BENGALURU: The appointment of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer as Chief Superintendent of Bengaluru Central Prison has drawn sharp criticism from prison officials, who argue that the move undermines the correctional purpose of the prison system and demoralise the staff.
“Prisons are not police stations. They need reform-oriented administrators who understand rehabilitation, counselling, and inmate welfare,” said a senior official from the Prison and Correctional Services Department, requesting anonymity. The officer added that while a police officer may temporarily address issues, such appointments will not solve the systemic lapses in prison management.
On Monday, Karnataka Home Minister DR G Parameshwara appointed 2019-batch IPS officer Anshu Kumar as Chief Superintendent of the prison. The minister also suspended two prison officials and transferred the then chief superintendent following viral videos showing preferential treatment to certain inmates, which raised questions about security lapses and irregularities inside the prison.
Another prison official pointed out that if the intention is to curb corruption, it is important to remember that even police personnel have been caught taking bribes.
“The real issue lies in managing hardened criminals, the overcrowded undertrial inmates population and other management works. The department is understaffed and burdened with inmates far beyond its capacity,” the officer said.
He further added that with the appointment of an IPS officer as chief superintendent, career prison officials may feel demoralised.
‘Chalk & cheese difference between police, prison duties’
Former DG&IGP ST Ramesh said that the appointment of an IPS officer is not an appropriate move. “A police officer is not a prison official and vice versa. A police officer is not trained in prison management. The difference between police duties and those of prison management is like chalk and cheese.
The police officers are trained for investigation, redressing public grievances, maintaining law and order in the society, traffic management and VIP security while prison officers are responsible for managing prisons and prison inmates, producing undertrials in court, rehabilitation of convicts, etc,” he said.
Appointing someone with limited experience in the IPS to manage the central prison is neither desirable nor a long-term solution, he said. “Instead, providing better training to prison officials, improving their morale, and strengthening their self-esteem would help in better prison management. These are of course, long-term solutions,” he said.
Ramesh stressed that it is different when a senior IPS officer with over 25 years of experience, with greater exposure to other government departments, including prisons, is appointed. He has by then acquired the experience to head the Prison department. But the fact remains that an IPS officer is not trained in or for prison management, he added.