CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION

Overview
In this chapter an attempt has been made to enlighten the
details relating to statement of the problem, review of literature and
methodology of the study.

Statement of the Problem

The problems of big cities pose numerous complicated
problems for the Police Administration. Law and order problems develop
rapidly and arise frequently in urban areas because of the existence of
various organized groups such as students, labor, white color workers,
all concerned in a small area. As the service and facilities such as
housing and transport are far from adequate, there is a struggle for the
available services which create points of friction. The regulation of
normal traffic in big social gatherings demands bandobust duty. The
expression of dissent and dissatisfaction through various types of
processions and morchas take place in cities where Government offices
are located and where members of Government live. Thus bandhs are an
urban phenomenon. The existence of a large floating population and
presence of gullible rural migrants, give rise to crimes involving cheating,
confidence tricks, etc. Large population and heavy densities increase
anonymity. The flow of large cash in the handling of business through
banks, cinema houses, and major retail outlets increases the temptation
as well as the opportunity for crime. Some forms of urban crime also
seem to have gained a measure of social acceptance. The prevalence of
black money, corruption and large scale racketeering in drugs, drinks

1
and women seem to be accepted an unavoidable evil. On the other hand,
urban areas are also characterized by much greater awareness of the
rights of the citizen. Offences against person always draw excited
attention. Public opinion is vocal and there is a vigilant and active press
and these put pressures of Police for improved behavior and better
performance.
It is obvious that in urban areas Police should be fully
equipped to act promptly and effectively should have an intelligence
organization to collect information on crime, criminals and other related
matters, should have the capacity to undertake various duties relating to
security and should have the means to take effective preventive and
regulatory action to ensure order in the urban society.
Therefore, the Police administration in big cities should be
principally different from rural administration in view of diversity in
Police problems in magnitude and character. In this study an attempt to
analyze the organization of the Commissioner of Police System with
reference to Chennai City and how far it is able to cope up the problems
of law and order and crimes in Chennai City.

Review of Literature
Review of literature is a significant part of any research.
The investigator acquires information about what has been done in the
field of study, gather up-to-date information about previous researches
in the area and obtain information on the topic of investigation. A
familiarity with available literature in the area of research is required for
making new grounds and the proper designing of the study. Review of
related studies further avoids duplication of the work that has already
been done in that area. It also helps the investigator to study the various
aspects of the concept in its multi-dimensional perspective. The scholar
has reviewed some of the literatures on the topic Police with the above

2
objectives in mind. A number of scholars have written books and
published articles on Police Administration and Criminal Justice System.
A concerted attempt to compile a history of the Indian Police
was made on the occasion of its centenary by the Indian Police Journal
in the years 1959 to 1961.1 In the special issue brought out on this
occasion by Semiti K. Chatterji in, ―The Police in Ancient India‖2
described the ancient system and showed how the present system had
its roots in the organization for the maintenance of peace and order in
ancient times.
Adwani Nirmala, H., in her work titled ―Perspectives on
Adult Crime and Corruption‖ has pointed out that with an
understanding of the culture and behavioural patterns of the people
around, the Police will enable the people to maintain law and order
situation more efficiently. This is according to the sociological theory,
which maintains that crime is the result of various social elements
operating in the social environment. These elements are culture, social
control, primary and secondary groups, social process, socialization,
social change, social disorganization, status, role and personality of the
individual.3
S.U. Ahmad, in his work titled ―Probation India: Journal of
Social Science and Reconstruction‖ has opined that the prevention
and control of crime is the basic duty of the Police. They are designed
and established for this purpose. Hence Police, in the most common
meaning of the term, is a body of trained men who are organized to
maintain public order, preserve liberty and make life and property of the
citizen secure against assault, burglary, theft and the depredations. Here
it is highly important to note the observation made by Joseph Lehmen
about the Police officer as the symbol of the impartial authority of society

1
Indian Police Journal 1959 to 1961.
2
Semiti K. Chatterji, The Police in Ancient India.
3 Adwani, Nirmala, H, Perspectives on Adult Crime and Corruption, Abinav
Publications, New Delhi, 1978.

3
while Ahmad, former DIG of Police of UP, has concluded his study on
Police in a welfare state that the only way to control crime is to secure
public co-operation. Thus, for the Police it is an art and a fine art to
handle a Criminal sympathetically and properly. But in many cases the
causes are unsympathetic and cruel treatment to a man by the Police,
economic distress and lack of facility to find healthy employment and
peaceful vocation.4
An important milestone in the administration of law and
order has been the ―Report of the Indian Police Commission of 1902-
1903‖. This is a very valuable document in as much as it consolidated
and improved upon the process, which had been initiated by the First
Police Commission. The Second Commission‘s findings, based upon
exhaustive enquiries, have relevance to-day because of the distressing
fact that the current sense of dissatisfaction with the maintenance of
order and the poor image of the Police has much in common with the
state of affairs which prevailed seventy years ago in an entirely different
socio-political context. Clashes between District Magistrates and
Superintendents of Police had already been frequent, but since it was
necessary to retain the control of the former over the latter, the
Commission rejected also the suggestions that were made to them for the
amalgamation of the Indian Police with the Indian Civil Service for the
purposes of the recruitment examination.5
B.N. Mullik‘s work titled ―World’s Great Policeman‖ is well
known in this country for his distinguished service as a senior police
officer and as a writer of repute. His book is a valuable contribution on
Police administration. In the present book the author makes an
assessment of seventeen individuals connected with law and order or the
police operations and have attained certain amount of eminence (or even

4 Ahmad, S.U., Police in a Welfare State, Probation India: Journal of Social Science and
Reconstruction, No.3. July, 1957.
5 Report of the Indian Police Commission, 1902-1903.

4
odium) because of their achievements. As Shri Mullik says in his preface,
an attempt has been made ―to analyze the lives of these policemen of
history and find out what were the qualities which made them great and
along with that to give short descriptions of the organizations which they
set up.‖ He divides these policemen into two categories, viz., those who
made history and those who were leaders and pioneers.6

Barnes, Harry Lemer and Teeters K. Negley in their work

titled ―New Horizons in Criminology‖ have said that the Criminal
justice system recognizes that the efficiency of the legal machinery
depends basically on the quality of the initial work done by the Police.7
Bent, Alan E. and Rossum, Ralph A., in their work titled
―Criminal Justice and the Community‖ have pointed out that the
Police roles are primarily determined by three factors; societal norms;
mores and influences; the individual Policeman‘s discretion; and the level
of urbanization of society. Society‘s norms and mores are consequential
for Police roles because a particular society or culture will incorporate
into its legal structure what it views as proper Police jurisdiction. With
regard to the extent of commitment of the Police to the community, the
breadth of Police roles includes among Police responsibilities such things
as the creation and maintenance of a felling of security in the
community, the resolution of conflict, the protection of constitutional
guarantees and the helping of those who cannot care for themselves.8
K.K. Bharadwaj, in his book titled ―Indian Police
Administration‖ has analyzed in detail the relevance of Police
Administration in India ranging from the Police Act of 1861 to the

6 Mullik, B.N., World‘s Great Policeman, New Delhi-Ludthiana, Kalyani Publishers,

1978.
7 Barnes, Harry Lemer and Teeters K. Negley, New Horizons in Criminology, Third
Edition, Prentice-Hall of India Private Ltd., New Delhi, 1966.
8 Bent, Alan E., and Rossum, Ralph A. Police, Criminal Justice and the Community,
Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1976.

5
present. He has pointed out the evil of political interference in Police
Administration and has suggested certain measures to check it.9
H. Brocoy Dorothy in her work titled ―A functional
Approach to Police Corruption‖ has assigned eight explicit functions to
the phenomenon of Police corruption. Three of these are intimately
connected with the preservation of a Police sub-culture that is quite
distinct from others in a society. The existence of a Police sub-culture is
well documented. Its principal characteristics are usually described as
intense peer-group feelings of solidarity, a cynical attitude towards many
of the laws which the members of the subculture are required to uphold
and towards many of the people they are obliged to protect, and a feeling
of alienation from the rest of the community. The sub-culture and the
values and behaviour of its members are usually described in terms of
the nature of the Police role in society and the defensive attitude of the
Police towards the outside world. Bracey again analyses the functionality
of corruption in order to explain how it helps to maintain those features
of the sub-culture.10
Chandrasekar, in his book titled ―Juvenile Delinquency in
India‖ has stated that in India it was found that urchins were destroying
public properties like street bulbs, buses, school property, and so on.
Moreover theft was also prevalent among them. Sex offences of juveniles
were practically absent in India. And clear-cut gang activities were not
very common in our country.11

Charles D. Hale in his book titled ―Fundamentals of Police

Administration‖ has mentioned that few Police administrators have
attempted to apply the principles developed in the social sciences to the

9 Bharadwaj, K.K., Indian Police Administration, National Publishing House, New Delhi,
1978.
10 Brocoy, Dorothy, H., A functional Approach to Police Corruption, The John Jay Press,

New York, 1976.

