Rural Cops In India
Watch TV To Improve Their Skills
Hoot Editorial Team
A police officer in Vadodara arranges for his men to watch
the Discovery Channel¿s Medical Detectives while they are on duty. He
thinks it amounts to informal training that will improve their knowledge of
forensic methods and their skills in gathering evidence.
The Discovery Channel in India is highly gratified.
It received a letter earlier this year from a senior superintent of police in
Vadodara Distrct in Gujarat, who told them that for two years he has been
putting the schedule of Medical Detectives on the police wireless on the
days that the programme was aired. He wanted his policemen to see it. Now he
had arranged for the police stations in his district to get colour TV sets, and
on the day that these were to be dedicated he wanted the channel to fly down
someone to screen Medical Detectives.
Following up this story led to a heart warming tale
of individual initiative in using media to enhance police skills. Keshav Kumar,
who is now SP of Vadodara Rural says it began two years ago when he was
Superintendent of Police at Junagarh district. "I used to watch this
programme and I thought, why shouldn¿t my men also see it. So I used to send out
a message on police wireless on those days. I did that for a year and a half
and then in January this year I was transferred to Vadodara. I started doing
the same, but when I checked I found that the police stations did not have
television."
Kumar says he thought television had the potential to
enhance the skills of the policemen in his range. There was a manufacturer of
TV sets in his area. So he got permission from the Director General of Police
in his state, negotiated with the manufacturer, and arranged for the purchase
of 54 sets for the 18 police stations under his charge, as well as the police
outposts that come under the jurisdiction of these stations . The money
required---Rs 4.19 lakhs--- came out of the police welfare fund.
What is TV supposed to do for the cops? They can
watch these special programmes, as well as news about the law and order
situation, he says. "My concept goes to the basic root---our policemen are
not adequately trained. After their basic training they seldom get enough in-service
training. In any case formal training is boring. Watching useful programmes on
TV is informal training. Without any stress you can simply sit there and
see." He adds that the concept of forensic training for policemen is not
adequately there.
Having acquired the TV sets Kumar thought of
organising a seminar on the occasion of their dedication. While the programme
shows the use of equipment not available to Indian policemen, Kumar got the
director of the forensic lab at Ahmedabad--- which he says has the reputation
of being one of the best equipped in the country---to come down to his district
and conduct a half day seminar on the use of forensic techniques in
investigation. At hand to benefit from this were some 150 cops of various
ranks, from the Additional Director General in charge of training to inspectors
from Kumar¿s rural range. From 9 am to 1 pm on the 3oth of May they were
lectured on how forensic methods can help investigating cases involving drugs,
explosions, arson, and murder.
In the afternoon the Channel screened an episode of Medical Detectives and a promo of their upcoming series New Detectives. This series too reconstructs how research and scientific advancements help resolve difficult cases. As a follow up to this TV-for-better-skills initiative, this police officer is deploying the resources at his command to make the most of the new TV sets. He has acquired a CD player which is substantially cheaper than a VCR and plugs into TV, to show a