The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Shortage of staff plagues city police force

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 13, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Shortage of staff plagues city police force

Top officials suggest that having more policemen instead of more police stations will yield better results, writes K.V. Subramanya

Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh on Thursday announced that the State Government would approve a proposal by the Bangalore police to set up 15 new police stations in the city.

The city police have proposed to the Government to start new police stations to improve policing in certain areas, mainly on the outskirts. But the moot point is: Can policing be improved by merely starting new police stations?

The city police face a shortage of staff and vehicles that are essential for better policing. The Ninth Police Commission had recommended the staff strength for police stations by taking into account various aspects, including the population of the respective area. If one were to go by these recommendations, more than half of the 84 police stations in the city are understaffed, a senior official says.

For instance, the staff strength of police stations such as Madivala and Koramangala, which have vast areas under their jurisdiction, is almost the same as that of Shankarapuram police station that has jurisdiction over a smaller area.

Most of the Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) say that because of shortage of staff, often they do not have adequate people for regular beats. Further, whenever new police stations are opened, staff from the existing stations are transferred to the new ones. "When adequate men are not available for policing in the existing police stations, would it be wise to start new ones," question some officials.

They suggest that having more policemen instead of more police stations would yield better results. To buttress their contention, the officials cite the Mumbai and Delhi models. Though Mumbai is a bigger city than Bangalore, it has less number of police stations than Bangalore.

In Mumbai and Delhi, the focus is on having more men than more stations, the officials point out.

They are of the view that the policing would improve if more men, particularly direct recruit sub-inspectors, are posted and additional vehicles provided to the existing police stations. Instead of requesting the Government for sanctioning more police stations, the top brass should seek additional staff and vehicles, they suggest.

If new police stations are opened, additional staff would be required for administrative duties and also the expenditure on establishment and infrastructure will go up. "If we have lesser police stations, the men who are used for sentry, court, warrant delivery and other duties can be utilised for law and order and crime work," suggests a DCP.

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