11Chandrasekar, Juvenile Delinquency in India, Daya Publishing House, Delhi, 1987.

6
problems of Police Administration, even in the face of ample proof of
relevance and applicability. It explains the crucial issue of Police
Administration and the democratic process and also the general
principles of organization and the management function with particular
relevance to the Police have been examined. The author identifies the
principal weakness of the traditional Police organizational structure and
talks of humanism in the Police organization. He examines the scope and
nature of training in their wider perspective to ensure proficiency and
community rapport. His suggestions include planning, research
programme evaluation, productivity improvement and management by
objectives. It certainly makes a significant contribution to the study of
Police Administration in a scientific manner, based on theory and rooted
in experience, which the author has successfully conceptualized.12
R. Coffey, Alan, in his work titled ―The Prevention of Crime
and Delinquency‖ has opined that the increasing trend of urbanization,
a characteristic of every modern society, has great influence on the
conditions and on Police-community relations. Not only do the
congestion and the poor living conditions found in some urban areas
tend to breed crime, but the anonymity fostered by large cities often
leads to citizen apathy. An indifferent public that fails to support law
enforcement dooms the efforts of the Police successfully to prevent and
control crime. Police-community relations have a direct bearing on the
character of life in the cities and on the ability of the community to
maintain stability and solve its problems. At the same time the ability of
the Police Department to deal with crime depends in large part on its
relation with the citizenry. The basic functions of the Police according to
Alan R. Coffey are prevention of crime, detection of crimes that have been
committed, identification of the person or persons responsible for crimes,
apprehension of person or persons responsible for crimes, detection of

12Charles D. Hale, Fundamentals of Police Administration, Holbrook Press Inc., Boston,

1977.

7
the suspected offender or offenders for processing by the judiciary and
presentation of evidence to the prosecutor.13
Curray, J.C., in his work titled ―The Indian Police‖ has
traced the growth of the Indian Police and furnishes a comprehensive
overview of the organization at work in relation to various changes to law
and order in those times. He has analyzed the organization and working
of the District Police in the provinces ruled by the British Company. The
author offers shrewd observations on the relationship between the
District Police and the magistracy as typified by the interaction of the
District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police.14
Das Gupta in a paper has explained ―Insurgents Involved
in Drug Trafficking‖ that in the Indian context, several investigators
have mentioned that drug addiction has been spreading alarmingly
because of its easy availability, due to India‘s position as an important
transit point for illicit drug traffickers.15
Dutt in a paper has observed ―Intelligence Bureau:
Government of India‖ that juvenile delinquency was rapidly becoming a
serious menace in India and with the progressive industrialization of
many parts of country, which were essentially rural areas until a few
years ago. This problem would soon assume the same proportion as in
many of the western countries.16

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in its reports ―Crime

in the United States‖ has reported that crime in the United States since
World War II has been upward. The rates for both violent and property
offences have been rising rapidly. In the year 1960, there were

13Coffey, Alan, R., The Prevention of Crime and Delinquency, Prentice Hall Inc.
Englewood, New Jersey, 1975.
14Curry, J.C., The Indian Police, Manu Publications, New Delhi, 1976.
15Das Gupta, Insurgents Involved in Drug Trafficking, Link, New Delhi, 1988.

16Dutt,
G.C., Intelligence Bureau: Government of India, Seminar on Social Defence,
March 1965.

8
approximately 161 violent crimes per 100,000 people. In the year 1980,
the violent crime rate increased to 581 crimes per 100,000 people.
Property crimes also have increased at a similar large rate. Thus the
trend in crimes shows that, with increase in population, crime rate has
increased.17
T.N. Ferdinand, in his book titled ―The Criminal Patterns of
Boston Since 1949 ― has analyzed the criminal statistics from Boston,
Ferdinand argued that changes in both socio-economic structure and
Police behaviour brought about the gradual, but steady, decline in major
crime. He argued that the gradually rising standard of living experienced
by people in Boston during the entire period reduced crime associated
with economic distress and social disorganization. He observed that a
decline in the wave of immigration from Europe to Boston corresponded
with the decline in criminal arrests, and he attributed this
correspondence to the social assimilation of immigrants. He also argued
that the Police began to ignore common assault thereby greatly reducing
known crimes recorded through arrest.18
George B. Vold in his book titled ―Theoretical Criminology‖
has referred to group behavior theories, which centre on crime as an
aspect of group phenomena in which the particular characteristics of
specific individuals may be quite incidental.19
Ghosh, S.K., in his book titled ―Indian Police at Cross
Roads‖ has surveyed the dynamics of the current scene and discusses
the impact of the changing society, of public prejudices and distresses, of

17Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States, Government Printing

Office, UCR, Washington, 1980.

18Ferdinand, T.N., The Criminal Patterns of Boston Since 1949, American Journal of
Sociology, 73, 1967.

19Vold, George B., Theoretical Criminology, Oxford University Press, New York, 1958.

9
judicial process of politics and of undisciplined behavior in general on
the working morale and future of the public force in the country.20
Gupta in book titled ―Measures Against Drug Trafficking―
has remarked that drug use has been increasing in India specially in
Punjab due to the close relationship between drug smuggling and
secessionist movement in Punjab as well as due to the emergence of
India as the main transit point for international heroin trade. In a report
published by Lokshaba secretariat in 1998, it is found that the excessive
amount of non-medical drug smuggling has been increasing in India
since the middle of the eighties.21
Hendelang in an article has compared the ―Race and
Involvement in Common Law Personal Crimes‖ race of arrested
robbery, rape and assault offenders derived from Uniform Crime Report
(UCR) data with descriptive racial information about offenders derived
from victim‘s descriptions of offenders collected in the 1974 National
Crime Survey (NCS). He found that the percentage of offenders classified
as ―White‖, ―Black‖ and ―Other‖ were identical for robbery. For rape,
aggravated assault and simple assault, black offenders were over-
represented by about ten percentage points in the UCR arrest data
compared with the NCS victimization survey. The study shows that for
the offence of robbery, Police statistics can be used in the confident
expectation that a large number of the patterns found in them will be the
same as the patterns found in victimization data.22

20Ghosh, S.K., Indian Police at Cross Roads, Eastern Law House, Calcutta, 1975.
21Gupta, Measures Against Drug Trafficking, Yojana, May 1988.

22Hendelang, M.J., Race and Involvement in Common Law Personal Crimes, American
Sociological Review, 43, 1978.

10
 Horne Peter, in the book titled ―Women in Law
Enforcement‖ has explained in detail the evolution and the role of
Women Police in the United States of America.23
Mandal in a Survey Report has found that ―A Survey on the
Incidence of Drug Addiction in the Rural and Urban Areas of West
Bengal with Reference to Demographic Variables‖ the total number of
heroin addicts in West-Bengal during 1988 were 1,92,626 persons, out of
which 1,54,403 persons belonged to the urban areas, among them as
many as 68,158 persons were residents of Calcutta. In fact, the City has
gradually become a den of drug – peddlers.24
Maureen E. Cain‘s seeks to examine that ―Society and the
Policeman’s Role‖ the author calls ‗The Policeman‘s World View‘ with an
enquiry into Police behavior in terms of role pressures and the
community. The analysis is sharpened by a detailed exploration of the
Policeman‘s inter-dependence with his family, his senior officers and his
colleagues.25
Mitra in his book titled ―Juvenile Delinquency and Indian
Justice System‖ has conducted a study on juvenile delinquency in West
Bergh at macro level in the year 1977. He has found that, 50% of
delinquents belonged to the age group 18-21 yrs. Income-group
composition revealed that out of 6617, juveniles, apprehended on various
charges, were as many as 4965 persons. Most of the juveniles came from
families having income of less than Rs.150 per month. Economically
backward people had no other option but to send their children to odd
jobs for earning their own livelihood. Generally 3650 persons of the
juvenile delinquents had no formal education. And 5808 juveniles were

23HornePeter, Women in Law Enforcement, Charles C. Thomas Publisher, U.S.A., 1975.

