HYDERABAD: In a controversial statement, Telangana State Police Academy (TSPA) Director VK Singh said on Thursday that all police training institutions in the country, including the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), were dumping grounds that train “just for the sake of it”.
“Those who are not useful anywhere find their way into the department and are posted in training institutions. Frustration, dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem rule the portals here. We teach the trainees the required knowledge and skills, but do not teach them the right attitude,” he said.
Stating that as many as 90 per cent of prisoners lodged in jails were from poor family backgrounds owing to lapses in the criminal justice system, Singh said that the government had wasted crores of rupees on training, which he said, was damaging the police system.
The senior IPS officer further said that he would bring reforms in the academy. “We will start a research and development centre and a counselling and personality development centre at the academy. We want to change the attitude of police officers and have decided to experiment with new concepts. We will focus on the attitude of the trainers in addition to their knowledge and skill,” the TSPA director said.
The official also added that he would conduct an evaluation of officers right from the Superintendents of Police (SPs) to Inspectors with regard to their performance and service attitude.
“A police officer should be a social worker. They have to understand that they are not only government employees, but also officers of the law. Telangana has been rated as the second most corrupt state in a survey. I believe that police are the only agency that can curb corruption,” he added.