Is the police strength sufficient to take care of the people?
12 Mar, 2014The sanctioning strength of police in any place depends on the population of the area, law and order, crime figures etc. and is usually revised from time to time as the other variables change. As per information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the sanctioned posts in the Mumbai police have decreased when compared to the sanctioned strength in 2011. In 2011, a total of 44,999 posts were sanctioned in Mumbai police which went down to 44,971 in 2014 while the number of those working was 39,720 and 42,201 respectively in these years.
Reply to the application filed by Pune based activist Vihar Durve has revealed that in the city of Mumbai, are 1,291 police vacancies ranging from the rank of police sub-inspector to additional commissioner till January 31, 2014. Out of these, 1,162 posts pertain to the level of the police jawans ranging from the rank of police constables to asst sub-inspectors. The vacant posts include that of one post of additional commissioner of police, five posts of DCP, 44 posts of ACP, 34 posts of PI and 234 posts of API.
The conviction rate has been dipping in most places in the country and the police is said to be under tremendous pressure. With Aamir Khan raking up the issue of police reforms in the programme “Satyamev Jayate”, the working of police has been come to the forefront.