24Mandal, J., A Survey on the Incidence of Drug Addiction in the Rural and Urban
Areas of West Bengal with Reference to Demographic Variables, Published by Social
Welfare Department, Govt. of West Bengal, 1988.

25MaureenE. Cain, Society and the Policeman‘s Role, London and Boston, Rutledge &
Kegan Paul, 1973.

11
new offenders. This research reveals that children are usually compelled
to commit offenders due to subsistence.26
National Crime Record Bureau in its report Statistics of
National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has pointed out that Tamil Nadu
in India continued to enforce effectively the Special and Local Laws (SLL)
against juvenile offenders and reported highest number of cases (3,891)
in the country. Of the total reported juvenile SLL cases in the country,
75.5 per cent were registered in Tamil Nadu.27

Nikhil Jaiprakash Gupta in an article has reported that

―Police – Community Collaboration for Solving Women’s Problem –
Sindhudurg Model‖ in Maharastra state, number of rape and
kidnapping cases have remained around 1300 and 750 respectively per
year. Number of cases under dowry death reduced from 471 in 1995 to
395 in 1999. Cases under cruelty by husbands and relatives also showed
a slight decline over the years, while cases under Dowry Prohibition Act
increased with exception in the year 1999. It was important to note that
Maharastra contributed significantly higher so far as crime against
women was concerned in India.28
O. Glenn Stahl and Richard A. Staufenberger, in their book
have provided a comprehensive treatment of the subject of Police
Personnel Administration starting from a discussion of the organization
for Police Personnel Management.
Pandurangan, K., in his book titled ―Women Police in India,
Centre for Rural and Urban Studies‖ has traced the development of

26Mitra,Juvenile Delinquency and Indian Justice System, Deep and Deep Publications,
Delhi, 1988,

27NationalCrime Record Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New

Delhi, 2000.

28Nikhil
Jaiprakash Gupta, Police – Community Collaboration for Solving Women‘s
Problem – Sindhudurg Model, The Indian Police Journal, 48, Dec. 2001.

12
women policing in India prior to 1977. This book attempts to study some
of the key problems involved in employing Women Police in the Police
Department and the problems involved in recruitment, promotion,
training and conditions of service of Women Police.29
Pattanaik in an article has analyzed ―Rape in India, A
Multidimensional Perspective, Indian Journal of Criminology‖ the
incidence of rape along with estimated year population in different States
and Union Territories of India. He showed that Madhya Pradesh had
3518 incidents of rape as against 760.1 lakhs population, which was
considered as the highest in the year 1997; followed by Bihar and
Uttarpradesh 1457 incidents each, Rajasthan 1255, and Maharastra
1246. But so far as the reported cases are concerned, Mizoram is highest
with 6.0 cases followed by Madhya Pradesh, 4.6 and Delhi, 3.5. He
observed that maximum number of rape victims belonged to the age
group of 16-30 years. Secondly, the rape against children was increasing
very fast. Thirdly the maximum number of arrested persons in rape
cases belonged to the age group of 16-30 years. Fourthly it was
interesting to observe that the victims and offenders belonged to the
same age group in 16-30 years. Fifthly the rate of conviction was very low
in comparison to the cases reported and taking into consideration the
violent nature of the crime.30

Pre-Independence literature on Police or Law and Order

Administration is comparatively scanty. The Bombay City Police 1672-
1916 (1923),31 Crime in India (1924)32 by Edwards S.M., and Crime in

29Pandurangan, K., Women Police in India, Centre for Rural and Urban Studies,
Madurai, 1983.
30Pattanaik, J.K., Rape in India, A Multidimensional Perspective, Indian Journal of

Criminology, 29, 2001.

31Edwards, S.M., The Bombay City Police, 1672-1916, 1923.

32Edwards, S.M., Crime in India, Oxford University Press, 1924.

13
India (1930)33 by Cecil Walsh highlight the achievements and the failures
of the Indian Police during the period with which they deal.
Raghavan in an article ―Figures in Crime‖ has observed that
crimes in the urban areas are quantitatively different from that of semi-
urban and rural areas. Moreover, he also identifies crime prone cities in
India. Out of 23 mega-cities, Delhi has the highest share of urban crime,
followed by Mumbai and Bangalore. Interestingly, he focused in Tamil
Nadu Coimbatore outstripped Chennai.34
Ram Ahuja‘s book titled ―Violence against Women‖ is the
result of a study on spatial pattern of 94 rape cases – 56 from Rescue
Homes and Women‘s organization in three cities of Jaipur, Ajmer and
Kota, 21 from court and Police records, and 17 from newspapers,
between 1995 and 1997. The study has revealed that only 37% cases
were committed in the victim‘s neighbourhood and only 33% cases were
committed in the area in close vicinity of the victim‘s house. It was
further found that in 23% cases, the assault was made in the victim‘s
own home, in 17% cases in the offender‘s home, in 12% cases, in the
offender‘s friend‘s/relative‘s/ acquaintance‘s home, and in 48% cases, in
some places away from the offender‘s and the victim‘s homes such as a
hotel, office, temple, truck, dharmashala, school, Police station, jungle,
etc. Moreover the study revealed that rape was intra-community bound
but not a class bound offence.35
Roy Lewis in his book titled ―A Force for the Future‖ says
that the writers have mostly refrained from taking any serious study on
Police. An in-depth study on the present structuring of the British
police—its challenges, its in-built limiting factors and thereafter given his
future projection on the kind of police force the British society might look

33Walsh Cecil, Crime in India, 1930.

34Raghavan, R.K., Figures in Crime, The Hindu, July, 1999.

35Ram Ahuja, Violence Against Women, Rawat Publications, New Delhi, 1998.

14
forward to, ten years hence. The writer after giving a very thought-
providing analysis of the existing situation has succeeded in projecting
the expected role of future policemen. The author has dealt with the
subject in three parts. First, he has identified the present situation,
listing the present discontentment, both in the public and in the police.
Then he goes to list and analyze the challenges posed to the police
system by factors like changing public attitudes, the unruly youth, the
racial conflicts, violence on the streets and the changing crime patterns
with the advent of organized crime. The author analyses the police men‘s
uncertain situation in an unstable society –unstable in the light of
changing traditions, changing social values, increase of violence‘s, the
inner struggle of the policeman to adjust himself to a new role of a social
worker, reformer and law enforcer, al in one. It has been analyzed an
illustrated with case studies. The dwindling number of law-abiding
public and the increasing pressure to enforce multiplying new
legislations has been very successfully portrayed as contributing factors
to the slow but steady decline in the popular image of the British ‗Bobby.‘
In the background of the conventional role of a popular police of the past,
the author has projected the policemen‘s dilemma in becoming
impersonal and insensitive while acquiring faster means of
communications, modernized tools and specialized training, to meet the
over increasing challenges posed by a society in which violence on the
street is on the increase and organized an sophisticated crime syndicates
are taking over from the conventional criminals of the bygone days. Being
an integral part of such a fast changing society, and yet being expected
to discipline themselves by standing out in the society, policemen face
newer conflicts. The uncertainly about the quantum of force to be used
in dealing with unruly mobs, still keeping in within the acceptable limits,
which again very with the mood and norms of the society, lead to a
flexible situation, mostly turning out to the disadvantage of the
policemen. In the end, Roy Lewis analyses the response to the problems

15
enumerated earlier. Various alternatives to modernization of the police,
in order to increase their efficiency and effectiveness, have been
examined and it has been more or less accepted that to meet the new
challenges of the future, the police force will have to think in terms of a
national police force or at least a unification of more and more smaller
units to make a large organization so as to derive the full benefits of
better training and modernization. The future police organizations will
also have to constantly maintain a balance between the demands for
increasing the number and the constraints of finance, which will call for
greater proficiency and better deployment and utilization of the limited
force-in short, a balance between quantity and quality of the new police
force. While the society will always need the police, it will be essential
thaw en innovations and experimentations should be resorted to for
making it as more effective tool of social purpose. The higher caliber and
intellectual potential of the future policemen will pose simultaneous
demands of better remuneration for an improved standard of living. The
author hoses while the society might pin its faith on the police as an
institution, which is still serving them capably, it will be for the police to
rise up to these expectations. In the Indian context, where police is a
hotly debated topic, the book will prove to be of very interest to those
who are examining the needs of reform, to suit the future needs of f our
society it is a superbly written and very well brought out look. The
author deserves the thanks of the police community for such an
enlightened study on the subject.36
Seidman, D., and Couzens, M., in an article ―The Crime
Rate Down: Political Pressure and Crime Reporting‖ have used an
interrupted time-series design, analyzed the monthly reports for
burglaries and larcenies in Washington D.C. for the period of five years
i.e., from July 1967 to June 1971. They concluded that there was a

36Roy Lewis, A Force for the Future, London, W.C.I. Maurice Temple Smith Ltd., 1976.

