The Fifth Tamil Nadu Police Commission has called for stringent disciplinary against abuse of authority by police personnel, especially instances of verbal abuse, non-registration of genuine cases, foisting of false cases, wrongful detentions or arrests, brutal handling of accused, biased or unfair investigation and selective enforcement of law.
In its report submitted to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, the commission said all cases of custodial death must be acted upon immediately without loss of time. If the preliminary enquiry revealed prima facie evidence of custodial violence resulting in death, the case should be promptly handed over to the Crime Branch CID and immediate disciplinary/criminal proceedings initiated against the concerned police personnel.
SC guidelines on arrests
The commission, comprising a retired judge of the Madras High Court Justice C.T. Selvam and senior bureaucrats, both serving and retired, laid emphasis on the strict implementation of the arrest guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India in the Arnesh Kumar (vs) State of Bihar to reduce the number of avoidable arrests. Senior level officers should monitor the genuineness and necessity of arrests made by field level officers, on a day-to-day basis.
Elaborate guidelines or Standard Operating Procedure should be prepared and given to all officers from the ranks of Sub-Inspectors of Police and above for strict adherence to stop abuse of discretionary powers. ‘Police Discretion and Accountability’ should be made a separate discipline and part of training curriculum in the Police Training Schools and Tamil Nadu Police Academy.
The commission said complaints from victims of crimes regarding negligent or biased investigation should be thoroughly enquired into by officers of the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police. Instances of false implication of innocent individuals should be strictly dealt with. If the disciplinary authorities themselves were implicated in such activities, the CB CID should be assigned investigation of those cases.
In addition to the machinery presently available, the commission recommended that an overall supervisory body comprising a former Judge of the High Court, the Secretary, Home Department, the Director-General of Police/Head of the Police Force along with such number of members as considered appropriate be formed with powers to call for records relating to intra-departmental enquiries on corruption, review, remedial action, as also improvements from time to time.
Immediate disciplinary action
“Internal enquiries against abuse of power should be quick and follow-up disciplinary action immediate. Adverse reports received from the District Special Branch CID Detachments may be cross checked by the Chief Office (DGP/HoPF office) before taking action against the officer concerned to ensure that interpersonal rivalries between the field officers and SBCID officers do not vitiate the powerful mechanism that functions very effectively now.”
The commission said use of body-worn and dashboard cameras by police officers during enforcement activities in public places should be implemented forthwith. The technology has the potential to mitigate severity of confrontations which could lead to embarrassing behaviour or misunderstanding in public.
“Institutionalisation of a new culture to promote ethical standards and constant sensitisation of police force is the need of the hour. Honest and sincere officers should be rewarded and at the same time officers with shortcomings should be mentored at the highest level,” the commission’s report said.
Media management
The commission said the existing Public Relations wing may be upgraded as a ‘State Police Media Centre’ at the police headquarters under a senior police officer in the rank of an Inspector-General of Police to look after it in addition to his/her regular responsibilities.
The centre should be assisted by specialists from Information & Public Relations Department expertise in media relationship, on the lines of Kerala and other States, and become proactive to create a formal mechanism for interaction with the media, including social media users and the public.
“A comprehensive ‘Media Policy’ may be drawn up with guidelines for engaging with the media and enable proactive efforts to create positive image of the police. Police officials, including spokespersons, may be trained on effective media management skills, crisis communication strategies, etc.”
