New Delhi: A recent study commissioned by a central police research body under home ministry has found that out of a requirement of 22 lakh police personnel at various police stations across the country, only 6.75 lakh are actually deployed there.
The study, commissioned by the Bureau of Police Research & Development has flagged the inadequate deployment of police personnel at the police stations insisting that the sanctioned manpower for the police was “woefully small”.
The 22 lakh sanctioned posts for around 15000 police stations across the country, is also on papers only as the last head count of policemen indicated that there were 5 lakh vacancies in the state.
Tthe study, while arguing for reducing the burden on the personnel, said, “This ratio is highly unsatisfactory, given that a police station is the cutting edge of policing”.
The study that backed a 60% increase in police personnel across the country was led by Retired IPS officer Kamal Kumar. He told Hindustan Times that if the numbers were anything to go by, day-to-day policing had clearly been relegated to the background by the police forces, which were too busy fire-fighting.
In cities such as New Delhi, Kumar — who has pushed for 8-hour shifts for the police personnel — said VIP security and extensive law & order duties further compound the problem. And then, there is the traffic department, police control room, armed police, and the numerous special cells that are set up for focused attention.
