Chapter-II

 THE CONSTABULARY

Head Constable And Constable As Viewed By The 1902 Commission

2.1            The Police Commission of 1902-3 entrusted the charge of police stations to the cadre of Sub-Inspectors and held them responsible to handle investigational work with the Head Constable and Constables under them playing a supporting role only. The Head Constables' duties, according to that Commission, were to—

(i) Command a police party detailed for guard, escort or similar duty;

(ii) hold charge of an outpost established for the protection of the public, but not as an investigating centre;

              (iii) attend to clerical work in the police station;

              (iv) conduct simple investigations;

              (v) hold charge of the police station in the absence of the Sub-Inspector; and              

(vi) generally assist the Sub-Inspector in police matters.

The duties of the Constable, as propounded by that Commission, were limited to

(i) escort, guard and patrol work;

(ii) making arrests (under limited powers);

(iii) suppression of disturbances (under orders); and (iv) regulation of traffic and the like.

2.2            As quoted in the previous chapter, the 1902-3 Commission had categorically stated that the Constables "should never be themselves entrusted with the investigation of offences or the performance of other duties of a similar responsible character, though the investigating officer may avail himself of their assistance under his direct supervision and orders". Even the Head Constable was not to be entrusted with investigational work except "simple investigation". The thrust of the recommendations of that Commission was that the Head Contables and Constables should not be utilised for duties requiring the exercise of discretion and judgment; such duties were expected to be handled only at the Sub-Inspector's level or above.

2.3            The principle that investigational duties shall invariable be handled above the level of Constable, was also reflected in the then Code of Criminal Procedure in which it was specifically laid down that the duties of an officer in charge of a police station-which include investigational duties enjoined on him by law-can be performed in his absence by a police officer next in rank to him present at the station provided he is above the rank of Constable. The same principle is repeated in the present Code-Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.                                                                          

2.4           Police manuals in different States have also embodied the same principle while detailing the duties of Head Constables and Constables. For example, the Andhra Pradesh Police Manual mentions the primary duties of Head Constables as below :

(i) Supervise the work of the Constables and see to their instructions, catechism and drill;

(ii) Perform any duties allotted to him by the station house officer whom he will accompany on investigation when required;

(iii) Be in charge of the guard or escort when deputed on such duty including treasury and sub-jail guard;

(iv) Visit all the villages in the station jurisdiction at least once a quarter;

 (v) Check all beats, particularly night beats twice a week;

(vi) Attend to court work under the orders of the Station House Officer;

(vii) Investigate simple cases when deputed by the Station House Officer under Section 157 Cr.P.C.;

   (viii) Conduct enquiries into beat complaints;

(ix) Perform clerical work of the police station;

(x) Assume charge of the police station in the absence of Sub-Inspector and be in charge of an

outpost, but not to record the FIR of cognisable offences; and (xi) Maintain order in sessions court during a criminal trial.

2.5            The duties of a Constable, according to the same manual, are to—

(i) carry out the instructions given by the Station House Officers and other superiors in regard to the duties assigned to these ranks;

(ii) be in charge of the guard at the police station in the absence of the Head Constable;

(iii) perform beat duty in both urban and rural areas;

(iv) save human life and protect property during outbreak of fire;

(v) evacuate people from the affected area during an epidemic;

(vi) be courteous and considerate to the public; and

(vii) maintain a note book in which should be noted the details of properties lost, descriptive particulars of wanted persons and other important matters which they have to remember.

2.6            The emphasis in the police manuals of most of the States is on the fact that the Constable should not be allowed to go about his Jurisdiction without specific instructions and whatever is to be done by him should be limited to the type of duties already mentioned and he should always be covered by specific instructions in doing any particular act. In other words, these manuals do not visualise an independent, positive role for a Constable to show his initiative or react to a situation on his own assessment and judgment thereof. He has been groomed in the existing police system to be an obedient, mechanical functionary, mostly acting in compliance of a specific order from his superior officer and not doing anything positive on his own initiative and judgement.

2.7          With enormous changes in police tasks, both qualitative and quantitative, as described earlier, the police system cannot afford to continue the same policy regarding its Constabulary, who form about 90 per cent of the strength of the police force in sheer numbers, and whose quality in performance really determines the over-all impact of the police system on the public. The growing compulsions and pressure of police work will continue to make a large number of police personnel, particularly at the level of Head Constables and Constables, interact face to face with the public in a variety of situations. Head Constables and Constables can no longer afford to function as mere automatons, recruited, trained and developed mostly to perform duties of a mechanical character.

