Capacity building, tech needed to tackle crime rates: Chidambaram

Union home minister P Chidambaram today said adequate force should be provided to man police stations in the country and there should be provision for funds with matching technology to tackle crime rates.

"To confront crime, every police force requires adequate number of police personnel. By March 2010, there were 400,000 vacancies in all police stations in the country. It is not as if we cannot find 400,000 personnel. The reason is not far to see," he said after inaugurating a three-day International conference on 'Global Community Policing conclave'.

The reason is that in many states, finance ministers are loathe to allocate funds to police and it is the "residue" allocated to them, he said, adding there is need to make up deficiencies in the police force.

"Unless we marry technology and police, police personnel will remain far behind law breakers," he said.

So much intelligence information is pouring in and there is need for analyse the same to keep pace with time, he said, adding that this area has unfortunately been neglected.

In the name of innovation, the concept of community policing should not be trivialised, he said, adding that there were both good and bad examples of community policing.

Cautioning community police personnel to be on guard against 'self-styled' leaders, he said they should not abdicate their responsibility.

Citing examples, he said the 'Salwa Judum' movement in Chhattisgarh where young men of the community were given arms to counter serious internal threats and in West Bengal, where political party cadres had been armed to counter threat of Maoists are two bad examples of community policing.

"Police cannot abdicate their responsibility for private militia," Chidambaram said.

The 'Janamaitriyi Suraksha Project in Kerala and Delhi's 'Eyes and Ears' were good examples of community policing, which had helped crush crime rates, he said.

Community Policing is an exercise in trust which can be built only through partners who are equal. Police today is required by community as much as community requires police.

The community is more than elected representatives in municipalities, legislatures and Parliament. 'Beware of 'self appointed leaders', he said, adding usually they are those who have gained a place in the system and work it to their personal advantage.

The conclave was attended by police personnel from 42 countries.

Chidambaram said community policing is an exercise in trust, which can be built only among equal partners. It is important for community policing to address the requirements of neighbourhood and go beyond it, he said.

"If there is a feeling among the Islamic community in India that police is trying to be anti-muslim...if that sense is being led by an incident here or there... whatever you do in your local community cannot ease that," he said.

"We know the great danger done when a centuries old mosque was demolished. It has taken many years to heal that wound and it has not healed even now."

In a pluralistic society, there is a need to reopen new dimensions of community policing and expand the definition of community, Chidambaram said.

"It is a matter of concern and regret that people regard police in most parts as 'us and them'. There is a divide between police and people, which must be overcome," he said.