Law and disorder: States must spend more on adequate police forces

The latest reports from the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) underline the poor state of India’s security-governance architecture, a grim reality that hits people in general the hardest. The report revealed vacancies in over a fifth (21.35 per cent) of state police forces. Among them, 10 states had a vacancy rate of more than 25 per cent (as on January 1, 2023). No surprise, perhaps, the highest vacancies figure in states that are reputed for poor law and order. For instance, West Bengal had a vacancy rate of 39.42 per cent against the sanctioned strength, the highest among all states and Union Territories. Mizoram comes next with 35.06 per cent and Haryana, which figures among the top 10 states in terms of reported crimes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), comes in at third (with 32 per cent). Uttar Pradesh has a high vacancy rate of 29 per cent. Bihar, which does not figure among the top 10, though the state’s reputation for lawlessness is legendary, has a vacancy rate of 26 per cent.

 

Globally, India remains one of the most under-policed nations. The United Nations (UN) recommends 222 police strength per 100,000 people. India scores 154.84 against the sanctioned police persons of 196.88 per 100,000. Advanced countries like the United States and nations comprising the European Union had an even greater strength of police persons per 100,000 — 351 and 344, respectively. When combined with the large numbers of vacancies and concurrent massive backlog of court cases, especially in the lower judiciary, it is fair to say that India’s criminal justice system largely fails its people.

 

Under-policing is not just a serious and obvious risk for public safety, especially for vulnerable sections, it has implications for small businesses. Yet, this is a largely overlooked issue among the factors contributing to the ease of doing business. It has become something of a trend among larger states to hold investor summits and similar jamborees offering elaborate programmes and schemes to entice prospective investors. Some chief ministers have even travelled to the World Economic Forum, in Davos, to garner foreign investment. Efforts such as these tend to focus on large corporations, which usually gain preferential access to the state’s security apparatus or the wherewithal to safeguard their investment. But in most states, it is small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that provide the critical mass of business and manufacturing activity. Their contribution to the Indian economy is significant; collectively, they account for over 60 per cent of employment in India and 46 per cent of exports.

 

Greater spending on and attention to basic governance requirements could well help a state achieve the kind of investment boost without necessarily resorting to business summitry or expensive foreign tours. Investing in an adequate, well-equipped, and well-trained police force would have the added salutary effect of encouraging more enterprises to hire women without incurring the extra cost of providing for their security, a factor that has contributed to the low participation rate of women in the workforce. The correlation between law and order and socioeconomic progress is too compelling for state administrations to neglect.