COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Rural Areas

• Village youth to be selected by the community for training to perform police functions within the village.
• Number of persons should be passed on same norms, say one persons per hamlet or one persons per 100 households.
• They should consist of women and person belonging to deprived groups because:
  • Traditionally kotwals came from deprived communities.
  • More importantly, community police largely consisting of the women and deprived classes and communities would lead to more balanced powersharing by counter veiling the money and power influences of social status in the village community.
• Persons selected to be such as are most likely to live in the villages.
• Educational qualification may be flexible.
• All should be provided through training for the police functions required to be discharged in the rural context.
• Women to be trained initially separately with an arrangement for joint-training for some time towards the end of the training programs.
• Village police should be under the control of Gram Sabha.
• It should perform the following functions:
  • Maintenance of order, peace and tranquility in the village.
  • Prevention of crime by appropriate watch and ward duty, keeping eye on the visit, movement and conduct of outsiders/ strangers.
  • Investigation and detection of minor crimes, to be defined as those that are compoundable or as can be further made compoundable by appropriate amendments of laws.
  • Prosecution of these cases in the Gramsabha/ Gram Nyayalaya.
  • Maintenance of order and smooth flow of traffic during special social, religious congregation like fairs.
• An arrangement of net-working amongst a cluster of villages so that a village in the time of special need may call upon community police of other village to assist.
• Community women police, in addition to be usual responsibility may also be entrusted with the task of acting during domestic violence and atrocities on women.

Urban Areas

Similar approach may be adopted for urban areas with the difference that :

• There may be higher qualifications for the trainees.
• Wards and neighborhoods may be put in place.
• Instead of the Gramsabha, Wardsabha may supervise the work of community police.
• A system of registration of private security agencies operating in housing complexes factories and major establishments may be put in place.
• Closer interaction of the police station with the community police may be organized because of proximity and easy accessibility.
• Advisory Committee at the police station may have representatives of community police system in the wards under the jurisdiction of the urban police station.

Police Stations

• An advisory committee should be constituted for a police station.
• It should have proportionate representation from women and deprived communities.
• Representatives of the 3 tier panchayat and local urban bodies in the area should also be included.
• Voluntary agencies of high reputation may also be included.
• There should be no educational qualifications but preference may be given to educated/ enlightened citizens.
• Advisory committee should meet at least once in a month.
• Where there is a major crime or break-down of law and order it should meet as early as possible to take stock of the situation.
• The committee should review the function of the police during the month, look into grievances and complaints given by the citizens, make arrangement for their expeditions redressal satisfactory to the citizens, monitor the progress in investigations of crimes and in presenting challans.
• Approve, sending of final reports advise for further investigations.
• Approve putting off challans.
• Recommend the appointment of special police officers for areas and periods to be specified.

Nomination to Advisory Committee

• Nominations to Advisory Committee should not be treated as a matter patronage.
• Nominations should be non-partisan and for the purpose of making police pro-people and to establish be close community police interaction.
• The mechanism of nomination should involve consultation and consent of the ruling as well as opposition groups.