In a seminal paper, ‘Complexities of 21st Century Policing’, published last year, Professor David Bayley of the State University of New York, Albany was categorical that the traditional notion of police professionalism was dead, and that the plea for ‘policing with consent’ must be rethought.
In the paper, Prof. Bayley, whose association with the Indian police goes back 50 years, makes a plea for new institutions within the police so as to draw benefit from public inputs, accompanied by the engendering of a new professionalism based on rigorous evaluation of existing strategic and managerial policies. Reliance should be more on institutional wisdom and memory rather than on individual experiences. In sum, he argues for taking the police out of the rut it had got into the world over, through a break from past practices which were becoming dangerously archaic in a divided and strife-ridden world.
What Prof. Bayley says has immediate relevance for the Indian police, especially after what we saw in Bengaluru on New Year’s Eve, when an already poor image of the Indian police deteriorated further because of an apathetic urban police force standing by even as some women were being molested. It was not just the Bengaluru police that failed that night; the criticism levelled against it applies to the police at large, even while giving allowance to varying standards of policing in our megacities.
In specific terms, what is required now is to restructure existing police arrangements for special occasions such as New Year celebrations. The average law-abiding, tax-paying citizen cannot any longer be expected to be passive or to condone sloppiness in maintaining law and order. He is tired of alibis for non-performance, especially in dealing with uncivilised brutes going on a rampage without any provocation whatsoever. This is especially so at a time when even the most insensitive and uninhibited politician in the country will refrain from exploiting a New Year celebration to promote his cause. The Bengaluru police stand alone in this hour of ignominy.
Outnumbered on the street
Even assuming that media reports have exaggerated what happened, there is video evidence of at least another incident that happened in Kammanahalli, where a woman was groped and pushed onto the road by motorcycle-borne miscreants. There is still no evidence of what took place on M.G. Road and its vicinity in the upmarket heart of the city. There is nothing to suggest that the police were surprised at the happenings or were unprepared. There was indeed substantial deployment in traditional hotspots, taking into account past experience. What is now learnt is that the police were outnumbered in a few places, where the congregation of revellers was more than usual. The local police stations could have possibly made an assessment late in the afternoon so that extra policemen could have been directed to localities where the crowds were pouring in. There was therefore an element of failure on the part of city police intelligence.
The police were reluctant to use force against the antisocial elements. Their response is a moot point; policemen at the spot are shy of employing strong methods without the approval and direction of senior officers going all the way up to the numero uno — in this case the Commissioner. This unfortunate situation has developed over the years because of many complaints of police excesses and the judicial enquiries ordered as a sequel. This is where politics creeps in. Many belonging to the Opposition lose no time accusing the police of overreaction, only to embarrass the ruling party even where there is consensus that the situation on the ground did warrant police opening fire or using batons. Unless this situation changes, one will continue to hear complaints of police failures.
Leadership deficit
There is the other factor of inadequacies of police leadership that have become glaring over the years. They look up to the Chief Minister or Home Minister for approval of even minor and routine field decisions. Even where there is an enlightened Chief Minister who stays away from field decisions, a weak DGP or Police Commissioner takes no chances. Can there be anything more damaging to the swift handling of explosive threats to peace? Is not granting more autonomy to the police a futile exercise if there are such hesitant DGPs and Commissioners?
In the ultimate analysis, it is only strong public opinion that can bring a sea change to the styles of policing. In the Bengaluru incidents, the citizenry has a significant role to play by bringing enough pressure on the government to identify the accused and bring them to book. If they do not rise to the occasion, not much will happen.
This brings me to the fundamental question of enhancing police sensitivity to the task of protecting our women. There was a lot of noise after the horrific Delhi gang-rape case of 2012. There was also a laudable effort to make the law on sexual assaults on women more stringent. Whether this has helped to improve the quality of police protection to women is debatable. New methods of training will certainly help, but only moderately. Imaginative day-to-day interaction on the subject between the higher echelons and policemen at the grass-roots level will alone help. How often do Commissioners of Police and the numerous deputies visit police stations and talk to the constabulary? That is a chasm that will remain un-bridged as long as senior IPS officers believe that it is enough to pander to the ego of a Chief Minister for going up the ladder.
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[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]2021 WEF Global Gender Gap report, which confirmed its 2016 finding of a decline in worldwide progress towards gender parity.
Over 2.8 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. As many as 104 countries still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 countries have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and it is astonishing that a handful of countries still allow husbands to legally stop their wives from working.
Globally, women’s participation in the labour force is estimated at 63% (as against 94% of men who participate), but India’s is at a dismal 25% or so currently. Most women are in informal and vulnerable employment—domestic help, agriculture, etc—and are always paid less than men.
Recent reports from Assam suggest that women workers in plantations are paid much less than men and never promoted to supervisory roles. The gender wage gap is about 24% globally, and women have lost far more jobs than men during lockdowns.
The problem of gender disparity is compounded by hurdles put up by governments, society and businesses: unequal access to social security schemes, banking services, education, digital services and so on, even as a glass ceiling has kept leadership roles out of women’s reach.
Yes, many governments and businesses had been working on parity before the pandemic struck. But the global gender gap, defined by differences reflected in the social, political, intellectual, cultural and economic attainments or attitudes of men and women, will not narrow in the near future without all major stakeholders working together on a clear agenda—that of economic growth by inclusion.
The WEF report estimates 135 years to close the gap at our current rate of progress based on four pillars: educational attainment, health, economic participation and political empowerment.
India has slipped from rank 112 to 140 in a single year, confirming how hard women were hit by the pandemic. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two Asian countries that fared worse.
Here are a few things we must do:
One, frame policies for equal-opportunity employment. Use technology and artificial intelligence to eliminate biases of gender, caste, etc, and select candidates at all levels on merit. Numerous surveys indicate that women in general have a better chance of landing jobs if their gender is not known to recruiters.
Two, foster a culture of gender sensitivity. Take a review of current policies and move from gender-neutral to gender-sensitive. Encourage and insist on diversity and inclusion at all levels, and promote more women internally to leadership roles. Demolish silos to let women grab potential opportunities in hitherto male-dominant roles. Work-from-home has taught us how efficiently women can manage flex-timings and productivity.
Three, deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the education and skilling of women and girls at the bottom of the pyramid. CSR allocations to toilet building, the PM-Cares fund and firms’ own trusts could be re-channelled for this.
Four, get more women into research and development (R&D) roles. A study of over 4,000 companies found that more women in R&D jobs resulted in radical innovation. It appears women score far higher than men in championing change. If you seek growth from affordable products and services for low-income groups, women often have the best ideas.
Five, break barriers to allow progress. Cultural and structural issues must be fixed. Unconscious biases and discrimination are rampant even in highly-esteemed organizations. Establish fair and transparent human resource policies.
Six, get involved in local communities to engage them. As Michael Porter said, it is not possible for businesses to sustain long-term shareholder value without ensuring the welfare of the communities they exist in. It is in the best interest of enterprises to engage with local communities to understand and work towards lowering cultural and other barriers in society. It will also help connect with potential customers, employees and special interest groups driving the gender-equity agenda and achieve better diversity.