New Delhi: Asserting that technology has substantially altered the space of policing, President Droupadi Murmu on Monday said ‘digital arrest’ has become one of the most dreaded threats to citizens.
Addressing a group of probationers of the Indian Police Service (IPS), who called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Murmu said people, especially the marginalised, should look at police as a source of support and not as a fearsome entity.
The president said India is the fastest growing major economy in the world, and “we need increasingly larger public and private investments for sustaining and accelerating our economic growth”.
“Law and order is a necessary pre-condition for attracting investment in any state or region. Effective policing is as important as economic incentives in promoting investment and growth,” she said.
Murmu said a future-ready police force led by young officers like the IPS probationers will play a major role in the making of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
Stating that technology has substantially altered the space of policing, Murmu ssaid, “Just about 10 years ago, the expression ‘digital arrest’ would have been impossible to understand. Today, it is one of the most dreaded threats to citizens.”
Digital arrest is a scam aimed at extorting money from victims using fear, deceit and intimidation.
Fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials, using threats of arrest and freezing of bank accounts, among others, to force the victims into paying money as “fine” or sort of “security deposit” to avoid legal action. The scammers use video calls to impersonate as law enforcement officers and target the victims.
Murmu also said that India has one of the largest and fastest-growing Artificial Intelligence (AI) user-bases.
“This is going to impact policing also. You have to be several steps ahead in adopting new technologies, including AI, compared to those who use these technologies with wrongful intent,” she said.
The president also said that “colonial powers” in their own countries developed policing systems based on the participation of citizens.
“But they built policing systems based on fear, distrust and distancing in colonies such as India. The process of cultural de-colonisation in policing began with changing the IP or Indian Police to the IPS or the Indian Police Service. The change was meant to bring a new approach based on the idea of serving, and not of ruling,” she said.
The culture of Indian policing would mean maintaining the spirit of service, sensitivity and sympathy, especially for the vulnerable segments of society, Murmu said.
“People, especially the marginalised, should look at police as a source of support and not as a fearsome entity,” the president said.
A police officer deals with crime and criminals almost all the time and this may have a “desensitising effect on you and blunt your humaneness”, she told the probationers.
“In the course of becoming an effective officer, you should make a special effort to keep your own compassionate core intact. This sensitivity should extend to the public you will serve, and also to the members of your team,” Murmu said.
As they (probationers) occupy positions of power and authority, their actions and conduct will always be under public scrutiny, she said.
“You should remember to choose what is ethical and not what is expedient. Just and fair procedures should be followed even when dealing with exigencies. While you derive a lot of powers from the laws and systems, the real authority will come from your personal and professional integrity. Moral authority will earn you everyone’s respect and trust,” Murmu said.
The president also said that the Indian Police Service has made immense contributions in preserving and strengthening the unity of the country shaped by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the country’s first deputy prime minister and home minister.
“The IPS, along with other all-India services, has been instrumental in holding our federal structure together and strengthening the unity and integrity of the nation. Officers of the IPS work with a national perspective wherever they are posted,” the president said.
With 62 lady officer trainees in this batch of 174 probationers, it has the highest gender representation so far, she said.
“I am sure that representation of lady IPS officers will only get larger. In several batches of the IPS during the last few years, including your batch, lady officer trainees have been awarded as the best probationers. The accomplishments of lady police officers highlight that excellence is gender neutral,” Murmu said.
