Every time there is a flood or natural disaster, photographs of policemen doing social service go viral. The hero worship soon begins, lauding them for selfless service. Every time there is a case of custodial death or excessive use of force, the entire department gets typecast in the role of the big evil villain in the society. As in the case of Robert Browning’s poem The Patriot, the entire police force gets roses and stones thrown at them alternatively.  

Now, the brutal custodial torture and murder of S Jeyaraj and J Beniks, too, allegedly committed by a handful of personnel, has earned hatred for the entire department. “It’s a shameful episode, no doubt. But, it’s unfair to treat all cops like villains,” say some policemen. “Extreme violence aside, a lot of our harsh behaviour stems from work pressure and the animosity we have to deal with,” say others. All of them seem to agree on one common point: policing without violence is impossible.   

Speaking about the multiple instances of suspects breaking their hands and legs during interrogation, allegedly after falling in bathrooms, a Chennai-based policeman justifies: “We do that only to ensure they don’t commit the crime again.” He says only such action will send a message. “Other criminals will take notice and the crime rate will come down.” The official claims these measures are taken keeping the public interest in mind.

“If a chain snatching accused is merely arrested, he will come out on bail and continue committing the crime.” But, what about acts of violence against the public, as in the case of the Sathankulam father-son duo or Velumayil’s son? Many of them blame the acts on their work pressure. “At times, I wonder why I chose this career,” says a policeman from Tiruchy. “After working round the clock for all these years, all we are left with is a bad name. It’s depressing.” The justification aside, it is a fact that policemen in the State are overworked, underpaid, and often treated badly by those above and beyond their ranks. 

Way back in the eighties, the National Police Commission recommended a fixed eight-hour working day for police personnel. However, Tamil Nadu is one of the States that is yet to implement this recommendation. “From making rounds to the courts to filing chargesheets, patrolling, investigating crimes, and visiting elders staying alone in the neighbourhood... there’s a lot on our plate. We cannot do it all within 24 hours,” says a policeman based in Chennai. 

“As per station records, we have 44 personnel. In reality, we are just 21. Most of the caseload is dumped on the lower-ranking cops such as us. Despite all this, if something goes wrong, our superiors get very harsh with us. It’s not like they are unaware. In most cases, they know what has happened, but the blame will only fall on us.” This constant work pressure has deprived many policemen of their sleep and family time, say those in force. That, further fuels the aggression.   

Recently, the Tiruchy range DIG relieved 80 personnel because they had “anger issues”. They were directed to undergo cognitive behavioral therapy for a month. They were all pulled up, according to sources, for being unnecessarily harsh with the public. A senior official in Tiruchy is of the opinion that there is a direct correlation between harsh behaviour and workload. “Many of them hardly get enough sleep,” he says. “Add to it the insulting words and behaviours of the superiors.” It’s a trickle-down effect. 

“When you ask one cop to do a work of ten personnel, he should be either well trained to do it or given extra facilities. Otherwise, it just adds to the stress of the individual, trapped in a ‘thankless job’ as described by many officials,” says M Priyamvadha, Associate Professor at Department of Criminology, University of Madras. She often takes sessions for police personnel and interacts with them for research journals. But, can the public bear the brunt of this stress? As a lawyer puts it: “Can a civilian go around inflicting violence and blame it on workplace stress?”       

‘Regulations needed’
Amid allegations that Friends of Police (FOP) had a role in the Santhankulam incident, officials have said implementation of better guidelines and regulations for such personnel is required. Speaking to Express, a police officer said, “According to regulations, FOP are volunteers who help the police in forming better relations with the public. However, most of them are persons who have been rejected at police selection. With a thirst for power, these people join FOP and try to replicate the men in khaki.

The government should bring in more regulations and do a background check to ensure that genuine people with good attitude are part of FOP.”  There is also a necessity to ensure a system of punishment and suspension for such persons if they are caught doing anything wrong. “If a policeman is caught doing something illegal, he/she will be suspended or reduced in ranks and sent to Armed Reserve. However, there is no such thing for FOP and many of them feel they can get away with anything. A better system to pull up those who commit mistakes should be brought in,” the officer said.  A few officials also opined that if any FOP is found guilty of committing any mistake, he/she should be transferred to a different station, away from his native. 

Who are they.....
Friends of Police (FOP) are volunteers who support  officers in every jurisdiction. This initiative was started by the DGP, CB-CID, Pratheep V Philip, when he was serving as Assistant Superintendent of Police in Kancheepuram  in 1991. Two years later, he was promoted as Superintendent of Police at Kanniyakumari, when the initiative was started full fledged. FOP aims at increasing awareness of crime among the people. A senior officer said, volunteers are identified in every locality by Inspector or Sub-Inspector and they give information to the police and, sometimes act as a bridge between the police and the public.“They are not paid and have other jobs as well,”said the officer.

(Reporting by R Kirubakaran, MP Saravanan, MS Thanaraj, Aravind Raj, Jayakumar Madala, Jayanthi Pawar and Sahaya Novinston Lobo. Written by Gokul Chandrasekar)