Context: 

The annual All India Conference of Directors General/Inspectors General of Police was held recently.

                     Image Source: DD News

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

• Annual Feature: This conference of the Directors General of Police is an annual feature.
• Organized by: Intelligence Bureau 
• Coverage: The conference discusses a wide range of issues including:
  •  Cyber Crime, Technology in Policing, Counter Terrrorism challenges, Left Wing Extremism, capacity building, Prison Reforms. 

What is missing on the agenda?

• Lack of In-depth discussion: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.
• Checking evolving threats: 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.
• Grass root issues remain unresolved: 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.
• No attention on Law and Order: 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:

• Greater Innovativeness: The emerging challenges would require greater innovativeness and agility as well as a demonstration of newer cognitive skills to meet the challenges posed. Hence, decision making in these circumstances needs to undergo fundamental changes.
• Focus on Training: 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.
• Mindset: Police forces must develop a different mindset, including that force cannot be the answer to every situation. The police forces must mirror the kind of society we live in today.
• Security Discourse: 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.
• Separate Conferences: 
  • Splitting the annual conference of DGPs/IGPs into two separate conferences : a higher level conference of DGPs/IGPs 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