In the last year, as many as 90 inspectors across various city police stations have been transferred. However, their replacements – who were transferred to Bengaluru from in and around the district – are finding it hard to understand the crime scene and the lay of the land in their respective jurisdictions.
While these transfer problems are part of police life, the sheer number of transfers has affected the law and order situation at the grassroots level, say senior police officials.
Transfers are a routine affair in any government department but when it comes to the police force, the officials concerned should consider a number of factors before taking a decision.
Understanding the nature of a crime and the background of habitual offenders and rowdies through local intelligence is a must for any officer to ensure law and order in his jurisdiction. A police officer needs at least three years to truly understand a situation. “However, frequent transfers often results in police personnel losing the motivation to get to know their jurisdictions well. This has also has a cascading effect on the law and order in the jurisdiction,” a senior police officer said. He added that there are many police officers in the force who have been in Bengaluru for the past year but are unaware of the city’s layout let alone specific problems in their area.
Many officials believe that the city needs a sizeable number of police officers at least on ground who have adequate knowledge about crime, troublemakers in the area, and other details that come in handy when tackling important cases.
For instance, the jurisdictional police officer plays an important role in curbing local gang wars, which he does by tapping into his local intelligence network and keeping tabs on habitual offenders who are out on bail. But since last year, there has been an increase in crime rates with clashes and local gang wars.
Officials with the Home Department say that transfers are a necessary evil as they prevents political affiliation from developing and ensure that the police don’t indulge in corrupt practices.
Imran Gowhar
