praveen kumar on Indian police,policing and the UPSC and poems on love and human nature.

2002-09-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

praveen kumar on Indian police,policing and the UPSC and poems on love and human nature.

An analytical study of the philosophy and field dynamics of the policing in practice with live instances from the field penned by a Police Officer from India. The hypocrisy and the sad state of affairs in the profession in India and the UPSC as its appointing agent are effectively brought out by the author.
POLICE DOGS FOR THE NEW AGE IN KARNATAKA

Police dogs are the invisible eyes and ears of the police in crime detection at
both prevention and investigation stages. As an aide of detection at the
prevention stage, police dogs are perficiently employed as detectors of bombs in
suspected sabotage cases and of narcotics in suspected drug trafficking. Thus
police dogs play prominent roles in meeting the present acute gauntlets of
policing, namely providing security to men and places and curbing smuggling
and trafficking in narcotics. Police dogs are proved to be as helpful as
fingerprint experts in identifying criminals, their hideouts and stolen properties.
In addition, police dogs can be employed for law and order duties apart from
guarding men, place and properties.

Police dogs sui juris form an integral part of a well-equipped police force
anywhere in the world. The Indian police also made a beginning in re police
dogs long ago though much is yet to be done to realise their best services. The
Karnataka police too has a small unit of dog squad in its fold. This discussion is
limited to the dog squad of Karnataka with suggestions to enable it to grow from
its present small form.

The Police dog squad in Karnataka functions as a part of the armed reserve
unit of the Bangalore city police. Though there are various regional police dog
units under its supervision apart from the police dog unit of the Bangalore city,
under its direct control and supervision, the relationship between the mother unit
and various regional units remains largely undefined and louche. Further, a
state-level unit like the police dog squad being a part of the armed police unit of Bangalore city police indicates a messy and arbitrary growth and structuring.
This needs to be rationalised. A dog squad under the exclusive charge of an
officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police is required to be created
in the Criminal Investigation Department of the state to which the police dog
squad should belong in terms of its usual functions and usefulness. The police
dog squad primarily belongs to the Crime Branch of the State Police setup as its
aide in detection work. Usually, armed policemen and officers arc posted in
Karnataka as handlers in the ranks of PCs and HCs and supervisory officers of
the dog squad in the ranks of PSIs and Pis. These are temporary postings and
therefore fail to elicit any abiding interest in those concerned. Further, there
being no distinct identity for these officials and no additional monetary benefits
involved, the Karnataka police dog squad fails to instil any commitment in its
personnel.

The Karnataka Police must create an exclusive cadre of handlers and dog
masters with distinct seniority and promotional opportunities upto the rank of
the Chief Dog Master at the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Constables selected from the armed or civil police must be absorbed to the dog
squad as assistant handlers after six months of training in handling dogs. An
assistant handler must be eligible to be promoted as a handler in the rank of HC
and he in turn as a Dog Master in the rank of PSI; me next promotion would be
to Senior Dog Master at the rank of PI and thereafter as Chief Dog Master at the
rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. A system of dog allowances for each
of these ranks make the cadre financially attractive and the job financially worth
seeking. The present setup of the Karnataka police dog squad has
professionalism in its ranks only upto the rank of Head Constables. The
supervisory officers from the rank of PSI upwards are sheer amateurs, devoid of
any professional expertise in their work. Occasional training in Tekanpur or
other places cannot instil professional commitment and expertise when the
officials know that their career is outside the police dog squad and their interest
in police dogs is transitory. This non-professionalism at supervisory levels
makes supervision and control of the police dog squad in Karnalaka absolutely
meaningless. The officers for the ranks of PSIs, PIs and Deputy
Superintendents of Police in the police dog squad should be selected from
professionals either by promotion or direct recruitment from outside. This
makes these officials able to identify their career with the effectiveness of the
police dog squad.

