Policing in current times is a vast interdisciplinary activity. For instance, when a police team investigates a case, it needs forensic expertise in various fields such as forensic ballistics, serology, genetics or cyber forensics. It also requires communication skills, victim support attitude and conflict resolution skills, as the case may be. If a police team is managing a border facing internal security issues, it needs the help of a border expert, international affairs expert, if the border is international, coastal security expert, if it is a marine border, or an internal security expert if related with extremist or terrorist activities.
There are innumerable situations in which the police need expert advice. On a matter of law, they approach lawyers (law being an established and evolved profession), but what about the remaining 99 per cent areas? Here lies the importance of evolving policing as a highly specialised profession. The Police University, proposed by the Kerala Government, would be a positive step towards achieving the goal of convergence of all study fields in policing.
The university should be a centre of excellence to mould the next generation of strategic thinkers and decision makers giving equal focus on security issues and democratic policing.
Academic Programmes
The university can offer studies in doctoral and masters-levels besides specialist undergraduate studies. Though basically a centre for advanced studies, it can also offer short-term courses for police officer trainees.
The academic programmes should cover practical, theoretical, philosophical, sociological, political, economic, scientific, psychological, ethical, humanitarian, civil and other aspects of security studies, human and social resources, civil defence, civil protection, environmental protection, peace and conflict studies.
Research facility can be offered to police practitioners with 10 years of service and having postgraduate degree in any subject as done in universities such as the BITS. Short-term or online courses in research methodology could be offered to them prior to induction.
Police personnel may be offered short-term courses in public order management, communication skills, community safety management, road safety, investigative skills, intelligence analysis and detective skills based on the professional need.
Online courses on community safety can be offered to the general public. The varsity should publish guidebooks for
police officers of various levels. Research activities in the university should facilitate improvement in field-level policing and at the same time guide internal security policies, public order management policies etc. Civic capacity development in the community should also be an aim. Efforts should be taken for tie-ups with defence research organisations, RAW, IB, INTERPOL, the UN and reputed universities are essential for the centre.
Research and Documentation
The centre should focus on research and documentation in the fields of national security, internal security, police science, police practices, public order, public safety, conflict resolution, criminal justice, gender justice, cyber security, forensic science, detective skills and other inter-disciplinary fields connected with the policing profession and security. Experiences of police practitioners across the globe on security and model practices may be documented. The centre should offer a platform for knowledge sharing to practitioners, scientists and related industries.
Gender Equality
Policing being a profession dominated by males, gender equality should be a policy of the university, right from the beginning. Research in policing and safety needs of women and children should be given top priority. Gender equilibrium in the policing profession should be an important agenda with adequate gender representation of qualified persons. Community safety needs should get priority rather than reinforcing the established patriarchal and authoritative models.
Management
A full-time Vice-Chancellor and director with brilliant academic and police professional background and a great vision would help to develop a university with a difference.
A core group of serving police officers, with PhD in police science, as officers on special duty might help to bridge the university with the Police Department.
Last but not least, an international-level campus should be established with good road, rail and air connectivity. It will be ideal to have a consultation meeting of think-tanks to generate ideas about the setting up of the new police university.
Stalwarts like Sankar Sen, Prakash Singh, R N Ravi, Vijayakumar, representatives of civil society bodies, National Police Academy director, and other stakeholders may be invited for the meeting.
(The author, B Sandhya, ADGP, Armed Forces Battalion with the Kerala Police, holds a doctorate from BITS Pilani in ‘Access of Women to Criminal Justice System’.)