A culture of integrity in police

Policemen deliver to the public what they receive from their department. If there is openness and fairness within the department, if there is transparency and justice in postings, transfers and promotions, policemen will carry a high sense of justice and, in turn, this is what they will deliver to the citizens

PUBLIC trust and legitimacy is vital for police functioning. The public demands a more exemplary conduct from police officers as from the very nature of their job of law enforcement they are bound by an exacting code. Police deviance not only hits the people who are already in distress and very often belong to a disadvantaged section, but is also very visible. Still every other day there are incidents reported that draw flak and derision from society, undoing all the hard work done by a large number of officers.

Systemic issues

The solution to the problem of unethical practices in police has a much deeper undercurrent than just being a matter of enforcing discipline and strict supervision. First, a serious role conflict always exists in policing -- between the ideals of crime control and ideals of policing. While society tends to judge police performance based on the achievement of goals and outcomes, there are many limitations in our criminal justice system which hampers the efficient and effective functioning of the police. It is amazing that John Beam’s description in his Memoirs of a Bengal Civilian, of the investigative skills of the police of the pre-1861 era remains relevant even today:
‘Darogah’s powers of harassment were enormous; he would have a person indicted for harbouring a bad character, or failing to assist an officer in arresting a criminal. Obtaining witnesses presented no problems to the Darogah. They were splendid detectives. They were close the people and were themselves wily and unscrupulous enough to meet the criminal on his own ground. The ‘new’ police by contrast, after 1861, were quite inferior in detective ability. They were ‘over drilled’ and ‘over regulated’. They failed, until they learnt to use the extra-legal methods of the old police without being found out.’
This gives rise to the ‘noble cause corruption’ or unethical conduct not for personal gain but for the good of society. Examples of noble cause corruption are planting or fabricating evidence, lying on reports or in court, and generally abusing police authority to make a charge stick. This can often be how the officers cross the line towards abandoning their integrity. In Punjab itself as on 12/10/06 there were 462 police officers facing criminal writs, trials and investigations against them for allegations of acts of omission or commission performed during the period of terrorism in Punjab. Writs faced by officers include 2 ADGPs, 3 IGs, 2 DIGs & 12 SPs. There were court trials underway of CBI cases against 20 SPs, 21 DSPs, 57 Inspectors, 52 Sub- Inspectors, 53 Assistant Sub Inspectors, 42 Head Constables and 51 constables for this period.
To add to the complexity of the situation are the core subculture beliefs of the police that: They are the only real crime fighters, no one else understands them, loyalties are to each other because everyone is out to get them, can't win the war against crime without bending rules and the public is unsupportive and too demanding.
Confronted by the ethical issues, the response of the department has been strongly reactive rather than adopting a proactive strategy. As a result, the police service today is seen as a beleaguered institution which has lost a clear sense of direction.

Integrity framework

For the Indian Police today there is an urgent need to regain public trust and the strategies towards achieving this need to be given serious consideration. Therefore, a holistic approach for developing an integrity framework that considers all the three dimensions - the environment; the organisation; and personal characteristics, values and behaviour of the individuals involved in the process can address the problem.
Police service is all about values. The department needs to own up a set of core values that are inspirational, after developing them through a collective exercise within the police organisation. Having done so, monitoring and control mechanisms should be put in place to oversee the conduct of the individuals and the department as a whole, in relation to these core values, cherishing them above competencies.
Within the organisation, there is need to address both the structural issues and the culture issues. This would include the recruitment of only those individuals who are aligned to the core values, training that inculcates desired values and a rewards and recognition programme that provides incentives to live out the core values. The standardisation of key services and procedures can ensure adherence to policies, practices and behaviours that reflect the core values.
The role of authentic leadership, that is centre of gravity in sustaining and developing a culture of integrity, and reaction to critical incidents are crucial to the integrity framework. Finally, the constitution of an ‘ethic committee’ in police departments in states would help in implementing measures, identifying areas to reduce corruption and coordination and partnership with outside agencies. An expert ethics policy body for the police at the national level would be useful for advice and guidance on complex ethical dilemmas and to disseminate best practices in this area to the states.

Intrinsic motivation

The policing paradox suggests that the discretionary power tends to be the maximum at the bottom of the hierarchy in the police department. This is where patrol officers apply laws, policies and regulations and make discretionary choices away from the scrutiny of the supervisors and mostly away from the reach of accountability measures. Therefore, to promote a culture of integrity, there is also need to consider methodologies that use the power of employee commitment, organisational culture, peer norms and values to shape behaviour and build motivation in the police force.
The emerging field of Positive Organisational Behaviour suggests that the police force need to build in a culture of trust, respect and principle-based working, to create an environment where the officers and men can be inspired. The process of change from the culture of mistrust and manipulation to one of trust, friendship and respect can transform the police department from a micro-managed high-control, autocratic environment to a place of high involvement, empowerment and rapid response to citizens.
As a matter of straightforward and simple principle, the policemen would deliver to the public what they ‘receive from the department’. If there is openness and fairness within the department, there is transparency and justice in the postings, transfers and promotions, the policemen will carry a high sense of justice. In turn, this is what they will deliver to the citizens. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the selection of Station House Officers, Senior Superintends of Police and other field officers is done on merit in a transparent manner.

Practices abroad

In the South African police important selections for those in charge of police stations and the districts are done on the basis of open process in assessment centres to determine the competency levels of officers under consideration. The South African Police Service‘s Assessment Centre can be described as a multi-method, multi-trait technique. Essentially, it is a series of individual and group exercises in which a number of candidates participate while being observed by several observers. The exercises are simulations of managerial tasks designed to test various managerial skills. The Selection process for senior officers is spread over two consecutive days.
At the time of recruitment in the Royal Mounted Canadian Police core values are well advertised and people apply for employment there because they subscribe to these values. To verify their authenticity they can be subjected to polygraph testing and conscientious testing. At the time of being confronted with these tests, 30% of candidates opt out.
In the Singapore Police Force the core values are first instilled in the officers during their induction programme and translated into the desired behaviour through policies and programmes and practices. The rewards and recognition programme then provides the incentives to live out the core values. Finally, the standardisation of key services and procedures ensures adherence to policies, practices and behaviours that reflect the core values.
Given the complexity of the problem of police integrity the Hong Kong Police adopted a holistic four-pronged approach to address the issue of police integrity in 1996. The prongs are: Education and training; minimising opportunities for malfeasance; Police and Independent Commission Against Corruption partnership and co-operation; and discipline. A series of specific measures in 1996 included an anti-smoking campaign, station fitness rooms, stress management publications and training and anti-gambling publicity. The strategy’s success could be judged from the figures: in 1974 some 47% of corruption complaints in Hong Kong were against the police compared with 13% by 2002.
Considering the ethical conduct as an essential requirement, several police departments like the Canadian and Dutch have officers as Ethics Commissioners. The Hong Kong police has an Anti-Corruption Steering Committee chaired by a Senior Assistant Commissioner. The committee is not just concerned with corruption but also with the related issues of integrity and ethics. Australia has an integrity framework in place to promote and foster such culture in the organisation and have the Office of Professional Responsibility and Professional Integrity.
When the overall effectiveness of the police in terms of crime control is under consideration it needs to be stressed that being at the first line of contact, the police may determine who enters the criminal justice system but they do not influence the eventual outcomes.
By addressing the challenges of ethical conduct and decision-making in a proactive manner, a culture of integrity can be developed and sustained in the police departments in India. And the police service can present itself to the outside world as a professional institution with credible practices, values and beliefs.

Posted in: Paper II