Sanjeev P. Sahni, PhD, Professor & Principal Director, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences,
O.P. Jindal Global University
Email: drspsahni@jgu.edu.in

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India is a country with diverse religions, culture, traditions and belief.
Such diversity also brings along intolerance, rigidity and fanaticism that may result in conflict or disturbances among different groups.

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CONFLICT:
 layman’s terms, it is any situation involving two parties with opposing views of beliefs, and strife arising out of this disagreement.
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CONFLICT RESOLUTION: Any method used to smooth out the relationship between the public and the police, including but not limited to the methods taught in police training academies.
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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: Conflict Management may be defined as the practice of recognizing and dealing with disputes in a rational, balanced and effective way.

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The police are a state subject and its organization and working are governed by rules and regulations framed by the state governments.

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 In March 2012, the United Nations
(UN) observed excessive use of force by police including fake encounters , custodial deaths and traditional practices affecting women such as honour killings , and dowry death.

 The Naxalites have frequently targeted tribal, police and government workers in what they say is a fight for improved land rights and more jobs for neglected agricultural labourers and the poor.
 The Naxalites claim that they are following a strategy of rural rebellion similar to a protracted people's war against the government.
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 Delhi has seen the highest police- public clashes because of the high rates and demonstrations in the capital.
 Be it the anger against corruption or the Nirbhaya case Anger demonstrations, the Delhi Police faces a tough time bringing the crowd under control while the public tries hard to make their voice heard.

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 Surveys in recent years with minority groups in
USA- Latinos and
African- Americans, in particular, suggest that confidence in law enforcement is relatively low, and large portions of these communities believe police are likley to use excessive force on suspects.

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 The Lessons Learnt and
Reconciliation
Commission admitted that civilians had been killed by the Sri lankan military, albeit accidentally, contradicting the government’s line that there were zero civilian casualities.

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 The security sector is tarnished following political turmoil as it suppress popular revolutions and engages in human rights violations.
 During January and February, Tunisian police stations were attacked, looted and burned because of their connection with the government. Today, the police presence is absent in many locations, and crime is on the rise.

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RAHIM (1983) and THOMAS & KILMANN (1977): FIVE CONFLICT
HANDLING MODES

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Helping public garner a better understanding of law can stop them from having unrealistic expectations from the police.
Effective training programs for police could also help them to address the concerns of the public more calmly and empathetically.

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 TO be effective, police must recognize the particular needs of women. The best way to ensure this is to involve women in outreach and decision making. And to have more women police, so police forces better reflect the diversity of the communities in which they operate, and can better respond to their needs.
 A useful example is Vanuatu, where Australia funded the establishment of female police barracks, allowing large numbers of women to participate in and graduate from recruit training, and in turn become mentors and role models. This has helped dramatically redress the gender imbalance in the Vanuatu Police Force.

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 To examine the causal factors of Police-Civilian Conflict.
 To understand how these conflicts are handled at the police station.
 To determine the gap between the existing system and strategies of conflict resolution, and the ideal methods of conflict resolution.
 To conclude with suggestions and recommendations on the ideal methods to handle police-civilian tension.

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The data is collected from Police personnel and Civilians from Northern India: Rural as well as Urban parts.
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The total data collected was 3500 questionnaires from police personnel and 1700 collected from civilians.
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Usable data amounted to 3231 and 1630 respectively

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Two sets of questionnaires:
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Police Personnel
 Civilians

Perception of Police Personnel about Public and possible causes of conflict.

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70% of the police personnel are significantly discontented with public’s lack of knowledge about law and its procedures.
 More than 95% police officials believe that the public in general have unrealistic expectations from them while
ignoring procedure and
expecting a speedy response
in turn.

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88% of the police officials believe that there is a need to be more efficient and quick when it comes to their response time.
 85% of the Police believe that the Public wants the police to carry out investigations based not according to law, but based on personal values of the public
.

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More than 95% Police said that the Public feel that they are negligent in their duty .
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Absolute majority of Police personnel believes that civilians have a hostile attitude towards the law enforcement agency.
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67% of Police personnel agrees that public gets restless and takes law in their own hands , rather than waiting for the police to handle the matters according to the procedures.

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Although, majority of Police officers in our study believe that crowd dispersal is not an adequate method.
However, it was found that almost half of the police personnel have employed it at some point of their career.
 Police Officials believe that the strategies they employ in order to maintain law and order are effective and yield favorable results.