Though the dog squad of the armed police unit of Bangalore city police is
supposed to be a training unit for police dogs and handlers from all over the
stale, no infrastructure for handling such a responsibility is available in the unit.
A senior handler often functions as a trainer for pups when required and no
programme schedules to train handlers is available, not to speak of any refresher
or special courses either to the dogs or their handlers. A full-Hedged breeding and training centre for both the police dogs and their handlers must be setup as
the point d' appui of the dog squad under a senior Dog Master of the rank of
Police Inspector as the trainer. Pups to be trained as police dogs and PCs to be
trained as assistant handlers should have regular courses of the duration of six
months. The centre may also conduct refresher courses of shorter duration for
handlers and their dogs and special courses for dogs and handlers, participating
in dog shows and police duty meets, apart from research on breeding, feeding,
training and performance.

The part of police dogs in Karnataka in routine security checking of
passenger luggages at airports is nil. The absence of roles in security measures
against such international threats like hijacking, bombing of planes, trafficking
in narcotics etc tells a bleak story about the use of scientific methods in the
state's policing. The function of police dogs here is confined to checking of the
airport during VVIP visits. As airport security vigilance is an important
function of policing, the Karnataka police should consider creating a detachment
of dogs, trained in detection of explosives and narcotics for its major airports
under a Dog Master with a complement of handlers and assistant handlers.
Though India is fast growing to be a transit centre for narcotics from both the
Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent meant for Western countries and
Bangalore city is developing to be a centre of shipment to various exit points, no
visible effort to check this menace is patent in Bangalore city police force.
Training a couple of police dogs for the detection of narcotics could be a good
beginning in this direction. Though the Karnataka police had two sniffer dogs
in its squad till recently, a new beginning was made in 1989 to train pups with
the help of the Border Security Force in the detection of explosives and
narcotics. However, the efforts could not be carried outjusqu au bout for want
of imaginative policy towards transfers of higher ranks to inspire concerted
efforts in this direction.

The regional units of the dog squad of Karnataka police presently function as
part of the armed reserves of the district, where each unit is situated, under the
overall supervision of a nonprofessional in the field like a Reserve Police
Inspector. The regional units must be viable units with a minimum of three
dogs, three handlers, three assistant handlers, a vehicle, two drivers and a
sweeper-cum-cook, under the control and supervision of a Dog Master in each
district. Karnataka has a post of handler or assistant handler for each dog. The
natural inadequacy of one handler for a dog because of the human failures like
absences, sickness etc make the allocation of handlers to dogs on permanent
basis impossible, thus denying a vital need of dog management. This failure has
naturally reflected adversely on the health, efficiency, performance and
management of police dogs in Karnataka. It is a primary need that each dog is
placed under the charge of two officials as handler and assistant handler on a
permanent basis to facilitate atleast one between them being always available to take care of the dog and the dog is not required to be exposed to anybody other
than its appointed handlers.

