Starting October 3, The Morung Express is publishing a series, “101 Things You Wanted To Ask About the Police but Were Too Afraid To Ask,*” an easy guidebook published by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) on knowing the police better. The questions 19-26 in the series are given below:
What are the different ranks in the police?
The Constable is at the lowest rung of the ladder. From here the ranks move up to the Head Constable (HC), Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Sub-Inspector (SI), Inspector (IP), Assistant/Deputy Superintendent of Police (ASP/DySP), Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl SP), Superintendent of Police (SP), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Inspector General of Police (IGP), Assistant Director General of Police (ADG) and finally the Director General of Police (DGP).
What is a beat constable?
No, it is not a Constable who beats you! Just so you know, no policeman is allowed to use force with anyone except if they are resisting arrest or trying to escape. A beat police officer is called that because he has a regular specific area or route which he patrols - sometimes with another police officer - to check if everything is in order and nothing suspicious is going on. On night patrols the police will sometimes call out or bang their lathis to indicate that he is on his rounds.
Do all police officers do all duties?
No. Specific duties are assigned to every police officer from the level of a Constable right up to the level of the DGP. These duties are listed in the police manuals of every state. A junior officer cannot perform those duties assigned to his senior. For example an SI cannot do a duty assigned to an SP. However anything that can be done by a lower ranking officer can be done by a senior ranking officer as well.
What is the CID?
CID means the Criminal Investigation Department. This is sometimes called the special branch or the investigative branch. They are the investigative agency of the state police. They are called to investigate serious crimes like fraud, cheating, gang wars and crimes that have interstate implications.
Is the CID different from the police?
No. CID personnel are selected from within the police officers themselves.
Can a traffic police officer arrest me for offences other than a traffic crime?
Yes. A traffic cop is simply a police officer who has been assigned traffic duties. If he sees you committing any crime he can arrest you just like any other policeman can or like any private citizen can.
Who is in charge of the police force?
There is one chief of all the police in each state. He is called the Director General of Police or DGP for short. He is the top man. But even the DGP has to report to the government. His boss is the Home Minister in charge of the Home Department in the state or at the Centre.
Why should the DGP have to report to any minister?
Every government has a duty to make sure that each one of us feels safe and secure and does not have to worry about his life, the well-being of his family or his property. The government gives this duty to police. So, the police have to report to the government about how they are doing their job.
In turn, the government also has a duty to the public to make sure that the police are honest, fair, and efficient and do their work only according to the law and not according to what they feel they want to do.
(To be contd…)
Source: *Written by Navaz Kotwal and Maja Daruwal, the contents of the book are reproduced here with permission from the CHRI. To know more about CHRI visit: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org
Check the last week questions here: http://morungexpress.com/chris-things-you-wanted-to-ask-about-the-police-but-were-too-afraid-to-ask-4/
