IPS probationers to become 'masters in criminal justice management'

IPS probationers would be from now on equipped with a master’s degree in criminal justice management, having been taught modules concerning the law, investigation process, evidence collection and conviction, etc., aspects as part of their training at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA).

The PG degree is awarded by the prestigious NALSAR University of Law, which is also based in Hyderabad, in association with SVPNPA.

“The 74th regular recruit batch of year 2021 passing out on Saturday will become the first to be receiving the PG degree in criminal justice management from NALSAR,” SVPNPA director A S Rajan told DH.

The degrees will be awarded as per an MoU reached between the two premier institutions in December 2022. The first, i.e., the present batch of IPS officers will be handed their degrees after the Phase-II training, ending in December 2023.

A joint committee oversees the setting and moderation of question papers, evaluation of answer scripts, field reports and other incidental works.

The nine indoor subjects taught as part of Phase-I basic course training of IPS Probationers at SVPNPA — Criminal Procedure Code, IPC and Special Laws, Indian Evidence Act, Internal Security and Public Order, Investigation, Forensics, Information & Communication Technology, Attitudes, Ethics & Human Rights and Criminology and Police Management in India — are considered as curriculum for the first year of the master’s degree programme.

For the second year, the IPS (probationers) will have to submit field reports based on the practical training undertaken by them as part of their district posting in cadre states and also the Phase-II training at SVPNPA.

The IPS probationers, who undergo a 105-week or two-year training, receive a master’s degree after successful completion of the course.

Police officers from foreign countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Mauritius, who undergo Phase-I basic course training along with IPS trainees, will be given a PG diploma in Criminal Justice Management.

“If an IPS (probationer), after completion of the first year, fails to continue the programme and submits a withdrawal letter to the University, the University may award him a certificate in PG diploma in Criminal Justice Management based on his marks secured in the first year of the programme,” the MoU says.