16
significant decrease in the level of burglary and larceny. This could be
traced due to modifications in crime-recording practices, stemming from
pressures imposed by a new Police chief on his subordinate to ―get the
crime rate down‖.37

Singh, K.D., in his study that ―Criminal Justice and Police,

Papers for XIV Police Science Congress‖ has stated that indifferent
treatment and way of behaviour affect the real duties and ends desired
from the Police officials. The absence of trained Police staff and popular
co-operation in Criminal investigation makes the prosecution stories
weak in cases involving the weaker sections of society. Whether it is weak
vs. weak or weak vs. weaker, corrupt practices and political pressures in
investigation can easily cause indifference in the administration of
Criminal justice.38
Sir Edmund C. Cox in his book titled ―Police and Crime in
India‖ has dealt about the system of Police under the Hindu and the
Muslim rulers and the efforts made by the British to bring in changes in
the first flush of their rule. It also deals with the statutory changes made
in the legal system, which brought in the famous Indian Penal Code and
the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Police Act. The remaining chapters
of the book deal with the crux of the Police task like tackling of bad
characters, criminal tribes, the role played by village watchmen in
assisting the Police, the crime detection and control functions of the
Indian Police. An element of racial prejudice, however, is evident in the
author‘s admiration, verging on hyperbole, of the British whom he saw as
saviours of the declining Indian local and legal systems in relation to

37Seidman,D., and Couzens, M., Getting the Crime Rate Down: Political Pressure and
Crime Reporting, Law and Society, 8, 1974.

38Singh, K.D., Criminal Justice and Police, Papers for XIV Police Science Congress,
1967.

17
crime and justice. This bias runs through the entire texture of the
book.39
Sir Robert Mark‘s is a collection of some of his lectures. In
these lectures, Sir Robert, an eminent policeman for some forty years,
raises some important questions about the desirability of the police being
armed, the fairness of interrogation, the handling of demonstrations, etc.
And the basic question remains: do we get the police force we deserve?
The title of the book thus poses the fundamental dilemma not only of the
police as an instrument of stability but also of the society caught in a
process of perpetual flux. It is so heartening to hear from the author,
while explaining the rationale of the selection of the papers that ―the
police in this country have nothing to lose and everything to gain by
offering the fullest possible account of their activities.‖ Referring to the
basic mission of the police, he suggests that the police ―must provide a
stabilizing and reassuring influence in a changing and often perplexed
society.‖ Sir Robert has expressed himself candidly and in a forthright
manner the compulsions and limitations of the police force. The first two
chapters sum up his diagnosis, approach, philosophy and remedies. In
the first address, called the ‗Cornerstones or Excellence‘, he reviews the
entire organizational working of the police in the context of the system of
criminal administration in a free society. In the next chapter ‗the
Differing Roles of he Police and the Army‘ in keeping the peace in the
country have been discussed and the author emphasizes that ―the police
exist for the maintenance of public order, irrespective of party, of
sectional interests and of the government of the day.‖ This viewpoint,
however unpalatable at times, must permeate the national psyche if the
democratic foundations have to be stabilized and broadened. In the
lecture ―Liberty without Responsibility?‖ he makes the telling comment
that ―you will not reduce crime until you recognize that it is no longer

39SirEdmund C. Cox, Police and Crime in India, Manufacturer Publications, New Delhi,
1976.

18
enough for every citizen to play a negative part in law enforcement.‖ In
other chapters Sir Robert touches upon subjects like difficulties in
investigation and prosecution, complaints against the police, social
violence, political demonstrations, and so on. He prefaces his lecture on
political demonstration by quoting Lord Justice Searman as follows: ―On
such evidence as I have seen, there may well be good reason to wonder
whether magistrates to always appreciate the gravity of an offence
against public order‖. Abuse of liberty endangers liberty itself; it is a
serious offence to depreciate the currency of freedom resorting to violence
and public order‖. "The conundrum, however perplexing, the enlightened
democratic society has to resolve. The appendix contains a memorandum
issued in May 1973 on the relations of the police force with the news
media and will be found of great interest. The study of this small book
which embodies professional competence, experience and commitment in
its best sense will be rewarding to police officers, administrations, policy
makers as well as people in general who seek to know about the role and
the limitations of the police as a law-enforcement agency in a democratic
society.40

Srivastava, S.S., conducted a study ―Juvenile Vagrancy,

Institute of Sociology and Human Rights‖ on 50 forsaken children in
the city of Lucknow in India which was published as a book Juvenile
Vagrancy. He has found that out of 50 forsaken children between the age
of 7 to 14 years, 36 were casual gamblers, 10 were habitual, and 4 were
non gamblers. 19 waifs showed certain patterns of delinquency and were
senior in age. Some of them resorted to drinking and indulged in other
antisocial activities like stealing and quarrelling. Some of them had been
caught while doing antisocial activities, but somehow they escaped from
the grips of law. Thus, the first symptom for the waif to move towards

40Sir Robert Mark, Policing a Perplexed Society, Allen & Unwin, London, 1977.

19
delinquency was to start gambling and slowly and gradually to become a
habitual gambler, a trait of delinquency.41

Sutherlend, Edwin H., and Donald H. Cressey, in their work

titled ―Principles of Criminology‖ have considered that the role of the
Police in modern society in preserving law and order in the community
around which it functions, is extremely important. Their efficiency,
behaviour, discipline, etc. affect a lot in the fulfilling of their duties,
which are assigned to them by society. The term Police thus refers
primarily to agents of the state, whose function is the maintenance of law
and order and especially the enforcement of the regular Criminal code.
From the view point of the community, it has been noted that nowadays
the Police have found the public to be indifferent to Police problems. One
of the reactions which the criticism and indifference have produced, is
organized effort to develop friendly understanding with the public. In this
effort the Police Department has established a public reaction division
and had attempted to develop methods, which will reduce the amount of
irritation provoked by existing procedures.42
Trilok Nath, in his book titled ―The Indian Police: A Case
for a New Image‖ contently and vigorously argues the case for a new
image for the Indian Police in the present day context of the Indian polity
and administrative requirements. It carries a foreword by Shri Jaya
prakash Narayan who has succinctly summed up the present situation
by observing the ‗the police in India have continued to remain hamstrung
to the procedures and norms of the erstwhile colonial administration and
has simultaneously underlined the need for restructuring the details of
functioning as also the sights of this important limb to the

41Srivastava,
S.S., Juvenile Vagrancy, Institute of Sociology and Human Rights,
Lucknow University, 1950.

42Sutherland,Edwin H. & Donald H., Cressey, Principles of Criminology, Sixth Edition,

The Times of India Press, Bombay, 1965.

