Even though it has been functioning over the last two years, the final reports of the authority had been kept on hold in the absence of a chairman. The government plans to reconstitute the authority, but until then the State remains without this body. Pertinenetly, the constitution of the SPCA is one of the seven directives laid down by Supreme Court that States should have followed in bringing about police reforms.
In was in 2006 that the Supreme Court had laid out certain directives for the Centre and States to follow to bring about changes in the police system. There are seven directives, which includes constituting a State Security Commission (SSC) that will ensure that there is no undue influence exercised by the State over the police, nor has it separated the investigation from the law and order functions. The SSC is meant to ensure that the State remains away from exercising unwarranted influence on the police, include ensuring that the Director General of Police is appointed through merit based process. The other directives were ensuring that police officers on operational duties have a minimum tenure of two years; separating the investigation and law and order functions; setting up a Police Establishment Board (PEB) that will decide on transfers, postings, promotions; setting up a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) at the State level. The seventh directive was setting up a National Security Commission (NSC) at the Centre. Goa still awaits most of these reforms with only the SPCA having been set up, which today has become defunct with the promise that it will be reconstituted soon.
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It is only when these reforms come about that the police department can be truly said to be independent. Why is the government delaying this?
On the other hand, Goa is set to get two new police districts, a decision that was announced last month. While that may be good news for the department, one of the reasons that the Chief Minister, who is also the Home Minister, gave for setting up the additional districts would not be music to the ears of the men and women in khaki. “With the overall security scenario and the upward crime graph there is a need to increase police districts in the State of Goa,” Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant had said explaining the need or the new districts. Besides this, he had also cited the upcoming international airport at Mopa, the expansive industrial estates as well as the long coastline as reasons for setting up the new police districts. Perhaps yes, these are also reasons for the augmenting the force, but it is not often the that a chief minister admits that the crime graph is rising. Sawant has done so, and since he is the Home Minister, he should also accept responsibility for the rise in crime.
The creation of two additional police districts with a Superintendent of Police heading each, is expected to enable better and effective control over law and order, and the prevention of crime. Yet, for policing in the State to improve it requires more than two new districts, which for starters will be an additional administrative burden on the State. What is required are bringing about the reforms in the system that are already long overdue. The government does not even have to plan what is required, all it needs to do is follow the guidelines of the Supreme Court on the issue. There is no reason to delay this.
