Indian Police Foundation takes shape

A multi-disciplinary platform, consisting of a group of serving and retired police officers, civil servants, academia, lawyers and civil society members has been formed, to work for improving the quality of policing in India.
The Foundation, launched recently in Delhi, will focus on establishing global standards of professional skills and competencies as well as service delivery standards for Indian Police, promote good governance, accountability and transparency, President of the foundation, N Ramachandran, former DGP of Meghalaya, said in a statement.
"The failure on the part of our police to raise its professional standards to meet today's challenges, coupled with an inability to uphold the law in all situations, has resulted in a drastic erosion in the public confidence in our police system," he said.

Since independence, successive Police Commissions have submitted reports recommending drastic reforms in the police. The Supreme Court has pronounced many path-breaking judgments aimed at freeing up the police from wanton political control and abuse. "While a lack of political will is touted as the most compelling reason, the sad truth is that there is inadequate realization that the fundamental responsibility for change, lie within the system itself."
The Foundation will constructively challenge the existing policies and practices of the police and also generate the much needed ideas, energy and expertise, strong and influential enough to compel and assist the Indian Police to drive a campaign for systemic and transformational reforms, he said.

The Foundation will set up a Police Institute as a Centre of Excellence for Research, Development and Innovation, an 'incubator of ideas' that will partner with, assist and support the police to drive the change, through well calibrated strategies for the enhancement of professional skills and competencies of police personnel, he added.
Prakash Singh, a veteran police officer who has been fighting a sustained legal battle for police reforms, has been elected Chairman.
Members of the Foundation include former Home Secretary G K Pillai, former Mumbai Police Commissioner, J F Ribeiro, Former DG CRPF, K Vijay Kumar, Director of the Commonwealth Human rights Initiative, Maja Daruwala, Air Marshal (Retd) M Matheswaran, among others.