JOIN USThe findings of a survey on the attitudes of personnel in the police forces all over the country do not reflect well on them, as they are seen to have high levels of biases and prejudices about different sections of people like Muslims, Scheduled Castes and women. The State of Policing in India Report 2019, prepared by Lokniti-CSDS and Common Cause, has revealed that large numbers of policemen entertain such prejudices which can negatively impact their conduct and discharge of official duties. One in every two policemen in the country believes that Muslims are very much or somewhat prone to commit crimes, and that complaints of atrocities against members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes are false and motivated. One-third of the policemen believe that large sections of groups like SCs and OBCs are also prone to crime. There is bias against policewomen also among male personnel who think that the women are less hard working and less efficient. The degree of bias varies from state to state, and personnel from Karnataka have a high degree of it.
All those who hold public offices and do public duties are expected to think and act fairly and impartially without preconceived notions about the character of the people they deal with. But this is hardly the case with officials of any rank and also with representatives of the people and others like ministers. The uniformed forces like the police are especially expected to act without biases and prejudices as they are considered to be disciplined and have a code of conduct to follow. But the survey shows that they also have wrong and irrational notions and stereotypical views about castes and social groups. The existence of such prejudices would certainly influence the official conduct of policemen. When policemen think that Muslims are prone to commit crimes or Scheduled Caste persons make up stories of atrocities, that would affect their handling of cases involving these sections to their disadvantage.
Stereotyping of any section of society is wrong. The prejudices seen in the police forces can lead to incrimination of innocent people or denial of justice to many others. It should be noted that the presence of Muslims in jails is disproportionate to their share of the population and the conviction rate is extremely low in cases of atrocities. The policeman’s prejudices reflect those that exist in the wider society. The views of policemen about their women colleagues, and the other prejudices cited in the study, have their roots in entrenched social attitudes. As the study has said, institutional bias against marginalised sections further increases their vulnerability and leads to discrimination and denial of rights.