Thread by @annajohn_18

(Thread) I worked 2 years on police reforms and I kinda get why this call for support is very difficult to act on.

The first question one is faced with is - "How?"

https://twitter.com/singh_prakash/status/1305376353827471365

The easiest answer someone working in police reforms in India can give would be to ask states to implement the guidelines by the SC in the 2006 Prakash Singh case.

But what are these guidelines we want states to implement?

On 22nd September 2006, the Supreme Court in its judgment gave 7 directives. This included setting up of bodies such as the State Security Commission, the Police Establishment Board, the Police Complaints Authority and the National Security Commission.

The SC also directed that DGPs should be appointed through a transparent process for a minimum tenure of 2 years.

It also directed that the 2 functions of the police - 1) Investigation and 2) Law and Order should be separate wings to ensure efficiency

This was all 14 years ago.

What has happened since? And why hasn't the police reformed itself according to what the SC directed them to do?

Or as an intern asked me in 2018, "How is this not contempt of court?!"

Ideally, non-compliance of a court order should be.

The SC, in this case, has kept the case pending and has had hearings where concerns relating to the implementation of the 2006 judgment is heard. The last hearing (according to SC website) happened on 12th June 2020.

So, if the citizens wanted to actively do something about improving police response, it could be to file a complaint regarding police misconduct before the State/District Police Complaints Authority (6th Directive of the 2006 judgment)

So, are they active in all states?

According to the 2018 report - humanrightsinitiative.org/download/15244… by CHRI, only 13 states have set up PCAs at both the state and district level.

The analysis stated that 6 states/UTs partially complied with the SC directive, and 22 were in non-compliance.

And from the observations of my colleagues, the actual hearings leave a lot to be desired. With the PCA taking almost as long as proceedings in regular courts to come out with its recommendations, which the judgment said "shall be binding", but most states clearly don't agree!

So, at the end of the day? How can you support police reforms?

I guess, you could start by demanding better policing. If it works out for you, let me know!

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