Analysis of Duties Currently Done by Constables

2.8           We set up a small study group in the Commission to determine the quantum of different types of work currently being done by the Constables in police stations. The group made a sample survey of a few police stations in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Delhi and prepared a detailed analysis of duties being actually performed by the Constables. Statistical data for analysis were collected after a detailed discussion with the Constables to ensure accuracy of the basic material collected. This study group's report shows that the duties now performed by Constables can be itemised under 24 different headings, some of which are mostly mechanical in character, some are a combination of mechanical duties with duties requiring application of mind and exercise of judgment and the rest are duties which require considerable initiative and exercise of discretion and judgment, besides interaction with public. The categorisation of different duties is indicated below :

 (1) sentry duty

(2)  escort duty

(3)  dak duty

(4)  drill and parade                          These duties are mostly mechanical in nature and

(5)  orderly duty                                     may be referred to 'C' type duties

(6)  messenger duty

(7)  arms cleaning

(1)  night patrol

(2)  surveillance                      These duties involve a combination of mechanical duties

(3)  licence check                  with duties that require application of mind and exercise

(4)  conducting raid                     of judgment. They may be refereed to as 'B' type duties.

(5)  attending court                   extreme courtesy, politeness and proper attitude

(6)  imparting training

(7)  service of summons/execution of warrants

(8)  motor vehicle driving and       wireless set operation

(9)     miscellaneous other duties

(1)  day patrol

(2)  traffic control and regulation            These duties involve initiative, exercise of

(3)  inquiry into complaints                       discretion and judgment and also interaction

(4)  collection of intelligence                       with public with due regard to the need for

(5)            assisting investigating officer               towards them. They may be called 'A' type duties.

(6)  bandobust during VIP visits

(7)  bandobust on other occasions        like fairs, festivals, etc.

(8)  clerical work in police station.

Analysis of the data collected by the study group shows that, excluding the time spent on travelling and brief rest at intervals while waiting at the police station during change of duties, the average percentage of a constable's time spent on the three types of duties is— 'A' type          ...          49% 'B' type          ...          37% 'C' type          ...           14%

It is significant that 'A' and 'B' types of duties which require exercise of discretion and judgment form as much as 86% of the duties currently being done by the Constables. Even among them, 'A' type, which requires interaction with the public, claims 49% of the Constable's time.

 Bihar Police Commission's view

The Bihar Police Commission of 1961 had observed :

"A constable should be expected to exercise his discretion and assume responsibility. In all progressive police forces, every constable is a live unit of the force, and thus the constabulary forms a solid corps. It has been stated by many that constables who are recruited and trained to work like automatons generally act as a drag on their officers and the force. The Commission desire that a constable on the beat should be responsible for maintaining the public peace, for protecting the life and property of the citizen, for preventing crime, for arresting offenders and for properly enforcing all laws of which the police have to take cognizance. He should perform his duties intelligently and efficiently and should hold himself in readiness at all times to answer to the calls that are made on him. He should know every one living in his teat and he should always be readily available to give help whenever any legitimate assistance is needed. Above all, he should work, behave and act like an officer. The force and the people should also be ready to show him the necessary courtesy and consideration due to an officer. The Commission visualises that a few amongst them may rise to senior posts and they have now given them the necessary avenue of promotion which may even take them to the highest ranks." (Para 208)

We are in entire agreement with the Bihar Police Commission in their assessment of the Constable's role as it ought to be in our system.

 Study Groups' reports

2.11         Reports of the State Study Groups which have gone into this matter at our instance also show awareness of this situation. We would like to quote from the report of Madhya Pradesh State Study Group in particular, which has observed that the cadre of Head Constable and Constable is "most frequently seen by the public in beats, bandobust duties, fairs and festivals and in courts and police stations. Unfortunately the wage scale of this cadre has been equated with unskilled labour for historical reasons. The police, therefore, attract only a very unsatisfactory kind of candidate who has not been able to get any other job. A police force composed of such poor specimens of humanity cannot rise very much above the lowest common denominator of its constituents and the effect on the quality of police service provided to the people is disastrous, to say the least". The Maharashtra State Study Group has stated that "almost every body whom the Study Group had met were emphatic that unless the emoluments and service conditions of the subordinate staff were improved and better personnel recruited, no improvement in the police system would be possible". During our tours in States we found unanimity of view among different cross sections of the public that the emoluments and other service conditions of the lower ranks in the police, particularly the constabulary, require immediate and substantial improvement for achieving efficient police performance.