Perception of Public about Policing System in
India

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CIVILIANS: 47.4% of the participants felt that police is inefficient.
POLICE: 50% of the police responded that public feels police are inefficient
1. Police is aware of the lack of trust that public has in the police.
2. Elements of inefficiency exist in the policing system today and the scenario of crime that exists in the society also supports such opinion.

NEGOTIATION WITH PIBLIC
87% of the
Police claimed to negotiate with the public to resolve conflicts
On other hand,
29% public feels that police negotiate with them to resolve the conflict
REFERRING CASE WITH HIGHER
AUTHORITIES
70% of the
Police officers refer the case to higher authorities.
Whereas, only
36% public believes that
Police refer the case to higher authorities

 55% of the policemen and 19.9% of the civilians answered that if corruption is resolved, conflicts might end.

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 Constables are permitted to assist in crime investigations, but are not trained to do so and have a limited role.
 They are not authorized to register First Information
Reports and initiate the investigation process.
 Officers authorized to lead investigations and register
FIRs are overburdened, many crimes go unregistered or poorly investigated.
 “The constable has no power and yet, they form the bulk of the police force.... If you go to complain of a crime, they’ll say come back when the inspector is here.”- Police Official, Karnataka

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 Police in India frequently fail to register First
Information Reports (FIRs), and to investigate crimes.
 Police officers are often under pressure from political leaders to show a reduction in crime by registering fewer FIRs.
 According to a report by BPR&D, some said that they face suspension or reprimand if they register too many.

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 Human Rights Watch researchers visited numerous decaying police stations built before independence and stocked with antiquated equipment.
 In rural areas, some police stations lacked electricity.
 Nationwide, there is an average of about seven police vehicles for every 100 police.
“Often the money literally doesn’t cover the stationery.”

INEFFICIENT DEPLOYMENT OF POLICE
PERSONNEL
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INDIA:
1 civil police officer for every
1,037 residents
ASIA: 1 civil police officer for every 558 residents
WORLD: 1 civil police officers for every 333 residents
“Effectively we get five or six persons each shift. Yet, each police station will cover 50 or 60 villages. It is difficult for us to even reach the [crime] scene on time.” - Sub Inspector, Maharashtra

 Police performance is severely undercut by the inadequacy of training.
 For non-IPS officers, pre-induction trainings of six to nine months are military in style and dominated by physical fitness : “foot drills,” “platoon drill,” and ceremonial parades.

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 In 2010, only 2.1 percent of state expenditures on police went toward police training.
 Many police academies lack basic facilities like blackboards and overhead projectors, and course materials are outdated.

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Higher Standards of Education in the
Police Force.
Training to build a pace for technological environment for better faculties of mind.
Inculcating a better sense of discipline in the force to tackle corruption .
Improvement in the response time of the
Police and a better co-ordination between
Police and Public.

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The first issue the civilians broached was the reluctance of police officers in lodging FIRs. The best solution available to this is to overhaul the implementation of the online registration of
FIRs.
Sensitization training needs to be mandatory for Police
Trainees , so that all incoming recruits are cleared of any vestigial prejudices on the basis of caste or creed.
A centralized police force, along with a nation-wide emergency contact hub , like the 911 centres in the United
States needs to be urgently installed.

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Police training strategies should exclude all kinds of aggravating methods of crowd control and a better strategies should be deployed to build friendly relations between Public and
Police so that they can discuss their problems on one platform without any apprehensions.
Police apparently do not refer cases to higher authorities when so requested. Such a trivial issue might lead to much larger consequences and escalate conflict, if not looked into immediately. So, conflict cases should be referred to higher authorities to keep a control and check on it.

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 This model can address many problems like unrealistic expectations from the police, ignorance of the law on the part of the civilians, difficulties in logding FIRs etc.
 This model is not directly guided by the Criminal
Procedure Code or the Civil Procedural Code but it delves into the intricate social scenario of the concerned region and solves the problem in a hands on practical manner.

 This model addresses issues like unrealistic expectations by the public, expectation of the outcome in their favor, deliberate negligence and ignorance of the law etc.
 Holding socio- educational programmes, preferably in the local dialects and in a way that appeals to the civilian could help fill the information gap.
 Dedicating a small part of the social studies (civics) curriculum in schools.

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(This Study is funded by Bureau of Police Research &
Development (BPR&D), Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India)
Email: drspsahni@jgu.edu.in