20
establishment. In the chapter ‗Diagnosis and Prescription‘ the author has
traced the evolution and system of functioning of the police in India right
from the days preceding Alexander‘s invasion to the present day. The
narrative recognizes the important role played hitherto by the Indian
Police Act of 1861 as supplemented by the recommendations of the police
commissions of 1903 and 1907 but it is noted lamentably that the
subsequent recommendations of the different State police commissions
and committees having remained a dead letter, this antique piece of
legislation has continued to fashion the destinies of the police force in
India. The need for reform and reorganization of the Indian police can
brook no further delay. The basic theses presented are two: first, the
‗force‘ structure of the police must be replaced by a ‗service; cadre and,
secondly, the civil police has to be decentralized to obviate
authoritarianism while the armed police should be centralized in the
interest of efficiency and national integration. The list of subjects
examined and commented upon is rather long; it includes matters
connected with VIP security, policing the railways and rivers, road safety,
industrial security, policing the railways and rivers, road safety,
industrial security types of crime, and even sarvodya. The new image for
the police needs to be built up at the State level and below as also at the
national level. The main steps listed for achieving this objective at the
State level and below are adoption of the concept of central village
organization to make rural policing at the grassroots effective in
conjunction with the functioning of village administrative councils;
complete separation of the law and order functions of the police from
investigative work; reorganization of the police station as a unit of
administration so as to make its jurisdiction co-terminus with a block;
detachment log of the lock-up from the police station and making it an
adjunct of the block buildings with its management vesting in the
prisons department and not in the police department; redesigning of the
police buildings so as to make them resemble the officers of a service

21
agency rather than outposts of an occupation force; complete distinction
between armed constabulary charges with law and order work and
unarmed police responsible for civil ‗service‘ duties; modification in the
uniform of police personnel so that it may resemble the clothes worn by
the common man in the locality; and modernization of equipment and
means of communication made available to the police. It adopted, this
package prescription will, according to the author, free the presently ill-
organized, ill-equipped and ill-trained rural police from ht stigma of graft
and tyranny and give it an image of morality, honesty and integrity. In
the national context the concept of making the police a ‗committed‘
service has been discarded. But the need for making at least the armed
wing of the police a centralized service and a protégé of the Home
Minister has been stressed. The police Act of 1861 have to be scrapped
and replaced and a new centrally framed Act to cater to the Central
armed constabulary following the lines of the Indian Army Act appears to
be the need of the hour. The suggestion is buttressed with significant
observation that the neither the multiplicity of police forces nor their
regionalisation provides the remedy in the present situation. The setting
up of a Central Police Board on the lines of the Railway Board is an
attractive idea, but the arrangement cannot work unless at least the
armed component of the force is taken off the State list and is placed
squarely under the Central list or even on the concurrent list. The author
believes that the transferring of the law and order responsibility to the
Central list would help avoid wasteful expenditure on parallel forces
which are being increasingly organized. He has also suggested the
possibility of the setting up of a high-powered body like a Central Police
Commission on the pattern of the Planning Commission, so that the
work of national development could be coordinated with the police work.
The additional requirement of financial resources, which the central
Government alone can provide for arming, the police with the latest know
how and equipment is made the basis for at least partial justification of

22
the foregoing proposal. It may be noted here that the views of the author
as regards the justification for and role of the Centralized cadres of the
police service broadly accord with the tentative observations contained in
the report of the study team of personnel administration of the
Administrative Reforms Commission which had submitted it‘s a report in
August, 1967. However, his view that it would be propitious to have a
Central administrative intelligence agency, leaving only rudimentary
matters to State police functions, is quite original. The views contained in
this book surely bear the imprint of authenticity for thee proceed from
the pen of a distinguished member of the Indian police who has spent
long years in police work at different levels and has had varied
experience. Indeed, at places the writing is too laboriously detailed not to
impart to it the odour of an official document, the noticeable instances
being the details regarding uniforms for different climes and the precise
composition, length of beat, and even the itinerary of a police patrol. It
remains a fact, nonetheless, that apart from the parent Police Act of
1861, the State police manuals and the reports of some police
commissions and committees set up by State Governments and
Administrations, there is no single book available which is as wide in
sweep, as searching in investigation of the problem and as suggestive in
content as Shri Trilok Nath‘s book. The views expressed therein are
practical as well as provocative. There are suggestions which may be
acceptable straightaway and there are controversial propositions like the
need for and the role of a Centralized armed constabulary like the CREF
which may lend further piquancy to the resistance of attitude currently
shown by some State Governments and political parties towards the
deployment o units of this force in the different parts of the country. The
publication of this book is timely. It may, without doubt, form and
important compendium of thoughts, views and suggestions, deserving of

23
serious consideration at the hands of the National Police Commission set
up by the Government of India recently.43
Victor I. Cizanxkas and Donald G. Hanna in their book titled
―Modern Police Management and Organization‖ consider that of late
police administration is increasingly becoming a subject of study both by
the academics and practitioners. The tasks of the police in a democracy
society are complex. The demands made by society in terms of increasing
technology and effective operations are difficult to cope with. This
complexity in turn requires an effective organizations and management
within a democracy framework.44
Wilson, O.W., and Roy Clinton McLaren in their book titled
―Police Administration‖ have discussed at length the various problems
of Police Administration. The book is divided into five parts. Part I deals
with Police responsibilities and the Police role in society, its relationship
with the community, its place in the government and relationship with
other agencies in Government. Part II deals with various aspects of
administrative problems. There is an extensive discussion on
interpersonal and behavioral aspects of management, which has a great
hearing on the conduct of the Police vis-à-vis their colleagues, peers and
superiors in the organization. Part III contains description of the various
facets of the problems of Police operations such as patrolling, crime
investigation, crime prevention and traffic. Part IV relates to various
auxiliary technical services needed for an efficient and effective Police
Administration. It has been shown how science and technology can be
harnessed for purposes of establishing crime laboratories. Part V

43Trilok Nath, The Indian Police: A Case for a New Image, Sterling Publishing House,
New Delhi 1978.
44Victor I. Cizanxkas and Donald G. Hanna, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Modern Police

Management and Organization, Prentice-Hall.

24
contains a lot of informative materials such as performs and guidelines
dealing with a variety of Police subjects.45
Young, J., in his book titled ―The Exclusive Society‖ has
pointed out that in the 21st century, and indeed since 1991,
transformation of criminality to new and particularly diffuse form of
criminal violence has been observed. According to Young, crime has
become problematic; aggressors are multiple, so the likelihood of
becoming a victim has come to seem normal; the causes of crime are
broad, and also function according to ‗rational choice‘. Crime is part of
the social normality, since its relationship with society is constitutive, the
space for action is both public and private, and it occurs in social spaces
– residences, neighborhoods, plazas or streets – in dispute; the
relationship between the aggressors and the victims is complex – they
may be strangers or inmates, outsiders or members of the in-group;
social control over crime is spread over multiple government agencies
and informal actions, including a strong presence of private security; the
efficacy and efficiency of social control are problematic; and the public‘s
reaction is oriented by an irrational fear of crime and moral panic.46

―Report of the Bihar Police Commission”,47 ―Report of

the Punjab Police Commission‖,48 ―Report of the West Bengal Police
Commission‖,49 ―Report of the Assam Police Commission‖,50 ―Report of
the Uttar Pradesh Police Commission‖,51 and ―Report of the National

45Wilson, O.W., and Roy Clinton McLaren, Police Administration, McGraw Hill Book
Company, New York, 1977, p.703.
46Young, J., The Exclusive Society, Sage, London, 1999.

47Report of the Bihar Police Commission, Patna, 1961.

48Report of the Punjab Police Commission Chandigarh, 1962.
49Report of the West Bengal Police Commission, Alipore, Calcutta, 1964.
50Report of the Assam Police Commission, Tezpar, 1971.
51Report of the Uttar Pradesh Police Commission, Allahabad, 1962.

25
Police Commission‖52 have evaluated Police administration and have
made suitable suggestions to revamp the Police organization in India.
―The Report of the Madras Torture Commission of 1855‖
has highlighted the serious ills, which bedeviled the Police organization
and underlined not only the need for change, but also the nature of the
changes required.53
―The Report of the Police Commission of 1860‖, has
provided an organization to the Police System of India. ―The Police Act of
1861‖ gave statutory backing to the Police forces although it placed them
at the disposal of the Magistrate of the District.54
A number of State Police Departments have published
comprehensive histories, which include ―A History of the Andhra
Pradesh Police‖,55 ―A History of the Madras Police‖,56 ―History of the
Orissa Police‖57 and ―History of Madhya Pradesh Police‖58. They have
provided a record of the development of the present system of
administration of law and order.
SP. Thamilmaran in his Thesis ―All Women Police
Administration‖ has examined whether the administration of All Women
police Station is quite suited to carry on the duties which could be
imposed on them; or any changes are required in the administration of
All Women police Stations and in the Police Department so that they
could be allowed to attend to the different kinds of Police duties, which
are expected to be carried out by them in the years to come.59

52Fifth Report of the National Police Commission, Government of India, New Delhi,
November 1980.
53Madras Torture Commission, 1855.
54Report of the Police Commission, 1860.
55A History of the Andhra Pradesh Police, 1861-1961.
56A History of the Madras Police, 1889-1959.
57A History of the Orissa Police, 1961.
58A History of Madhya Pradesh Police, 1963.
59Thamilmaran, SP., All Women Police Administration, Ph.D., Thesis submitted to

Madurai Kamaraj University, 2002.

