When I was training for the job at the National Police Academy, a question which was asked often was what had attracted us to the job. A common refrain was the glamour of the uniform. And that is what best and most obviously defines us in police- the uniform. In my opinion, the purpose of uniform anywhere is to delineate a group and give it a distinct identity. Also, to bind the members of a group, inculcate in them a sense of we-feeling. Apart from serving all these functions, I believe the uniform imparts an aura of professionalism and seeks to do away with frivolity. In my job, the uniform performs all these functions and also binds us all together forging esprit de corps. I personally feel that the uniform gives me a lot of confidence and commands immense respect. Other than all these sterling aspects, I believe that the uniform does not and ought not to have any other significance. Startlingly, it is not so and I have been discovering this much to my annoyance.
In my place of posting, people regularly come to the police with a whole bundle of problems that does not pertain to our area of administration, that is to say, land disputes. Often I have advised the complainants to approach the concerned authorities and courts but the usual retort is that the entire exercise would involve money and a whole lot of running from pillar to post. The best alternative is to have a policeman to just hang around by their side and lo and behold! The mission shall be accomplished without much sweat. This solution often gets my gut but it is happening everywhere. May it be in case of labour union problems, industrial issues, land disputes or domestic quarrels- I often find that people are not willing to sort out their issues involving other mechanisms or for that matter, register a case with the police. All they want is the menacing presence of the police personnel to gnash their teeth, roar on their behalf and with some arm twisting, solve out their issue. I have often found this manipulative attitude humiliating to the person in that uniform. The policeman/woman is paid by the government to do a job and acting like a gangster in uniform is definitely not one of them. Most pertinently,the buck doesn’t end with the police person at the police station level only.
On several occasions, I have been invited to myriad functions which I don’t believe falls within the ambit of my professional or personal interests. After attending some, curiosity got the better of me and I did ask the organizers as to why they actually require my presence. Grilled further, the reply, much to my exasperation, was always that they apprehend some problem and miscreants would stay away just because I am around. I take a long, hard look at myself and ponder whether I really look those roguish, ghoulish, forbidding sorts who can scare away hoodlums just by mere physical presence. Definitely not! To top it all, an elite local club wants me to preside over their GBMs so that the defaulters get scared enough and promptly pay their outstanding dues. And the idea of it all leaves me terribly short of words!!
For years altogether, the judiciary, media, NGOs and even our political bosses have been boxing our ears because we, the police force, have often been caught overstepping our authority and violating human rights. Granted that this happens, but nobody looks at another side of the spectrum. Wherein it is the people who want to use us for all the wrong purposes, egg us on to do jobs which have nothing to do with us per se, where we are supposed to be their vicious Rambos in uniform sorting out their problems smoothly, efficiently, effortlessly. Yes, we are in uniform because our job profile demands so, we are in uniform so that the person in distress identifies us and comes to us for redressal. We have not donned the uniform to scare away, to be anybody’s Rottweiler on the prowl. The saying holds true that we get the police force we deserve. I have begun forming this opinion that just because the civil society does try to use the police to suit its selfish ends at many times and often using hefty bribes to do so, they have spawned a web of corruption and sheer unprofessionalism. And this Frankenstein thus created threatens the very fibre of our society; encouraging our policemen and women to digress because they have been doing the same on many occasions at the behest of the very people who take up cudgels against them screaming violation of rights and space when their interests get adversely affected.
Whenever I take a look at popular media, especially cinema and television, portraying the police force, a wave of scorn envelops me. On great many instances, the police person is some sort of Robin Hood single handedly cleansing the entire system. Is this a true reflection of our society, of our job profile? No. However, it is a reflection of our fantasy. If you look around, we are not a region blessed with Viking-like personalities or even prone to athleticism. Our police force is a reflection of the same. In all the years I have worked as a part of the police force, I have yet to come across an Terminator kind of policeman/woman. None of my staff goes around like a person possessed to set all wrongs right just on his/her own. I know that fuelled by the popular perceptions, people expect some such miracle, but, it doesn’t happen in reality. Yes, we, officers, who are at the helm of affairs in the district, can boast of having sub-ordinates of indomitable courage, intelligence, zeal and sincerity who work hard to maintain law and order and curb crime with an iron hand. That is the heroism of a regular person who happens to don the uniform as a part of the job and we must salute that. It is not the heroism of a superman. It is high time that we understand that like any other field, we, in the police, work and deliver as a team. There are no superheroes and heroines. And, we definitely don’t want to be seen as that grimacing Tyson in uniform whom people can use to get their dirty work done. The uniform is something we wear out of necessity and with immense pride. Not because we want others to get terrified by the sight of us. At a stage when we are moving towards an era of community policing, we cannot afford this misinterpretation of the police person in uniform on a regular basis. If it happens, it is a loss…to the people, to the society and to all of us in uniform.
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