Editorial: Putting people ahead of policing

Until the custodial deaths occurred, it was the same police force that drew applause in mainstream and social media on account of their going beyond the call of duty. Reaching out to the senior citizens, distressed women, and marginalised sections of society, they not only helped them stay safe but also helped avert possible infection clusters.

The police force, especially the constabulary, functioned under great duress during the spread of the virus. Their responsibilities included crowd control, manning of barricades to control arterial roadways and neighbourhoods, setting up surveillance posts on highways to check mass exodus from one district to another among other duties requiring intense focus. Like the Armed Forces, police personnel are expected to both physically and mentally endure adverse conditions - these pressures are hardly expected to shake up an otherwise efficient law enforcement body.

However, the custodial deaths which took place during a health emergency of gargantuan proportions had turned the focus once again on an often-overlooked aspect of law enforcement – mental health. And in what could be viewed as a very positive response to the situation, the Tiruchy DIG identified as many as 80 police personnel based on prior records to be sent for a month-long behaviour correction programme. They were taken off their duties that involved direct public contact as their track record in that aspect was found wanting.

It was against the backdrop of a growing number of custodial deaths and frequent skirmishes with the public that the Police Wellness Programme was introduced in Tamil Nadu in 2018 in coordination with the National Institute for Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. This programme once again came into focus when just last week, the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) observed that “any form of violence is a product of a sick mind” and directed the Tamil Nadu government to continue to fund its Police Wellbeing Programme for five years.

In the early part of this decade, gender sensitisation programmes for policemen and categorisation of police stations according to the size of its corresponding population, were done to ensure that the cop on the street was an all-rounder on both the professional and personal fronts. Now that we must live with the coronavirus, it makes sense that the state police force recognises its larger role in the scheme of the every-day life of citizens – not just on the policing or disciplining aspects – but even on the lifesaving aspects. In troubled times, what people require is a friend one can count on, and someone to trust – and it’s sincerely hoped the TN police can be that friend in need.