We need 54,000 more personnel, police tell HC
MORE MANPOWER Cops face criticism for increasing crime rate in city, court asks L-G Najeeb Jung to forward request to Centre at earliest
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it has demanded 54,000 additional personnel from the Centre to strengthen its existing capacity for better policing in the capital.
The police force, which has an effective strength of about 84,000 personnel, has been facing criticism for rising crime in the city, particularly those against women. As per Delhi police’s official website, as of August 15 this year a total of 1,397 rape cases has been registered, an increase from last year’s 1,352 rape cases for the same period.
Delhi Police told a bench of Justices BD Ahmed and Justice Ashutosh Kumar that it has forwarded two letters to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung containing various proposals to increase its manpower by 53,959 additional personnel.
It said that a high level committee of senior police officers had on July 27 held a meeting where a decision to enhance the strength of the force was taken.
The bench, which is hearing a public interest litigation initiated by it for women’s safety and recruitment of additional police in Delhi after the December 16, 2012 gang rape case, asked the counsel representing L-G Najeeb Jung to forward the proposals by the police to the Centre and listed the case for further hearing on September 14.
Delhi Police has been struggling to bring down the police to population ratio which is currently at around one officer for every 241 citizens. It had told the court that the benchmark for police to population in urban areas was 1:227.
Earlier, a Delhi police report showing high acquittal rate in crime cases against women, children and elderly, had led the high court to blame it on lack of adequate man-power in the force, and “shoddy investigation” due to lack of proper scientific techniques in criminal investigations.
Later, it was informed that for separation of crime investigation and law and order duty, the Centre has already sanctioned 4,227 posts.
These posts will be operationalized in two phases — 50 per cent in 2016-17 and remaining in 2017-18.