By Andalib Akhter

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said that the behaviour of policemen towards the common man should be courteous and friendly. He called upon the senior police officers to lead by example in this regard.

“A visit to a police station should be a hassle-free experience for a person who goes there seeking help. The first thing to reform for this is the attitude of the police – they must be open-minded, sensitive and receptive to each individual citizen’s concerns”, said Mr Naidu while addressing a gathering after releasing the book titled – The Struggle for Police Reforms in India” written by former IPS officer, Prakash Singh in New Delhi,

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He further stressed the need to upgrade the skills of policemen to effectively tackle cybercrimes, economic offences and online frauds. He also called for renewed thrust to implementing reforms in police forces.

Vice President said, Centre and State must work with Team India spirit to usher in police reforms. He expressed happiness over a number of initiatives taken by the Government toward better policing, including a project to decriminalize minor offences and violations and the move for amending the Identification of the Prisoners Act, 1920, a legislation that was passed more than a 100 years ago.

Naidu emphasised that “a progressive, modern India must have a police force which meets the democratic aspirations of the people” and called for a renewed thrust to implementing reforms in the police forces.

Noting that police reforms is a highly important and sensitive subject, the Vice President said that although there have been various attempts at introducing reforms over the years, progress has not been made to the desired extent. He called for a political will in the states to properly implement the reforms, according to the Supreme Court guidelines.

Recalling the history of policing in India, the Vice President said that after the revolt of 1857, the British created a police force with the prime aim of upholding their imperial interests, and during the freedom struggle, used the police to mainly suppress and oppress our freedom fighters and revolutionaries. “After independence, sweeping reforms were needed in policing. Unfortunately, we have lagged behind in this crucial area,” he said.

Taking note of disappointment over the non-implementation of Supreme Court’s directions on Police Reforms of 2006, Naidu said that policing is a state subject and it is the states that have to lead this drive towards police reforms. “I hope all the states and the Centre would come together in the true spirit of ‘Team India’ to implement the much-needed police reforms in the country,” he said.

Praising the author, Mr Singh for championing the cause of police reforms in the county, the Vice President called his book a remarkable account of what an individual officer can achieve through his single-handed efforts. He expressed confidence that, in course of time, a people-friendly police force would emerge in the country, which would give the highest importance to upholding the rule of law.

On this occasion, Shri Naidu also paid homage to the policemen who laid their lives in the line of duty battling criminals, terrorists, extremists and all shades of lawless elements in different parts of the country.

Among other those present on the occasion include Prakash Singh, Former Director General, BSF, Kaushik Deka, Executive Editor, India Today, Vipul Mudgal, Director, Common Cause, N. Ramachandran, President, Indian Police Foundation, Kapish Mehra, Managing Director, Rupa Publications, N.K Singh, Retd. IPS