Everyday, we come in contact with the police - busy with their many duties regulating traffic, guarding VIPs, controlling crowds, escorting people to court, giving evidence, filing complaints at the police station or taking on criminals and militants in the field. We also hear a lot about the police - through the papers and TV and by word of mouth and everyone has an opinion about the police, often not at all flattering. But in reality, most people know very little about them. In our democracy, the police are not agents of the government in power put in uniform to suppress the people and keep them under control. Rather, they are, much like the fire brigade or revenue services, an essential service which by law has the duty to protect and safeguard every one of us. Like the bureaucrats, the police are public servants paid for by citizens and in their service. Just as the police have a duty towards us, the people have a duty towards the police. As responsible citizens it is not enough to fear and dislike them or to go to them only when in difficulties. People and police have to work together to uphold the law. It is important to understand their work and challenges, what they do and how they do it, what their organisation looks like and the limits of their powers and duties. It is also important for us to know our own rights and duties so that no one - neither police nor civilians - can break the law and get away with it. This is what the rule of law means. Starting today, The Morung Express will be publishing a series “Things You Wanted To Ask About the Police but Were Too Afraid To Ask,” an easy guide to knowing the police better. The above introduction and contents for the series is taken from the book titled, “101 Things You Wanted To Ask About the Police but Were Too Afraid To Ask,” written by Navaz Kotwal and Maja Daruwala and published by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), and reproduced with permission. CHRI is an independent, non-partisan, international non-governmental organisation, headquatered in New Delhi, India, working for the practical realisation of human rights across the Commonwealth. Its objectives are to promote awareness of and adherence to the Harare Commonwealth Declaration, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other internationally recognised human rights instruments, as well as domestic instruments supporting human rights in member states. 1. Why do we have a police force? We have a police force to provide citizens with a sense of safety and security. The police are there to maintain peace and order in society as well as prevent and detect crime. They are there as the law enforcers - to make sure that everyone, including the police force itself, follows the law at every step. 2. What are the police supposed to do? The police force has several duties: it must prevent and control crime, and detect and investigate it properly whenever it happens. It must also prepare an honest evidence-based case for the prosecutor to present at court. The police force has a responsibility for maintaining overall law and order and, for this purpose, also gathers information about what is happening in and around the community it serves. (To be continued...) Source: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI). To know more about CHRI’s initiatives and activities, visit http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/content/chri
