CHANDIGARH: The police personnel in Punjab hanker for power, Self-rewards and recognition and are insensitive, besides being least Concerned about their public image.
A recent study conducted by D. Singh, who heads the social sciences section at the Police Training college, Phillaur, has gone into the behavior pattern of the police perBonnel. It could help evolve priority areas in the training of the Punjab Police for the future.
The study brings out that competitiveness with standards of excellence, desire to increase self- regard and successful exercise of talent among the policemen de- creases as they move up from the rank of constable to that of DSP. Three hundred constables, 180 Non Gazetted Officers and 75 Gazetted officers of the rank of DSP were chosen for the purpose of the study. They had varied service tenure and were given a questionnaire and asked to comment on issues like rape, murder, power, equation, disobedience, interrogation and promotion. Expectations of impersonal rewards like money, favor and protection were also found to be high. The need for power among police personnel was indicated by heavy drinking, aggressive impulses, forcing others to follow diktats and to carry out ones’ own will despite resistance. The emotional aroused to the word ‘murders’ and ‘rape’ decreased with the increase in the length of service among the ranks.
The study found that on average. the police personnel showed concern when they came to know that they had wrongly hurt somebody only during their first year of ser- vices but as the length of service increased, the concern became very less. This loss of concern may be due to continuous expo- sure to the third degree methods which are most prevalent in the police.
“The police personnel lead a tough life and often face dangerous situations and they become emotionally less responsive to dreadful things which may be shocking to an ordinary person.” explains Singh.
The love for promotion was found to be high in the ranks of Constables and NGO’s but it decreased in the case of Gazetted officers. More police personnel seek re- ward and recognition only in the beginning of their service. This may be due to the imbalance which develops in absence of proper re- ward and punishment. Lack of proper appreciation on the part of the séniors creates negative feelings in the mind of policemen which lead to many behavioral short-comings.
The study has also pointed out that there is an absence of fear of judicial courts which, in turn, may be due the short-comings in the judicial system.
The study found that the police personnel become more power- seeking in the early stages of their career. However, as they near the retirement age, their emotional arousal decreases, may be, because they start visualizing the post retirement period with no authority wasted in them.
It pointed out that the decrease in emotional arousal may be due to the fact that the police personnel were not much concerned about their image in the eyes of the public. This feeling proved harmful in building a healthy police public relations, the study concluded.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 9, 1994
