Infrastructure
Problems ·         The infrastructures of the police organization seem to be poor. In many places provisions of basic amenities are not there, especially at the constabulary level (Non GOs level) ·         Police modernization seems lacking in comparison with many other well performing states. ·         The training infrastructure in the state is very poor, and its capacity to mould the trainees spiritually, mentally and emotionally is questionable.	Possible solutions ·         The schemes under police modernization should be properly implemented and it should be made more participative through enhanced community policing (with participation of civil society, media and others). ·         The police organization should replicate best practices from well performing states. This would go a long way in ensuring a discipline and efficient workforce. ·         The heads of the police organization should be in constant touch with the field offices through regular visits. The heads should take bold decisions and play leadership role in ensuring basic infrastructure within their jurisdiction.
Policing the police
Problems ·         The welfare of the police at lower level is lacking. The benefits that they obtain seem inadequate with the functions they perform. Sometimes, the heads do not care about the well-being of their escorts and other security personnel. ·         The directions from the top seem one-way and there are no adequate means by which issues/concerns could be raised by the personnel in the bottom. ·         The lower rungs personnel sometimes go overboard and perform duties which are not as per SOPs, example collection of taxes from vendors, vehicles and others.	Possible solutions ·         The heads need to be more considerate and ensure that the welfare of the personnel is taken care of properly (basic amenities), especially the escorts and security personnel. ·         There should be a mechanism or a platform wherein the concerns/issues of the personnel at lower rungs could be raised. ·         The personnel should not go overboard and perform duties that are beyond their jurisdiction such as collection of taxes and others. The heads should strictly ensure that SOPs (if any) are followed. ·         The incentives of the staff should be properly enhanced so that it keeps them motivated and help in overcoming burn-outs.

Random thoughts, 6 Oct' 2006

                                           Randon thoughts- 6 October' 2006

             The bus ride was as usual- many thoughts lingering in mind, of what to expect and what to not expect. The cool breeze touching my face, saying ' wake up; you are on the way to Chandel'. The bus is plying on a road where you see greenery all around- paddy fields, mountains and hills. It was serene and I was lost in consumed in thoughts, besides I was trying to read the book 'Spouse' by Shobha De (started looking for a prospect..lol). The bus halted all of a sudden. It appeared that all the vehicles have been stopped by Assam Rifles as they came under attack (as heard from the fellow passengers). I was worried and wondered what will happen to the people, especially the youths living around (there have been instances of tragic consequences against the public when such incident took place). I hoped that they don't start calling people down from the bus and start beating. However, no such incident took place and the bus turned back to another route. After few minutes I reached Kakching Lamkhai and went straight to a colleague's house. My colleague is a Naga by tribe (a Khoibu to be precise) and we are almost of the same age (Through my friend I got more acquainted with Naga's culture). How often I imagined various ethnic tribes staying and living together when there are power struggles amongst the vested groups. After taking quick bites at his house we kicked off for our final destination- DC Office, Chandel HQ. The road is terrible, and one could possibly see the worst potholes in the world. Believe me in this.  A ride and your body will tell you the consequence for it. It is a challenge and a reality of hill district in Manipur. God knows, when the road repair will be completed.

          My idea of office is about innovation, and also bringing about some of the wonderful systems of what I saw outside. Being transparent is what I pray and try practicing. But this is Manipur and hardly anyone knows the meaning of transparency. Any question you pose to your colleague regarding finance is taken personally and you don't really get proper clarification and reply, though I am a senior in terms of job responsibilities. I am left frustrated and it reaches a point, whereby I want to dig open into their heads and tell them that I am there for 'No fun', but rather for a purpose and contribute towards change (these are some of the principles I imbibed during my training as a social work student).
         The work really does not provide me with much time and space to think (of what I do is right, act is right, think is right, vice-versa) but I know I am being truly professional and that it gave me a sense of satisfaction in what I was doing. I try to be sensitive to what I do and to the people around. A little change if you are able to bring in the existing screwed up system, then it will be a huge achievement.

       Please understand that all the officers working in Manipur work under some pressure of the other but with little exaggeration. 4th of every month you see new faces (coming out from hibernation) attending the meeting. Everybody just talks. I suggest they should come down to the reality and work. Too much words without any actions may also screw up the system. DC has to show the way and lead by action. I escaped from the meeting and visited the District hospital, Chandel for conducting facility survey. One will not believe when I say that nothing exists there. One can only see doctors examining some patients. The survey gets completed by hook or crook...I do have boss and deadlines.

       What I understand is that field and theories are very different. The reality is that those who founded the theory (ies) are usually not the ones who implements the same at the field level, rather by people who mostly don't understand the theory (ies) . That is where the gap exists and the public bears the brunt of such gaps.

      In Manipur issues  are large and it has taken decades to arrive at the present state- corruption, ethnic violence, etc and it may take many years to change. While there are issues and challenges there are persons taking advantage of such situations at the cost of you and I. Think!

Romendro@RoroSpeakMind - 6th Oct' 2006