 Law and the Constable

2.12           The basic criminal laws of the country make no distinction between Head Constable/Constable and the higher ranks in regard to the exercise of police powers in many situations, excepting investigations. The Police Act of 1861 on which the present police system is based prescribes the duties of all police officers as under :

"It shall be the duty of every police officer promptly to obey and execute all orders and warrants lawfully issued to him by any competent authority; to collect and communicate intelligence affecting the public peace; to prevent the commission of offences and public nuisances; to detect and bring offenders to justice and to apprehend all persons whom he is legally authorized to apprehend, and for whose apprehension sufficient ground exists; and it shall be lawful for every police-officer, for any of the purposes mentioned in this section, without a warrant, to enter and inspect any drinking-shop, gamblinghouse or other place of resort of loose and disorderly characters".                        (Section 23)

"It shall be the duty of the police to keep order on the public roads and in the public streets, thoroughfares, ghats and landing-places, and at other places of public resort, and to prevent obstructions on the occasions of assemblies and processions on the public roads and in the public streets, or in the neighbourhood of places of worship, during the time of public worship, and in any case when any road, street, thoroughfare, ghat or landing-place may be thronged or may be liable to be obstructed". (Section 31)

According to section 25 of the same Act, "It is the duty of every police officer to take charge of all unclaimed property, and to furnish an inventory thereof to the Magistrate of the district". Under section 34 of the same Act, it is lawful for any police officer to take into custody, without a warrant, any person who within his view commits eight different types of offences which are described in that section. Under section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, any police officer may, without an order from the Magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person who falls under any of the nine categories mentioned in that section. Under section 151 (1) of the same Code "a police officer knowing of design to commit any cognizable offence may arrest, without orders from a Magistrate and without a warrant, the person so designing, if it appears to such officer that the commission of the offence cannot be otherwise prevented." Head Constables and Constables derive their powers of search, seizure, arrest etc. under the above provisions of law in common with all police officers. These powers cannot be fairly and justly exercised by a functionary if he is recruited, trained and oriented for performance of duties of a mechanical character only. They require a mature mind which is capable of analysing the merits of a situation and assessing the nature and quantum of executive action called for by that situation and what is more, the requirements of law and procedure. In other words, even under the existing law of the land a Constable is expected to exercise certain powers which demand the application of a mature mind and exercise of judgment.

 Educational level of Constable recruits

2.13           Appreciating the changed situation and its implications for the role of Police, the Committee on Police Training (1972) concluded that—

(i) "Police officers should acquire a high degree of professional competence and be fully aware of the means whereby science and technology can help in police work.

(ii) They must develop a clear understanding of the social purpose of their activity and a sensitivity to the trends and forces at work in the environment in which they have to act.

(iii) They must develop attitudes in consonance with the concepts of social justice contained in the Constitution and the development programmes with particular reference to the weaker sections of the community, including the poor, the minorities and the Scheduled Castes/tribes."

(Para 21 Chapter IV)

The Committee recommended, among other things, "that the High School examination or its equivalent should be the minimum educational qualification for the recruitment of Constables both in the unarmed and the armed branches of the police uniformly throughout the country. The effort, however, should be to '   attract candidates with higher educational qualifications" (para 29 Chapter VI). Consequent on this Committee's recommendations, the minimum educational qualification for recruitment to the rank of Constable has now been raised to Matriculation/SSLC in many States. Even otherwise, we noticed that in the recent years the educational level of new entrants to the Constable's work has been steadily rising. For example, among 2182 persons recruited as Constables in 1976 in Tamil Nadu, 1133 were Matriculates and 63 were graduates. In the same State there were 1395 matriculates and 973 graduates among 2883 persons recruited as Constables in 1977. In Orissa, 76 Matriculates and 4 Intermediates joined the force as Constables in the first batch of 1976. In the second batch, 116 Matriculates, 13 Intermediates and 1 graduate were recruited. In the third batch, 143 Matriculates, 20 Intermediates and 3 graduates were recruited. The number of graduates that have joined the Delhi Police as Constables in 1976, 1977 and 1978 are 36, 41 and 52 respectively. We found one Constable in Delhi Police currently doing his Ph.D !

2.14             The promotional structure within the police system is not conducive to the fulfilment of the legitimate career ambitions of the constabulary. With the system of direct recruitment at the level of SubInspector and the relatively meagre number of Sub-Inspectors' posts compared to the vast numbers of the constabulary, a large majority of the Constables retire as Constables without even one rank promotion in entire career. No system can remain healthy if such a large chunk of its personnel vegetate and waste out after working for nearly 30 years in the same rank at which they entered the system.

