Policing the police

Policing is dangerous work, and the danger lurks not on the streets alone. Tremendous pressure is there at the police stations and the barracks. All kinds of people ranging from criminal elements including white collar criminals and rowdy elements come to the police stations and policemen interact with these elements daily. Besides law and order problems are plenty. And a cynical nature is bound to develop among the police and even their attitude towards the general public. They also began to eye everyone with suspicion. This is one of the major problem areas in police work. Researchers say, the pressures of law enforcement put officers at risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide, after a decade of studies of police officers. It is happening in almost all the police organizations of India, more particularly among the CRPF personnel. There are numerous cases of fratricidal shootouts among the CRPF personnel in different parts of the country. A senior CRPF official once said, such incidents are linked with stress and the working conditions in which the personnel are deployed without much leave. Manipur’s recent case of fratricidal killing among IRB personnel is most likely linked with stress but it has to be fully investigated before arriving at conclusions. A high level investigation involving retired policeman and psychiatrists is called for, with adequate terms of references and a mandate for giving specific recommendations to curb such incidents. A police veteran once said, policing is a psychologically stressful work environment filled with danger, high demands, and ambiguity in work encounters, human misery and exposure to death. The conflict situation has also led to heavy duty among the civil police and the armed police like the Manipur Rifles and the India Reserve Battalions. In fact, these personnel find little time to rest or socially mingle with friends and family members. So, there is always a likelihood of a caged mentality developing among the personnel. Such a mentality ignites tension and emotional eruptions among the police personnel when they interact with the members of the general public or when they go on leave. The state Home Minister Gaikhangam had talked about a people friendly police force after assuming charge of the Home department. If he is at all serious about it, mental health of the police officers and personnel should be high on his agenda for reforms. Intervention is necessary to help officers deal with this difficult and stressful occupation. There is a need to educate them on how to survive years of police work. They need to learn how to relax, how to think differently about things they experience as a policeman. There is such a thing as post-traumatic growth. People can grow in a positive way and be better policemen and persons after they survive the trauma of police work. Perhaps the time has come for periodical assessment of mental health among the police officers and personnel by pooling in the resources of psychiatrists and counselors. Such a mechanism is there in place in the police organizations of developed countries. Major police organizations have in-house counselors in the police stations to deal with stress related behavior among the personnel. Minister Gaikhangam needs to look into this issue more seriously as it has become all the more necessary considering the conflict situation in the state. This is a measure to start with. But, for placing a more permanent mechanism in the police organization, a Police Commission to deal not only with police reforms but also with police behavior has become the need of the hour. Another important issue is police recruitment. Besides physical abilities and literacy, background checks and assessment of mental health of the proposed recruits should be made mandatory. In recent history, Manipur police went on a recruitment spree and such a check and assessment had not been done. And this will affect police morale and discipline in future.