26
 Women police in India were first recruited at Kanpur city to
deal with women strikers during 1938. The old Travancore Princely State
recruited women police to deal with women offenders during 1939.
Before partition a lone lady Inspector was appointed in Lahore Railway
Police Station to deal with women suspects. After independence women
police in India have been regularly recruited and posted to deal with
women offenders and juvenile delinquents. In foreign countries also
women police have been mainly recruited to deal with women and
juvenile offenders. An analysis of the role of women police in India and
abroad reveal that women police are suited to carry out the different
functions of the Police Department. In Tamil Nadu All Women Police
Stations have been created to deal with women‘s problems. The scholar
has analyzed in her Ph.D., Thesis whether the role of women police
should be restricted to deal with women and juvenile offenders or women
police should be allowed to perform the different duties carried out in the
police department.60
S. Venugopal Rao‘s, ―Police Under the East India
Company‖ traced its development and progress and highlighted the
salient administrative landmarks in the evolutionary process61.
N.M.L. Hooja in, ―Police During the British Rule‖,
delineated the subsequent developments under the British.62
The series of historical accounts was concluded with a
survey by K.N. Prasad in, ―Police in Independent India‖,63 which gave a
detailed account of the administrative changes, the impact of science and
technology on the Police organization and the growth of law units of the
armed and civil Police and intra departmental units to cope with the
changes in the political and social structure of the nation.

60Birundha, J., The Role of Women Police in All Women Police Stations with Reference
to Tamil Nadu, Ph.D., Thesis Submitted to Madurai Kamaraj University, 2003.
61
Venugopal Rao, S., Police under the East India Company,
62
Hooja, N.M.L. , Police During the British Rule.
63
Prasad, K.N., Police in Independent India.

27
 ―Development of Criminal Law in India‖ by
P.N. Ramaswamy64 provided a historical account, which stressed the
sociological importance of an efficient Police system for the maintenance
of order and pinpointed the drawbacks from which the administration of
the criminal law suffered in the country.
A number of State Police Departments also published
comprehensive histories on this occasion, which include, ―A History of
the Andhra Pradesh Police‖,65 ―A History of the Madras Police (1959)‖66,
―History of the Orissa Police (1961)‖67 and ―History of Madhya Pradesh
Police (1963)‖68 which provide a record of the development of the present
system of administration of law and order.
A most interesting and illuminating historical study is Sir
Percival Griffith‘s, ―History of the Indian Police‖.69
An authoritative research study in this genre is, ―Crime and
Police in India upto 1861‖ (1974) by A. Gupta.70
Although the research in the administration of law and
order was not conducted prior to 1947, within the methodological
framework with which we are familiar to-day, a substantial body of
literature exists in the form of public documents, reports of Committees,
and Commissions and minutes which now repose in the National and
State Archives and Government Record rooms.
―The Report of the Madras Torture Commission of 1855‖71
highlighted the serious ills, which bedeviled the Police organization and
underlined not only the need for change, but also the nature of the
changes required.

64
Ramaswamy, P.N. , Development of Criminal Law in India.
65
A History of the Andhra Pradesh Police, 1861-1961.
66
A History of the Madras Police, 1889-1959.
67
History of the Orissa Police, 1961.
68
History of Madhya Pradesh Police, 1963.
69
Sir Percival Griffith, History of the Indian Police. Allied Publishers, New Delhi.
70
Gupta, A., Crime and Police in India upto 1861, Sahitya Bhawan, Agra, 1974.
71
Madras Torture Commission 1855

28
 ―The Report of the Police Commission of 1860‖,72
provided an organization to the Police System of India. ―The Police Act of
1861‖ gave statutory backing to the Police forces although it placed them
at the disposal of the Magistrate of the District.
An important milestone in the administration of law and
order was, the report of the ―Indian Police Commission of 1902-1903‖.73
This is a very valuable document in as much as it consolidated and
improved upon the process, which had been initiated by the First Police
Commission. The Second Commission‘s findings, based upon exhaustive
enquiries, have relevance to-day because of the distressing fact that the
current sense of dissatisfaction with the maintenance of order and the
poor image of the Police has much in common with the state of affairs
which prevailed seventy years ago in an entirely different socio-political
context.
Clashes between District Magistrates and Superintendents of
Police had already been frequent, but since it was necessary to retain the
control of the former in the latter the Commission rejected also the
suggestions that were made to them for the amalgamation of the Indian
Police with the Indian Civil Service for the purposes of the recruitment
examination.
Pre-Independence literature on Police or Law and Order
Administration is comparatively scanty. ―The Bombay City Police 1672-
1916 (1923)‖74, ―Crime in India (1924)‖75 by S.M. Edwards and ―Crime in
India (1930)‖‘76 by Cecil Walsh highlight the achievements and the
failures of the Indian Police during the period with which they deal.

72
Police Commission 1860.
73
Indian Police Commission, 1902-1903.
74
Edwards, S.M., The Bombay City Police, 1672-1916, 1923.
75
Edwards, S.M., Crime in India, Oxford University Press, 1924.
76
Walsh Cecil, Crime in India, 1930.

29
 J.C. Curray‘s ―Indian Police‖ published in 193277 traces the
growth of the Indian Police and furnishes a comprehensive overview of
the organization at work in relation to various changes to law and order
in those times. He has analyzed the organization and working of the
district Police in the provinces ruled by the British Company. The author
offers shrewd observations on the relationship between the district Police
and the magistracy as typified by the interaction of the District
Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police.78
O.W. Wilson and Roy Clinton McLaren in their book ―Police
Administration‖ have discussed at length the various problems of Police
Administration. The book is divided into five parts. Part I deals with
Police responsibilities and the Police role in society, its relationship with
the community, its place in the government and relationship with other
agencies in Government. Part II deals with various aspects of
administrative problems. There is an extensive discussion on
interpersonal and behavioral aspects of management, which has a great
hearing on the conduct of the Police vis-à-vis their colleagues, peers and
superiors in the organization. Part III contains description of the various
facets of the problems of Police operations such as patrolling, crime
investigation, crime prevention and traffic. Part IV relates to various
auxiliary technical services needed for an efficient and effective Police
Administration. It has been shown how science and technology can be
harnessed for purposes of establishing crime laboratories. Part V
contains a lot of informative materials such as perform and guidelines
dealing with a variety of Police subjects.79
―Police Personnel Administration‖ written by O. Glenn
Stahl and Richard A. Staufenberger, seeks to provide a comprehensive

77
Curry, J.C., Indian Police, Faber and Faber Ltd., 1932.
78
J.C. Curry, The Indian Police, Manu Publications, New Delhi (1976)
79
O.W. Wilson and Roy Clinton McLaren, “Police Administration,” McGraw Hill Book Company, New
York, 1977 p. 703.

30
treatment of the subject of Police Personnel Administration starting from
a discussion of the organization for Police Personnel Management.
Some of the diagnoses and prescriptions in this report seem
to be of a universal character and at least have a ring of familiarity in the
Indian content. The most important findings of this report, relate to the
future research needs in Police Personnel Management.80
―Police and Crime‖ written by Sir Edmund C. Cox, deals
about the system of Police under the Hindu and the Muslim rulers and
the efforts made by the British to bring in changes in the first flush of
their rule. It also deals with the statutory changes made in the legal
system, which brought in the famous Indian Penal Code and the Code of
Criminal Procedure of the Police Act. The remaining chapters of the book
deal with the crux of the Police task like tackling of bad characters,
criminal tribes, the role played by village watchmen in assisting the
Police, the crime detection and control functions of the Indian Police. An
element of racial prejudice, however, is evident in the author‘s
admiration, verging on hyperbole, of the British whom he saw as
saviours of the declining Indian local and legal systems in relation to
crime and justice. This bias runs through the entire texture of the
book.81
Trilok Nath in his book ―The Indian Police – A Case for a
New Image‖, cogently and vigorously argues the case for a new image for
the Indian Police in the present day context of the Indian polity and
administrative requirements. In the chapter ‗Diagnosis and Prescription‘
the author has traced the evolution and system of functioning of the
Police in India right from the days preceding Alexander‘s invasion to the
present day. The narrative recognizes the important role, played hitherto
by the Indian Police Act of 1861 as supplemented by the

