Modern India must have police force which meets democratic aspirations of people: Naidu

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday asserted that a progressive, modern India must have a police force which meets democratic aspirations of the people and called for a renewed thrust to implement police reforms.

Addressing a gathering here after releasing a book, 'The Struggle for Police Reforms in India', authored by former IPS officer Prakash Singh, the vice president stressed the need to upgrade skills of police personnel to effectively tackle 21st century crimes such as cybercrimes and economic offences which require special investigative expertise.

According to an official statement issued by the Vice President Secretariat, Naidu referred to the instances of misuse of police force during the "infamous Emergency", saying it was used with impunity to suppress human rights and imprison thousands of people, including political opponents.

Subsequently, a National Police Commission was set up in 1977, which submitted reports with detailed multi-dimensional proposals for police reforms, he recalled.

However, he noted that not much headway has been made in bringing reforms in police forces at the individual and institutional levels.

Naidu also flagged certain issues that need to be addressed on a war footing, including filling up of vacancies in police departments and strengthening the police infrastructure in tune with the requirements of modern age policing.

He called for particularly strengthening the police units at the grassroots who are the first responders in most cases. Naidu also wanted housing facilities for police personnel to be improved.

Stressing that the behaviour of police personnel towards the common people should be courteous and friendly, the vice president called upon senior police officers to lead by example.

"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," he said.

Naidu lamented that though attempts have been made 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.

Naidu said over the years following Independence, the police force was perceived to be increasingly politicised with significant erosion in values and practices. Instead of being seen as a people-friendly force, it was seen as being elitist and power-friendly, he observed.