Time for a movement against police

Context: The recent police action necessitates a social movement against police brutality in general and custodial tortures in particular.

Police brutality, a world over phenomena: 

• Death of a shopkeeper in police custody in Tuticorin district (TN) for keeping their shop open beyond the ‘lockdown’ hours.
• George Floyd, a black American, was died at the hand of a policeman in the US city for allegedly paying for groceries with a fake $20 bill.

Cause of custodial death: 

• The Media reflection of the statistical evaluation of police work, sometimes forces police leaders to resort to inhuman custodial interrogation.
• Public pressure to produce quick results in sensational cases. 

Issues in the criminal justice system of India: 

• Magisterial inquiry: In India, it is the Executive Magistrate who presides over the inquiry. Inevitably, the Executive Magistrate and the police work in colluding with each other. 
• Judicial inquiry: If a judicial inquiry is ordered, there is a faint likelihood that its conclusion may differ from the police version. Even the NHRC/SHRC has never punished the defaulters.
• Vacancies: Vacancies in judicial posts hover around 30% of the sanctioned strength, which reduces the trust of the public on the justice systems due to delays.

• Non-functioning of Police Complaints Authority (PCA): Scant attention has been given to strengthen the body even after the Supreme Court’s guidelines in the Prakash Singh case.

• Poor socio-economic background of criminal: Most offenders who meet their end in the police ‘lock-up’ are from poor economic status.

Way forward: 

• Use Innovative Solutions:

• Psychological tests to eliminate psychopaths at the recruitment stage.
• Emphasis should be given on scientific methods of investigation of crime.

• Withdraw public support to inhuman practice: failing to do so will encourage abhorrent methods of custodial interrogation for establishing facts that would continue (Amnesty International)

• Capacity building: rethink strategies and revise in-service training inputs
• Ensure Institutional Accountability: Police leaders must take personal responsibility to ignore statistics as well as political and media pressure.