2.15            The pay structure of the Constables puts them at a low level compared to other workers handling similar or less onerous jobs in other sectors of Public life. The constabulary, who themselves have no trade union rights, frequently stand out for long hours day after day doing bandobust and maintaining order, during a strike situation arising from trade unionism in industrial centres. Quite often the demands of the striking labourers include an upward revision of their emoluments which, the Constables know, are already much higher than what they themselves get. The grim irony of this situation has its inevitable impact on the Constables' mind and morale and makes them feel thoroughly dissatisfied and dejected with their lot.

2.16           The growing tendency of criminals to resort to violence in the commission of crimes has rendered the police job much more risky and hazardous than before. Quite a number of police men get killed or injured seriously in the discharge of their duties year after year. In the period from 1963 to 1969 the average number of policemen killed or injured per year were 97 and 3118 respectively. In the period 1970-77, these figures were 120 killed and 2438 injured per year. In 1978, the figures were 53 killed and 906 injured till the end of June. Most of the casualties have been from the ranks of Constable/Head Constable.

 Constable in the revised set up

2.17          Having regard to the changed needs of policing the country and the importance of making the Constable function as a responsible functionary with due sense of values, discretion and judgment in _his interaction with the public, we feel that the existing system should be immediately changed to achieve the following objectives :—

(i) The constabulary should no longer be treated as a cadre meant only for duties of a mechanical character as visualised by the 1902 Commission. They should be so recruited and trained that they could be deployed also on duties involving exercise of discretion and judgment, with due regard to the paramount need for securing public cooperation and understanding in any situation.

(ii) They should be able to assist the Sub-Inspectors in inquiries and investigational work in a positive and purposeful manner.

(iii) They should pick up experience of such work over a period of 5 or 6 years and be in a position to handle investigational work independently and rise to the level of Assistant Sub-Inspector and upwards by promotion.

(iv) The promotional structure within the police system should be radically revised to permit a smooth and quick promotional flow from the rank of Constable. It should be possible for a Constable to rise by promotion to higher ranks-even the highest-by showing his worth in the performance of police tasks.

2.18          In the revised set up a Constable would thus be looked upon as a potential investigating officer who could be entrusted with higher responsibilities in field jobs as he picks up experience and rises further by promotion on the basis of his performance at each level. A Constable on beat duty has to be sensitive to many things that happen around him and has to be oriented to discharge that role. He has to be watchful of the shady character while being helpful to the needy and poor. His prompt and adequate response to any small development in a law and order matter should be effective in preventing further escalation of the situation. Timely action at his level should obviate the need for more aggressive action by the police force at a later stage. The crux of efficient policing, in our view, is the effective and amiable street presence of a well qualified, trained and motivated Constable.

2.19          However, the present position of the Constable is a far cry from the position described above. A job analysis conducted by the National Productivity Council has shown that the working hours of the subordinate police officers range from 10 to 16 hours every day of seven days in a week. A recent computerised survey conducted by Tamil Nadu Police has shown that an average Constable works for 14 hours every day without any respite. Long and arduous hours of work without facilities for rest and recreation, continuous employment on jobs under extreme conditions of stress and strain, both mental and physical, prolonged stagnation in the same rank without even one rank Promotion throughout their service for a majority of them, constant exposure to criticism and ridicule by a demanding public, a totally inadequate pay structure with no compensation for the handicaps and privation they undergo in their jobs, low status and lack of involvement in planning and executing field jobs with a full understanding of the objectives set by the police organisation, etc., have all had their telling effect on the morale of the .constabulary throughout the country. The increasing educational level of the Constables-a trend noticeable in the recent years-has sharpened the edge of their frustration with their existing lot within the police system. During our visits to several police stations and discussions with the constabulary, their highly demoralised state was strikingly noticeable. They have nothing to motivate them into meaningful and positive performance of police tasks with a full understanding of the implications and objectives of police action. They function as automatons in situations where they are required to exercise their discretion and judgment. They function rigidly in circumstances which require flexibility of approach and understanding of the opposite point of view. We are convinced that mere changes in their training schedule will not bring about the necessary improvement in their motivation or performance unless some serious deficiencies in their living and working conditions which have long been neglected are immediately taken up and remedied. We consider this exercise to be of primary importance in any attempt at police reform and we, therefore, proceed to make recommendations in their regard in the following chapters.