80
O.Glenn Stahl and Richard A. Staufenberger, Police Personnel Administration, The Police Foundation,
Washington, 1974, D.C., p. 257
81
Sir Edmud C. Cox, Police and Crime in India, Manufacturer Publications, New Delhi 1976, p. 328

31
recommendations of the Police Commission of 1903 and 1907. He has
suggested the possibility of the letting up of a high-powered body like a
Central Police Commission on the pattern of the Planning Commission,
so that the work of national development could be coordinated with the
Police work. Indeed, at places the writing is too laboriously detailed not
to impart to it the odour of an official document, the noticeable instances
being the details regarding uniforms for different crimes and the precise
composition, length of beat and even the itinerary of a Police patrol.82
―World’s Great Policemen‖ by B.N. Mulik makes an
assessment of seventeen individuals connected with law and order on the
Police operations and have attained certain amount of eminence because
of their achievements. The author says that an attempt has been made to
―analyze the lives of these Policemen of history and find out what were
the qualities which made them great and along with that to give that
description of the organizations which they set up‖. He divides these
Policemen into two categories viz. those who made history and those who
were leaders and pioneers. The author also analyses the life, work and
achievements of Vollmer of the U.S.A., Louis Legine of France, Schober of
Austria and Louwage of Belgium. He has written a useful and informative
book, which will be of interest to the Police officers as well as the general
public. It explores a fascinating area not yet covered at one place. The
author also writes about other interesting personalities who have
contributed to the development of Police Administration.83
―The Fundamentals of Police Administration‖ by Charles
D. Hale is a subject not only of professional debate but also of public
concern. This book constitutes a basic text on Police Administration. He
rightly mentions that ―few Police administrators have attempted to apply
the principles developed in the social sciences to the problems of Police
Administration, even in the face of ample proof of relevance and

82
Trilok Nath, The Indian Police – A Case for a New Image, Sterling New Delhi. (1978), (p. 199).
83
B.N. Mullik, World’s Great Policemen, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi, (p. 440)

32
applicability. It explains the crucial issue of Police Administration and
the democratic process and also the general principles of organization
and the management function with particular relevance to the Police
have been examined. The author identifies the principal weakness of the
traditional Police organizational structure and talks of humanism in the
Police organization. He examines the scope and nature of training in
their wider perspective to ensure proficiency and community rapport. His
suggestions include planning, research programme evaluation,
productivity improvement and management by objectives. It certainly
makes a significant contribution to the study of Police Administration in
a scientific manner, based on theory and rooted in experience, which the
author has successfully conceptualized.84
Sir Robert Mark in his book ―Policing a Perplexed Society‖
poses the fundamental dilemma not only of the Police as an instrument
of stability but also of the society caught in a process of perpetual flux.
Referring to the basic mission of the Police, he suggests that the Police
―must provide a stabilizing and reassuring influence in a changing and
often perplexed society‖.85
K.K. Bharadwaj in his book ―Indian Police Administration‖
has analyzed in detail the relevance of Police Administration in India
ranging from the Police Act of 1861 to the present. He has pointed out
the evil of political interference in Police Administration and has
suggested certain measures to check it.86
S.K. Ghosh in his book ―Law of Public Meetings and
Processions in India‖ provides a technical and critical account of the
law, public meetings and processions. The author makes a comparative
study of legal provisions as well as practices.87

84
Charles D. Hale, Fundamentals of Police Administration, Holbrook Press Inc., Boston. (1977), (p. 364)
85
Sir. Roberts Mark, Policing a Perplexed Society, Allen & Unwin London. (1977), (p. 132).
86
K.K. Bharadwaj, Indian Police Administration, National Publishing House, New Delhi (1978), (p. 349)
87
S.K. Ghosh, Law of Public Meeting and Processions in India, Eastern Law House Calcutta. (p. 215)

33
 S.K. Ghosh, in his book ―Magisterial and Police Guide‖ has
made ample use of his practical experience as a Police officer, and he
also stresses the need for functional co-operation between the magistracy
and the Police, the two pillars of criminal administration.88
S.K.Ghosh in his book, ―Indian Police at Cross Roads‖
surveys the dynamics of the current scene and discusses the impact of
the changing society, of public prejudices and distresses, of judicial
process of politics and of undisciplined behaviour in general on the
working morale and future of the public force in the country.89
Robert M. Fogelson in his book ―Big City Police‖ examines
transformations in the structure, personnel and functions of big city
Police in the U.S.A since the last decade of the nineteenth century.90
Amarjit Mahajan, in his book ―Indian Police women‖ offers
a profile of Indian women who venture into a new role Police force, once a
male sanctuary. It explores the factors, which motivate women to seek
employment in a non-feminine occupation and the consequences that
follow. The author finds that women employed at lower levels of Police
service are required to act as ‗dummies‘. The Policewomen are put on
certain types of duties to ward off public criticism of male Police force.
The training and working experience have made the Police women to
realize that they were required to play a feminine role within a masculine
occupational framework. The study also reveals the existence of ―informal
work group‖ arrangements. The marginal position of women in male
dominated Police Force is attributed by the author to organizational
apathy, opposition from male incumbents, lack of a congenial setting for
role performance, absence of opportunities for women to occupy
positions of authority and the negative reaction of society towards
women‘s employment in such occupations.

88
S.K. Ghosk, Magisterial and Police Guide, Satchidanada Prakashan, Calcutta, (1977). (p.123).
89
S.K. Ghosh, Indian Police at Cross Roads, Eastern Law House Calcutta. (1975), (p.160)
90
Robert M. Fogelson, Big City Police, Harward University Press Cambridge. (1977), (p.374)

34
 The author opines that the prevailing ambiguity, status
contradiction and dilemmas can only be resolved if Policewomen‘s role is
redefined. The redefinitions of a new role for women in policing has to be
somewhere in between the ‗purely masculine‘ and the purely effeminate
positions. As the study pertains to the field of the sociology of
occupations it would be of general interest to sociologists. Since its
subject matter pertains to the Police force it has relevance for the
students of Police science as well for the Police Administration. The main
thrust of the book is on a typical sex role of women; as such it would also
appeal to those who would like to see women entering into fields
dominated by men.91
S. Venugopal Rao in a paper on ―Women Police in India‖
has traced the origin and the role of Women Police in India.92
K. Pandurangan in his book ―Women Police in India‖ has
traced the development of women policing in India prior to 1977. This
book attempts to study some of the key problems involved in employing
Women Police in the Police department and the problems involved in
recruitment, promotion, training and conditions of service of Women
Police.93
―Report of the Bihar Police Commission‖,94 ―Report of the
Punjab Police Commission‖,95 ―Report of the West Bengal Police
Commission‖,96 ―Report of the Assam Police Commission‖,97 ―Report of
the Uttar Pradesh Police Commission‖,98 ―Report of the National Police
Commission‖,99 ―Report of the Indian Police Commission‖,100 have

91
Amarjit Mahajan, Police Women New Delhi. (1982),
92
S. Venugopal Rao, Women Police in India, Police Research and Development, Jan-Mar, New Delhi.
1975.
93
Pandurangan K. “Women Police in India”, Centre for Rural and Urban Studies, Madurai (1983.
94
Report of the Bihar Police Commission, Patna (1961);
95
Report of the Punjab Police Commission Chandigarh (1962);
96
Report of the West Bengal Police Commission, Alipore, Calcutta (1964);
97
Report of the Assam Police Commission, Tezpar (1971);
98
Report of the Uttar Pradesh Police Commission, Allahabad (1962);
99
Fifth Report of the National Police Commission, Government of India, New Delhi (November, 1980);
100
Report of the Indian Police Commission

35
evaluated Police administration and have made suitable suggestions to
revamp the Police organization in India.
A number of papers on ―Women Police in India‖ published
in Indian Police Journal have traced the development of Women Police in
India.101
H. Adwani, Nirmala, (1978) in her work points out that with
an understanding of the culture and behavioral patterns of the people
around, the Police will enable them to maintain law and order situation
more efficiently. This is according to the sociological theory, which
maintains that crime is the result of various social elements operating in
the social environment. These elements are culture, social control,
primary and secondary groups, social process, socialization, social
change, social disorganization, status, role and personality of the
individual.102

Barnes, Harry Lemer and Teeters K. Negley (1966) in their

work says that the Criminal justice system recognizes that the efficiency
of the legal machinery depends basically on the quality of the initial work
done by the police.103
Bent, Alan E. and Rossum, Ralph A., (1976) in their work
point out that the Police roles are primarily determined by three factors;
societal norms; mores and influences; the individual policeman‘s
discretion; and the level of urbanization of society. Society‘s norms and
mores are consequential for Police roles because a particular society or
culture will incorporate into its legal structure what it views as proper
Police jurisdiction. With regard to the extent of commitment of the Police

101
I “Women Police in India – I” Indian Police Journal, Vol.XV No. 2, October 1968.( II) “Women Police
in India – II” Indian Police Journal, Vol. XV, No.3, January 1969. (II) “Women Police in India – III”.
Indian Police Journal, Vol. XV, No.4 April 1969.

