NEED FOR POLICE REFORMS IN INDIA

At present there is dire need for the police reforms in the country.The laws related to police administration dates back to British colonial regime and hardly reflects the present socio-economic needs.The Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Evidence Act of 1871 or the Criminal Procedure Code of 1898- all these bear the evidence that in India Police administration is till governed by century old archaic laws.

Under the Indian constitution policing is a state system.Most state governments have laws which are simple imitations of the 1861 penal code.Since independence there have efforts from the government on numerous occasions to introduce some changes in the police administration.Numerous committees and commissions have been formed.But at the end of the day it is all that same wth all those voluminous, archaic acts and laws.

The honourable Supreme Court of India in 2006 asked the Govt Of India to ensure more accountability in police administration and to release a draft model of a new police act.The issue till date remains unanswered.

Apart from the archaism of the laws numerous other problems exist in police administration in India.The existing system has  bred and still breeding corruption among the policemen.The existing system hardly provides the criminals the opportunity to correct themselves.It is still very much a system of punishment,not correction.The police training emphasizes on muscle power and gunmanship while very little care is taken to imbibe endearing values among the cops.They are the protector of human rights in the first  line although they mostly remain ignorant of what human right is.

Modernization of the police force is thus a dire need of the day considering ever increasing cases of terrorism and violence.But more important is the need to inculcate  human values among our policemen so that they do not behave like inhuman musclemen, but actively take part in the socio cultural reconstruction process.