Top cops mull over ‘day off’ policy implementation

DETAILS STILL AWAITED In the absence of proper guidelines, there’s confusion among senior police officials on how to execute the idea

While a day off a week is normal for most working people, for cops, it’s easier said than done. Top cops of the state are in a fix over the implementation of the day off policy for non-gazetted police personnel (constables, head constables, sub-inspectors and inspectors) that was promised by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

With no detailed plan or circular in place, senior cops are considering the proposal to enforce a roaster plan for implementing the policy at the police station level. “A similar practice was enforced in two districts of the state. On the same lines, alphabetical roasters at police stations will be prepared to provide day offs to cops,” said a senior IPS official.

“The entire force at a police station will be divided into 10 parts. For instance, if there are 100 personnel at a station then every day 10 will be on leave, in alphabetical order of their names,” he explained, adding that there was no other way to provide offs to the cops.

He emphasised that the term ‘day off ’ should be replaced with ‘rest day’ in case of cops. “It’s a day to take rest at home. The cop should not leave the district at any cost, as they could be called for duty in case of any emergency,” said the officer.

He shared that while the rest day plan was to be made effective from September 1, it was likely to be delayed as there were no clear circulars issued on the subject so far.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Lucknow, Manzil Saini told HT that the district police had not received any order or special guidelines on providing day off to police personnel. “We are expecting detailed guidelines by the director general of police (DGP) headquarters on the issue. The plan will be chalked out accordingly,” she stated.

The CM’s tweet on August 25 about providing day off to cops made police personnel very happy but the delay in issuing a proper circular on the subject has also raised apprehensions among many. “We were really happy when the CM tweeted about day off for cops. DGP Javeed Ahmad also tweeted the same.

However, no government order or circular is being issued on it,” said a sub-inspector posted at a city police station.

Another sub-inspector said that his wife and children are delighted after coming to know that he would get a rest day after every 10 days.

“It will be really a big relief to be able to sleep for extra hours, have a good time with family, visit the market or go watch a movie,” he said, adding, “The rest day will help us reconnect with our friends and family.” ‘DAY OFF WILL IMPROVE COPS’ BEHAVIOUR’

Getting a day of rest periodically will decrease stress in cops, improve their behaviour with public, increase job satisfaction and motivate them to do better. These remarks were made by Prof Himanshu Rai of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow. “Getting a day off will give them time to interact with their families and other non-Khaki clad people,” he said. Rai and IG Navniet Sekera had experimented with providing weekly offs to police personnel in Lucknow. The three-month trial was conducted at Gomti Nagar station around three years ago.

Talking about the experiment, Rai said that in the absence of a day off, cops experienced problems like high stress level, lack of motivation, absence of job satisfaction and abundance of negative feelings. The trial showed that the police personnel mostly interacted with negative people like criminals and antisocial elements while performing their duties. “Interaction with negative people makes one negative,” Rai emphasised. He said that cops’ interaction with family and friends would help develop feelings of sympathy and understanding in them. “It will improve their behaviour with the public,” added Rai. CONTINUOUS DEMAND

Ever since the formation of the Samajwadi Party government, cops have continuously been raising the demand for day off. Trials were carried out in some districts but the decision had to be withdrawn due to shortage of police personnel. Governor Ram Naik had also appealed to the state government to introduce offs for cops during the annual police day in April.

Giving an impetus to this demand is a study that was conducted by the bureau of police research and development (BPRD). Its findings disclosed an increase in cases of police atrocities and bad behaviour due to long working hours and no periodic offs. The BPRD had urged the state government to introduce offs for police.