Disciplinary Action For Police Officers

A police officer, just like any civilian, can be punished for   breaking the law or can be brought up on disciplinary action for failure to perform his duty or an abuse of power. 

If an officer breaks the law or commits a crime then he can be arrested, brought before the courts and tried just like anyone else.

If it is reported (by a citizen or peer) that he has been rude, behaved badly, abused his power or failed to do his duty, then a senior officers can punish him by giving him a warning, cutting his pay, reducing his rank, suspending him or transferring him.

If a very serious allegation is made and found to be true against a police officer, he can be discharged of his duty and removed from the force.

How Does One Join The Police?

Any Indian citizen canjoin the police force. However, you have to fulfil the conditions and standards laid down for the particular rank that you wish to join at.To join as a constable you need to have at least passed high school. To join as a Sub Inspector you need to be a graduate.

There are three levels at which you can join the force. At the state level you can join either as a constable and go up to Deputy Superintendent of Police or you can join at Sub-Inspector level and get promoted all the way up to Superintendent of Police, in charge of a district.

Constables and sub-inspectors have to take a written entrance test. If you pass you have to go for a physical test and then an interview. On clearing the interview, you are expected to undergo a medical check in order to determine whether you are physically fitto join the police. After these processes are complete, final selections are made.

IPS officers are recruited at the central level and ranks begin as either an Additional/Assistant Superintendent orSuperintendent of Police.To join as an IPS officer one has to sit for the preliminary examination conducted by the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC). Dates and venue are published from time to time in local and national newspapers. After passing that you must then sit for the main written examination and interview.

Police In India : Facts & Figures

Police Field Operations

Helping road accident victims without any consequences

A total of 4,69,882 people have been injured in road accidents in 2013 and 1,37,423 people have died in motor vehicle collisions. Many of these lives could have been saved, if they had received timely help. But due to the apathy of society many people just passed by people as they lay in critical conditions.

This apathy is mostly due to people being scared of police and legal proceedings hence hesitating to get victims the help they require.

Save LIFE Foundation to help good samaritans and bystanders in such situations filed a petition in 2012 and during the hearing of this petition the Supreme Court instructed the Government of India to pass guidelines that would encourage bystanders to help victims of accidents.

The guidelines which were finally notified on 13th May 2015 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways are as follows-

1. A Good Samaritan who takes an accident victim to a hospital will not be asked any questions and can leave immediately. He/she cannot be forced to stay unless they are an eyewitness in which case only their address can be noted.

2. A bystander for helping the accident victim could be rewarded by the State government so as to encourage others to come to the rescue of accident victims.

3. The Good Samaritan will NOT be held for any criminal or civil liability.

4. A bystander who calls the police or emergency service to the site of a road accident does not have to reveal his name or any other personal details on the phone or in person.

5. In the Medico Legal Forms which are provided by hospitals, it is optional for good Samaritans to submit their personal information.

6. Disciplinary or departmental action shall be taken against those officials who coerce a bystander for revealing his/her personal details.

7. If a bystander voluntarily states that he/she has been an eyewitness to the accident he/she can be examined as part of the investigation by police or during trial but this can be done only once, for which the State Government shall develop Standard Operating Procedures to ensure that the Good Samaritan is not harassed.

8. The examination can be done only under Section 284, of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 or formally on affidavit as per section 296 of the same Code. Standard Operating procedures developed specifically for this will have to be followed.

9. A Good Samaritan or the people referred to in the above point can be examined through video conferencing in order to protect him/her from harassment or any inconvenience.

10. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will issue guidelines which will prevent public and private hospitals to not detain bystanders or good Samaritans or ask them to pay for registration and admission costs unless he/she is a family member of the injured who has to be treated immediately.

11. If a doctor fails to act to help an accident victim when he is expected to provide care, his actions will be seen as “Professional Misconduct” as prescribed by the Indian Medical Council Regulation 2002 and disciplinary action will be taken against them.

12. All hospitals will put up a notice at their entrances in English, Hindi and the vernacular language of the State or Union Territory stating that no good Samaritan will be asked to provide his/her personal details or pay money for the admission of the victim.

13. If the Good Samaritan requires an acknowledgement to confirm that he/she has brought the injured person to the hospital with the details of time and place, the hospital shall oblige and the acknowledgement can be prepared in accordance to the format prescribed by the State government.

14. All public and private hospitals will immediately enforce the above guidelines, failure of which will lead to action being taken against them.

15. A letter with these guidelines shall be issued by the Central and State Government and will be circulated to all hospitals and institutions in their area. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways shall also publish advertisements in all national and regional newspapers including electronic media.

Recent surveys conducted and case studies have shown how hesitant people are to help victims but with the above guidelines we can hope that the number of deaths due to road accidents will be considerably reduced.

Sources:

Logical Indian

Egazette

Duties And Powers Of The Police

Read: Disciplinary Action For Police Officers

Your Police, Now On Social Media

In a country that is rapidly adapting to the consumption and exchange of information in the digital space, law enforcement bodies are utilising social media platforms to overhaul their image and make meaningful connections with the citizens that they serve and protect.

Facebook is the new public interest circular and the police are using the social network to interact one-on-one with citizens, provide timely updates of important information and make themselves more approachable. Accessing a police officer to bring a serious issue to their attention or even to make a general query has never been easier or less intimidating; all you have to do is log onto Facebook and post on their page’s wall. The fact that citizen complaints and questions are up for the general public to see pushes the authorities and page administrators to respond quickly and efficiently to posts.

The traffic police of the major metros are early adopters of the initiative on Facebook. The Delhi Traffic Police page, with the highest number of 1,42,893 Likes, actively updates their page with lists of registration details of offending vehicles and information on traffic situations and movement across the city. The Bangalore Traffic Police page has a quality mix of informative driving tips, traffic updates and also answers to citizens’ concerns. They have a fan following of 47,931. Though lower ranked on the basis of number of page likes (25,638) the Kokatta Traffic Police page is probably the most interactive and citizen friendly. The page is full of personal responses, from the traffic officials, to concerns posted by citizens. They even take care of complaints against taxi drivers.

Bangalore City Police are the only Indian city police force to have a presence on Facebook. Their page comprises of tips and suggestions for personal safety, guidelines on what to do in a crisis, helpline numbers and interesting facts about the city police force. They also have recognition posts commending those officers who go beyond the call of duty and most importantly, they have Senior Police Officers addressing concerns and grievances that citizens post on their wall.

Aside from Facebook, the Bangalore Police also have a blog on which City Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji personally posts. B Dayananda, Joint Commissioner (Crime-East), who spearheaded the social media initiative, also blogs. He made a statement, in response to some users who suggested that they should be able to register complaints on Facebook, that the platform cannot be an alternative to police stations. 

Social media and a digital presence for the police cannot replace the process of physically going to a station to lodge a serious complaint, but it can and is bridging the gap between citizens and their law enforcers.

Organisation Structure Of The Police

Read: Police In India : Facts & Figures