Shifting the focus of police training

The arrogance and tyranny that typifies police behaviour is a more acute issue than the corruption in the force

Training alone cannot prepare police recruits for the challenges they are bound to confront on the streets. Does it mean that training of police personnel carries a limited impact? If the answer is yes, then what should be done?

While newly recruited talent in different ranks is always open to new ideas and enthusiastic about bringing change, the policing culture in Pakistan is so rigid that the young recruits’ enthusiasm gradually dilutes. Policing here primarily involves on-the-job learning. Police training is primarily focused on physical aspects and the rest of the time is allocated for law-related subjects, thus skills required for effective policing are often compromised. To give an idea of the current state of affairs, it is important to note that in upper school police courses, out of a total of 1,050 marks, 500 are allocated for law-related subjects and in the lower school police courses 350 out of 730 marks are allocated for these subjects.

Training should not break the inner personality of the trainees. Rather, it should strengthen their inner passions. In our context, we primarily focus on physical aspects of training, and consequently undermine the trainees’ psychological inner self. ‘Fatigue’ is a popular term often used in our police training schools. Recruits are exposed to activities that lead to intense fatigue on a daily basis, subduing their inner passions.

Tense law and order situations can sometimes lead to policemen losing control of their emotions and failing to make right judgment calls when it comes to the use of force or firearms. This can lead to such situations transforming into acute political issues. In this regard, the Punjab police’s policy to employ psychologists in training institutes is praiseworthy. The assessment of psychologists can prove to be helpful in selecting the right person for the right job. Attitudinal change requires that recruits are treated in a humane manner, which can ensure that when they pass out from academies, they become courteous professionals ready to serve the public.

Currently, the training of junior officials is based on an outdated colonial model that primarily injects a militaristic mindset, compromising conflict management skills, as well as skills involving interviewing, interrogation, evidence collection, the use of technology, intelligence gathering and crowd management. When terrorists receive their training, they are given clarity regarding their mission and targets. This is something lacking in the training provided to police personnel. To infuse clarity regarding the police’s mission, roles and responsibilities, police training institutes need to review their curriculum, as well as their recruitment and promotion policies along with the kind of training provided to the trainers themselves.

Article 8(g) of the Police Order (PO) provides inspiration for the establishment of a dedicated “education and training” branch. However, majority of police departments still employ a colonial training apparatus. Article 27 of the PO empowered inspector generals and district police officers to regulate the affairs of training institutes but this aspect has remained a neglected area. Article 160 mandated the establishment of an 18-member police management board to advise the federal and provincial governments on matters related to training, but this body is also yet to prove its worth.

By merely providing uniforms and hosting recruits for a few months in a rigid, restricted environment, we have failed to produce dedicated, honest and law-abiding cops. In Pakistan, there are only 17 training institutions for 453,901 police officials. Compare this to the US where 650 training institutes are operating for 1,133,915 police employees. In India, there are 215 police training institutes.

The recent initiative of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police to establish schools of investigation, intelligence, tactics, public disorder management, explosives handling and joint police training centre is commendable. It should be noted that in military training institutions, the best instructional staff is hired. On the contrary, police training institutions are regarded as dumping grounds for those who are not required in the field. Army Chief General Raheel Sharif and former army chief General Asif Nawaz Janjua have headed the Pakistan Military Academy. This shows the significance the Pakistan Army attaches to the training of its soldiers.

The duration of police training courses is often too long and strenuous, leading to considerable exhaustion for the trainees. Also, prior to initiating training programmes, there is no assessment of the needs and possible impact of the training. Ideally, a training strategy should only be devised after proper assessment. One of the prime reasons for the poor professionalism of the police is that training is rarely synchronised with contemporary challenges of law enforcement. The police training curriculum is usually designed by those police officers who do not have a lot of knowledge about the dynamics of curriculum-making. The situation warrants that the assistance of researchers, donors, psychologists and academicians are sought in this area; otherwise, the police leadership will continue to wander in the island of self-praise and the public will be the ultimate sufferers. The only national police academy in the country has a central planning and training unit, however, other training facilities are yet to establish such units.

While the media, judiciary and the democratic process have educated and empowered the public vis-à-vis human rights, the police has hardly done anything to learn about the ways the emotional needs of victims and complainants should be handled. Without adequate training, a policeman can become an instrument of tyranny. The police needs to understand that a professional investigator is not required to flex muscles but rather to use his intellect.

After imparting initial basic training, the police management should look to promote specialisation. Every police officer should be trained in the areas of public dealing, communication and firearm use to drive proficiency. They should also be equipped with the skills to deal effectively with victims, media, societal dualism, aggression and stress. Despite being a poor country, we still hire drivers, and wireless and computer operators. In the developed world, on the other hand, every policeman is simultaneously a driver, a wireless and computer operator, and a first responder. The motorway police has already copied this model and is utilising its human resource in an optimum manner. While the training college of the motorway police is still in its embryonic stage, the force has satisfactorily transformed its training modules which are of international standards. The motorway police has proved that negative police conduct can be changed with improved training and work station ecology.

There is a need to standardise the number of mandatory training hours that police officers are required to undertake. In 1973, the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals recommended that every state should require all sworn police employees to complete a minimum of 400 hours. In our context, however, in-service trainings are imparted after long intervals. If we want an attitudinal change and build the capacity of the police, there needs to be standardised, goal-oriented and continuous training. Without positive changes in the training curriculum, quality and environment, the image of the police cannot be improved.

The arrogance that often typifies the behaviour of the police is a more acute issue than the corruption in the force and this can only be cured with persistent attitudinal counselling. To bring a positive change in policing culture, the police management should start behaving more like executives than commanders and consider their subordinates as partners.

I am confident that once the best talent of the police service starts heading police training institutes, the quality of service delivery and the image of the police will improve manifold.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2015.

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