Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), New Delhi & Police Reforms Watch (PRW), Mumbai demand better policing for a safer Maharashtra is not an option anymore. Citizens of Maharashtra will judge the government and the politicians on this when they vote in this State elections.
Maja Daruwala, Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative said, “The UN recommends one police officer for every 450 citizens. Maharashtra has a shortfall of 23,776 officers. Even if every sanctioned post were filled there would still be only one officer for every 618 citizens. By contrast Delhi has one officer for every 251 citizens.”
Dolphy Dsouza, Convenor, Police Reforms Watch said, “There are 10 police personnel for each person designated as a VIP in Maharashtra. 812 police personnel guard 84 VIPs. No doubt the orderly system of having subordinate policemen in the exclusive service of seniors eats up another significant number. Can this be an acceptable level of police planning?”
Governments have a fundamental duty to keep people safe. But the crime graph is growing all the while. Atrocities against Dalits are on the rise, with over two thousand cases registered in 2013. Women are the victims of crime – endlessly. The police are blamed but the distortions in recruitment manpower and deployment mean that policemen on operational duties do double and triple shifts without the necessary forensic or legal knowledge to win the war on the streets. Better policing for a safer Maharashtra is not an option any more. It is a necessity. A beginning must be made.
