Constables get trained to be investigators, a first in Delhi
NEWDELHI: To deal with the shortfall of investigators in Delhi Police and ensure quicker disposal of cases, a total of 100 constables of south-east district are being trained to become investigating officers (IOS).
This is the first time Delhi Police is assigning investigation responsibilities to constables, Chinmoy Biswal, deputy commissioner of police (south-east), said. Until now, head constables and officers above were tasked with case investigations.
Of 2.36 lakh cases registered last year, over 40% are pending investigation, according to police statistics. Adding to the burden were the 1.42 lakh pending cases carried from previous years.
Separating investigation from law and order duties at a few police stations in every police district did help the force dispose of a total of nearly 2.74 lakh cases last year – its best performance until now. But the police said more investigators were required to work on cases.
Of the 81,392 personnel with Delhi Police as of January this year, 36,113 are constables, 18,554 head constables, 17,000 assistant sub-inspectors, 6,287 sub-inspectors and 1,572 inspectors. This means that only a little over half of the police’s strength is eligible for serving as investigating officers, but even that doesn’t actually happen.
This is because nearly 15% of the force is deployed on protecting VIPS and a large number is deployed at pickets or behind desks. As a result, assistant subinspectors and officers above them are routinely left with dozens of cases. Often, many investigators simultaneously handle over a 100 cases each.
In Okhla Industrial Area police station for example, only 23 of available 108 police personnel are used as investigating officers. The pending cases, which also include the ones accumulated over previous years, is 719, which means that each IO has to investigate 31 cases on an average.
Police said constables with a graduate degree and at least 10 years of services are eligible for this position. On Friday, the first batch of 45 constables completed their 75-day training and were welcomed into the fold.
“Many head constables who were promoted from constables have studied only up to class 10 and are not confident of investigating a crime. We keep them away,” said a senior officer.
In the training that took place at Delhi Police’s specialised training unit, the 45 constables were taught about the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and local and special laws.
“They were imparted training in practical aspects such as examining a crime scene, lifting and packing of exhibits, filing a charge sheet and attending court proceedings,” said Biswal.
Biswal said nearly one-third of all the 100 constables selected for training were post graduates and their education would come handy if given the right training
To begin with, these constables will be assigned investigations of vehicle thefts and online FIRS, which constituted a large number of the more than 2.36 lakh crimes reported last year. These cases also were also the ones with a poor crack rate.
DCP Biswal said while the number of crimes rose (6% higher in 2018 than in 2017) due to the facility of free and online registration of cases, the number of investigating officers were far fewer than required.