Policing In India Fails The Diversity Test

Faith in the police force is on the rise. But the treatment meted out to vulnerable groups is yet to be free from bias

- Shakeb Ayaz

The Indian police, which traces its origin back to 1843 and is still largely run on the British-era Indian Police Act, 1861, has been struggling to come to terms with India’s class, caste, gender, and religious diversities. The reasons for this may be due to a lack of training, sensitisation, and/or inherent personnel biases, according to the Status of Policing in India Report 2018.

High trust levels

We at the Common Cause and the Lokniti (Public Policy) wing of the Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies (CSDS), a research institute in Delhi, found contradictory claims among the respondents in the survey (ranging across 22 States in India), where people exuded high trust levels in the police despite fear of assault and implication. At least 44 per cent expressed fear of being beaten, 38 per cent were afraid of being falsely arrested, 38 per cent feared false cases, 29 per cent of women feared being sexually exploited, 54 per cent personally experienced police brutality, and 51 per cent believe the police discriminate on the basis of class (as high as 73 per cent in UP and Bihar). Despite such negative opinions, 69 per cent exuded high trust levels and 65 per cent claim high satisfaction levels toward the police.

Despite citizens’ awareness about police brutalities, trust and satisfaction in the police could be viewed in terms of a prevailing “nationalistic” environment in India

Policing behaviour