The police dogs in Karnataka are fed with wheat, rice and other cereals inter
alia. This diet needs to be replaced with bread and dog biscuits whichprovide
complete and wholesome nutrition and avoid the unhygienic and fluctuating
quality standards of the amateur cook. The rexine boards measuring 4' x 5'
which are used as beds for police dogs in Maharastra can be conveniently used
as beds for police dogs in Karnataka too because they are easy to wash and
clean daily. There is no systematic approach in Karnataka for purchase of foods
for dogs. The right of sale of the foods for a year in bulk to the dog squad must
be alloted at higher levels by tenders every year to avoid misuses and leakages.
The purchase of lifesaving medicines of dogs poses financial problems if the
drug stockist refuses to sell the medicine on credit in the present system. Often,
handlers are required to pay ror the medicine from their pockets with the hope
of recouping it later. A permanent advance of say Rs.500/- to all regional units
and Rs.lOOQ/- to the Bangalore city unit may prove to be a panacea for this
financial malady. There are no specific guidelines as standing orders or manual
provisions available in Karnataka to ensure healthy practices in dog
management that guarantee improved performance of the dogs. This absence is
the cause for each handler engaging his dog in his own way, leading to all types
of abuses and ill-treatment of dogs. It is necessary to prepare a police dog
manual containing standing orders and specific instructions on the management
of police dogs. There is no uniform method laid down to assess the
performance of handlers and their dogs and their mutual compatibility. This has
resulted in an extremely casual and mechanical approach on part of handlers to
their dogs. An integrated approach to assess the performance of each handler
and assistant handler on continuous basis would certainly boost the level of
performance by inculcating in them an attitude of commitment. A system must
be evolved wherein a worksheet for each handler is drawn every month by the
Dog Master with marks alloted to the handler's dog for its performances in
monthly tests with specific notes on the health of the dog and its compatibility
with its handler. Finally, the Dog Master should draw his assessment of the
handler on the basis of the performances, health and compatibility of the dog
with its handler, at the end of each monthly work sheet. Every worksheet so
prepared every month for each handler must be thoroughly scrutinised by the
concerned senior Dog Master and sent to the Chief Dog Master with his
recommendations of rewards or punishments for individual handlers.

The handlers of the Karnataka police dog squad do not maintain any
important records or registers at present. Handlers being the most important
officials in the hierarchy of a dog squad, they must be given freedom in
handling their respective dogs with concomitant responsibilities. This naturally
entails maintenance of essential registers like daily expenditure registers,
medical sheet, call register etc. by each handler apart from a daily notebook.

The daily expenditure register bears a page for each day wherein all types of
expenditures incurred on a dog, including food, medical treatment, medicine, kit
articles etc are entered with details by the handler in his own handwriting and
the total expenditure incurred on that day summed up at the end of the page.
The call register bears a page for each case attended by the handler and his
dog, with entries by the handler in his own handwriting. The call register
contains exhaustive information about each case including the date and time of
the call, the'time of the handler's departure to the scene; the time of his reaching,
the distance of the journey performed. Vehicle number, driver's name, nature of
the call, caller's name, crime number, name of the investigating officer, name of
the police station involved, a brief account Of the case, the specific acts done by
the dog at the scene, the outcome of the acts of the dog, the time of departure
from the scene, the time of reaching back etc.

The medical sheet for each dog is maintained by the concerned handler
wherein there are columns for entries of date, symptoms of illness, names of
medicines administered and signature of the veterinary surgeon treating the dog.
Pasting a piece of the container of the medicine in the column for the name of
the medicine as evidence for the medicine being purchased may be made
binding. For each vaccination administered, a certificate is obtained and pasted
in the concerned column. Though the medical sheet is maintained by the
handler, he should not make any entry in the sheet. All entries therein are made
by the veterinary surgeon who treats the dog. The Dog Master must
periodically examine this sheet and enter his remarks thereon.

The notebook of the handler is scrutinised periodically by the concerned
Dog Master and Senior Dog Master who record their remarks and instructions
thereon. The system of obtaining signatures of the officials on duty with time of
reporting etc on the duty register helps to have better control and supervision
over the staff. There is no streamlined system in the Karnataka police dog
squad to obtain feedback on the performance of dogs at the scene. The glitch
can be superated by prescribing a reminder form in duplicate which should be
sent to the concerned investigating officer at the end of the first month of a case
to provide full details of the investigation of the case as on that day including
arrests, recoveries etc with notes on the part played by the police dogs in the
investigation. Thereafter similar reminder forms are sent to the investigating
officer once in every two months until the case is disposed of. The reminder
form must have separate columns for entries about specific acts done by the
police dog at the scene and indications-given towards detection. This
safeguards the interests of the dog squad by checking the tendency of the
investigating officers to take undue credit for all detections even when
detection is actually done through police dogs. It should be made binding
through proper statutory provisions on all investigating officers to return all reminder forms, duly filled up in time.

