A healthy police-public relationship is not a Utopian concept and will work if both are well aware of their rights and duties, says DySP A Nasim, who has elaborated his stand through four books on the art and science of policing.
Nasim, who has 16 years of frontline policing under his belt, joined the Kerala Police as a sub-inspector. His first work ‘Police Digest’ published in 1994 which provides guidance to the cops to perform their job better and the public to know their rights, is perhaps the first of its kind in the country.
“It was my professional experience that propelled me to write the book. As a Sub-inspector, I had to deal with different kinds of cases and many a time I desperately felt the need of getting a handbook on the practical methods being applied while investigating similar cases,’’ says Nasim.
The role of the police is crucial in delivering justice, feels Nasim. The police investigation should be devoid of loopholes to ensure that the victim gets justice from the court, he says.
“Unfortunately, conviction rate is very low in our country. Though there are other reasons, the number could be reduced significantly if the investigation is conducted in an effective manner,’’ he adds.
The book helps the general public on what they should expect from the police. ‘’Public awareness is essential for better policing. Several people do not know what they can expect from the department. So I thought of including sections for the public, beginning from the filing of a complaint to helping the public understand their rights when stopped and/or searched by the police,’’ says Nasim.
The first book’s acceptance among his colleagues prompted him to pen three more works titled ‘Police Jurisprudence’ ‘Manual for Civil Police Officers’ and ‘Protocol of Investigation’.
The books are meant to help middle-level officers to carry out proper and scientific investigation, says Nasim, who is currently working on his fifth book on Police Inspection. Nasim’s books are easy reads peppered with real life anecdotes.
“Several of the examples in the books are my own experiences and I have also included peculiar and significant cases in the history of Kerala Police,’’ he says.
Nasim, a first rank holder in Police administration certificate course from the University of Kerala, also holds an MA degree in Police Administration and LLB. A native of Vavvakavu in Kollam, Nasim is now serving as Intelligence DySP, Pathanamthitta. He is also a first rank holder in Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Trivandrum Press Club.
He says that the course helped him immensely in improving his writing. His family includes wife Beena, a college lecturer, and children Ashim Noya and Neha Nasim.