102 Adwani, Nirmala H. Perspectives on Adult Crime and Corruption, Abinav

Publications, New Delhi, 1978.
103Barnes, Harry Lemer and Teeters K. Negley, New Horizons in Criminology, Third

edition, Prentice-Hall of India Private Ltd. New Delhi, 1966.

36
to the community, the breadth of Police roles includes among Police
responsibilities such things as the creation and maintenance of a felling
of security in the community, the resolution of conflict, the protection of
constitutional guarantees and the helping of those who cannot care for
themselves.104
R. Coffey, Alan, (1975) in his work opines that the increasing
trend of urbanization, a characteristic of every modern society, has great
influence on the conditions and on police-community relations. Not only
do the congestion and the poor living conditions found in some urban
areas tend to breed crime, but the anonymity fostered by large cities
often leads to citizen apathy. An indifferent public that fails to support
law enforcement dooms the efforts of the Police successfully to prevent
and control crime. Police-community relations have a direct bearing on
the character of life in the cities and on the ability of the community to
maintain stability and solve its problems. At the same time the ability of
the Police department to deal with crime depends in large part on its
relation with the citizenry. The basic functions of the Police according to
Alan R. Coffey are prevention of crime, detection of crimes that have been
committed, identification of the person or persons responsible for crimes,
apprehension of person or persons responsible for crimes, detection of
the suspected offender or offenders for processing by the judiciary and
presentation of evidence to the prosecutor.105
George B. Vold (1958) in his book has referred to group
behavior theories, which centre on crime as an aspect of group
phenomena in which the particular characteristics of specific individuals
may be quite incidental.106

104Bent, Alan E. and Rossum, Ralph A. Police, Criminal Justice and the Community,
Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1976.
105Coffey, Alan, R., The Prevention of Crime and Delinquency, Prentice Hall Inc.

Englewood, New Jersey, 1975.

106Vold, George B., Theoretical Criminology, Oxford University Press, New York, 1958.

37
 C.F. Lombrose, (1911) in his book has explained Criminal
behavior in terms of physical characteristics of offenders and concluded
that criminals were born.107

C. Reckless, Walter, (1943) in his work points out that crime

is not a genetic behavioral phenomenon but can be explained only as a
different order of behavior. He emphasized what he called social
vulnerabilities of the individual and categorical risks for official action.
The former are the weaknesses of the individual when confronted with a
situation, which may precipitate Criminal behavior.108

K.D. Singh, (1967) in his study states that indifferent

treatment and way of behaviour affect the real duties and ends desired
from the Police officials. The absence of trained Police staff and popular
co-operation in Criminal investigation makes the prosecution stories
weak in cases involving the weaker sections of society. Whether it is weak
vs. weak or weak vs. weaker, corrupt practices and political pressures in
investigation can easily cause indifference in the administration of
Criminal justice.109

Sir Edmund C. Cox, (1976) in his work deals with the system
of Police under the Hindu and the Muslim rulers and the efforts made by
the British to bring in changes in the first flush of their rule. It also deals
with the statutory changes made in the legal system, which brought in
the famous Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the
Police Act. The remaining chapters of the book deal with the crux of the
Police task like tackling of bad characters, Criminal tribes, the role
played by village watchmen in assisting the Police, the crime detection
and control functions of the Indian Police. An element of racial prejudice,

107Lombroso, C.F., Crime its Causes and Remedies, Translated by Henry P. Horton,
Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1911.
108Reckless, Walter C., The Etiology of Delinquency and Criminal Behaviour, Social

Science Research Buleetin, No.5. 1943.

109Singh, K.D., Criminal Justice and Police, Papers for XIV Police Science Congress,

1967.

38
however, is evident in the author‘s admiration, verging on hyperbole of
the British whom he saw as saviours of the declining Indian local and
legal systems in relation to crime and justice. This bias runs through the
entire texture of the book.110
Sutherlend, Edwin H., & Donald H. Cressey, (1965) in their
work consider that the role of the Police in modern society in preserving
law and order in the community around which it functions, is extremely
important. Their efficiency, behavior, discipline, etc. affect a lot in the
fulfilling of their duties, which are assigned to them by society. The term
Police thus refers primarily to agents of the state, whose function is the
maintenance of law and order and especially the enforcement of the
regular Criminal code. From the view point of the community, it has been
noted that nowadays the Police have found the public to be indifferent to
Police problems. One of the reactions which the criticism and
indifference have produced, is organized effort to develop friendly
understanding with the public. In this effort the Police department has
established a public reaction division and had attempted to develop
methods, which will reduce the amount of irritation provoked by existing
procedures.111

The various literatures reviewed in the review of literature

have not analyzed in detail the Commissioner of Police System in
Chennai City and how far it is able to cope up with the problems of law
and order and crimes in Chennai City. Therefore, the scholar has taken
up this study for detailed analysis.

Objectives of the Study

The important objectives of the study are:

110SirEdmud C. Cox, Police and Crime in India, Manufacturer Communications, New

Delhi 1976.
111Sutherland, Edwin H. & Donald H., Cressey, Principles of Criminology, Sixth Edition,

The Times of India Press, Bombay, 1965.

39
 1. To enlighten the details relating to statement of the problem,
review of literature, methodology of the study and plan of the
study;
2. To explain the profile of Chennai City for proper understating and
analysis of the study;
3. To examine the details relating to crime and the incidence of
cognizable crimes committed in Chennai City;
4. To analyze the organization of Commissioner of Police System in
Chennai City;
5. To evaluate the working of the Commissioner of Police system and
how far it is able to cope up with the problems of the law and order
and crimes in Chennai city; and
6. To assess the traffic problems and measures taken to contain the
problems of traffic policing in Chennai city.

Scope of the Study

The main focus of the study is about Commissioner Police

System in Chennai City. Therefore, the scope of the study is limited to
the discussion relating to Commissioner of Police System in Chennai
City.

Method of Research
Case study method has been made use of in this study, as
the study is limited to the detailed discussions on Commissioner of Police
System in Chennai City.

Sources of Data
The data for this study have been collected both from
primary and secondary sources. The secondary sources of data have
been collected from Books, Journals, Police Commission Reports, Police
Acts, Manuals and Monographs. The primary sources of data have been

40
collected from the discussions held with the Police Officers of Chennai
City.

Study Design
The primary purpose of the study is not testing of any
hypothesis. Being an exploratory-cum-descriptive study, its basic thrust
is to gain familiarity and insight into the Commissioner of Police System
in Chennai City.

Data Analysis
The purpose of analysis is to summarize the complete
observation and to search for the broader meaning of the collected data
by linking them to other available knowledge. In this study descriptive
and analytical methods have been made use of to analyze the data.
Simple statistical tools, charts and diagrams have been made use of in
the analysis of data.

Presentation of the Report

After processing and analyzing the raw data the report
writing work was undertaken. Sufficient care was taken to present the
report as per the requirements of the study designed earlier.

Plan of the Study

The thesis is presented in seven chapters. In the first
chapter an attempt has been made to enlighten the details relating to
statement of the problem, review of literature, methodology of the study
and plan of the study. In the second chapter an attempt has been made
to explain the profile of Chennai City for proper understating and
analysis of the study. The details relating to crimes and the incidence of
cognizable crimes committed in Chennai City are examined in the third
chapter. The organization of Commissioner of Police System in Chennai
City is examined in the fourth chapter. The working of the Commissioner

41
of Police system and how far it is able to cope up with the problems of
the law and order and crimes in Chennai city are evaluated in the fifth
chapter. The traffic problems and measures taken to contain the
problems of traffic policing in Chennai city are assessed in the sixth
chapter. Inferences drawn in the body of the thesis are reported in the
form summary and conclusion in the seventh chapter.

42