The Karnataka police dog squad faces the peculiar problem of investigating
officers or other sources who call the services of police dogs as a learnt
response, leaving the dog and its handler who reach the scene to their own fate
without required briefing. This renders the performance of police dogs
ineffectual. This unhealthy operational defect may be overcome by prescribing
an 'Investigating Officers and Handlers Form' with columns for entries
regarding crime number, call number, brief notes about the case, specific
performance of the dog at the scene and results and signature of the
investigating officer. The Investigating Officer should sign the form in
triplicate, after completion of the operation by the police dog, and maintain a
copy for his station reference and hand over two copies to the handler. The
handler in turn must maintain a copy for himself and send the other copy to the
crime branch through proper channel.

The maintenance of history sheets for dogs is not properly streamlined in the
Karnataka police. Often, separate registers are maintained for the entries that
must be collated in a history sheet. An integrated history sheet in a specified
form with a minimum of the following 16 chapters must be maintained for each
dog.

a) History of the dog including name of the breed, colour, sex, date of
birth, name, registration number, height, identification marks, names of
the former owners if any, a photograph of the dog etc.

a) Family history of the dog including parents' breeds and names etc.

c) History of the heat periods of the dog wherein actual dates of the
beginning and ending of each heat period is entered in serial order.

d) Delivery information in the case of female dogs wherein information
regarding the dale of mating, name and registration number of the male
dog mated, name of the unit or owner of the male dog, expected
delivery date, actual delivery date, numbers of pups delivered and their
sex, names of the pups and method of disposal of each pup in separate
columns.

e) History of the weight of the dog entered with dates every week.

f) Bathing history of the dog with dates entered every fortnight.

g) Stool examination history with separate columns for the date of
examination, nature of worms noticed in the stool if any, action taken
against the worms etc.

h) History of periodical vaccination administered to the dog with columns
for the nature of the vaccination, date of last vaccination and next due
date.

i) History of annual injections administered like distemper injection and
tetanus toxide injection with dates and a sample of the container of the
injection pasted to the sheet.

j) Record of monthly temperature of the dog with dates.

k) Particulars of fatal accidents involving the dog.

l) History of the basic training of the dog including its qualification for
police work like tracking, guarding, aquatic lifesaving, night
patrolling, crime detection, detection of explosives, detection of
narcotics etc.

m) History of refresher courses attended by the dog including name of the
course, period and dates, place of training, instructor's name, name of
the training officers, name of the handler etc in separate columns.

n) History of the participation and performance in dog shows, police duty
meets and other competitions with dates and names of the places where
the shows are held.

o) History of medical treatment of the dog with entries pertaining to dates
of illness, facts of medical investigation, medicines prescribed, dates of
medicines administered and remarks of the Dog Master in separate
columns.

p) There should be a separate chapter at the end of the history sheet
wherein the chief Dog Master and head of the crime branch enter their
remarks on the dog periodically.

Presently, police dogs in Karnataka are fed twice a day at 0930 hours and
1730 hours. The feeding may be increased to thrice a day at 0930 hours, 1330
hours and 1730 hours with the food for the day being divided among these
periods. The increase in the frequency of feeding helps to improve the health,
efficiency and strength of the dogs.

The dog squad of Karnataka police must at least now take the first step
towards strengthening the unit as a useful outfit to support the increasingly
difficile job of policing. The main actors in the dog squad, namely the dogs, are
far better and more non-controversial instruments in the police machinery than
two other more important factors namely machinery which is blind, dumb and
deaf and men who are too intelligent to be always loyal and obedient. Dogs
know no corruption and no dishonesty. They bring life to policing unlike
machinery. Policing is safe in the charge of these loyal, obedient and efficient
animals. It is left to police leaders, how much they decide to take advantage of
these ever-obedient animals in the difficile task of policing, who are cheaper
than men and machinery and warmer and more efficient as well. Future
policing needs call for a closer and increased synergy between policemen and
these animals in tackling the gauntlets of the increasingly complex job that
policing is growing to be.

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