India’s Law and Order Matrix needs a reboot

Context: 

In the recently held annual All India Conference of Directors General/Inspectors General of Police, controversy surfaced over the management of certain issues as some aspects that were discussed found their way into the public domain which is seen as a departure from the past.

About All India Conference of Directors General/Inspectors General of Police:

• It is organized by the Intelligence Bureau and its deliberations every year, are presided over by the Director, IB, who is considered primus inter pares among the senior-most police officers of the country.
• The conference discusses a wide range of issues including Cyber Crime, Technology in Policing, Counter Terrrorism challenges, Left Wing Extremism, capacity building, Prison Reforms, among others. 

What is missing on the agenda?

• The proliferation of subjects up for discussion in recent conferences and the presence of increasing numbers of delegates to cover the various subjects leave little scope for any in depth discussion.
• India’s security threats are evolving with cyber crime, the dark web, crypto, maritime security, the threat from drones, and unchecked social media along with the presence of conventional threats such as left wing extremism, counter­terrorism, drug trafficking and border issues.
• Lack of adequate time to discuss these matters in detail tends to undermine both the quality of the debates and possible outcomes.
• The agenda, year after year, reflects the security-related problems of the country at the macro level. But the grass roots problems like policing issues, crowd management are seldom taken up or deliberated upon.
• The attention of most security forces in the country has essentially been devoted to ongoing threats such as terrorism, which has resulted in law and order management being put on the back burner. 

Way Forward:

• Demonstration of newer cognitive skills to meet the challenges posed. 
• Decision making in these circumstances needs to undergo fundamental changes.
• Understanding the psychology of agitating mobs and, in turn, making them realize the dangers of their own predilections is the skill that should be imparted during the training.
• Police forces must develop a different mindset, including that force cannot be the answer to every situation. 
• The nature of the security discourse should also focus on how to bring about changes in regard to intelligence techniques, investigative methodologies and improving the ground situation.
• Splitting the annual conference of DGPs/IGPs into two separate conferences : To discuss policy related issues and a separate conference to be held of intelligence and security specialists (IGs/CID) to discuss the finer points of methodology, techniques and acquisition of new skills for current and future problems. 

                                                                                                                                                           News Source: The Hindu

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