The fuzz, the buzz

Some marked changes have been the hallmark of the police force, but experts say that much sophistication is needed to combat crime in the future

Some marked changes have been the hallmark of the police force, but experts say that much sophistication is needed to combat crime in the future

From .303 rifles, carbines in 1999 to bulletproof combat vehicles and MP5 assault rifles in 2009 the Mumbai police has come a long way in the last 10 years.

However, before getting to the details one must understand the formation of the city police, said former Police Commissioner M N Singh.
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He explained, "After the cementing of English rule in India and the 1857 Mutiny, the colonial power created a modern police force, whose main job was to do civil policing and put down any rebellion against foreign rule.

The Indian Police Act and the Criminal Procedure Code came into force in that period and the Indian Evidence Act was put into force in 1872.

The police force was created then, as a strong arm of the colonial power to tackle law and order problems. It was more of civil policing then and, hence, the policemen were provided lathis and small firearms.



Dual role

"Post-independence, the poli-ce were called catalysts of social change and were expected to be polite and soft.

But today, in the third phase of its evolution, the police are playing a dual role of civil policing as well as combating terrorism. A sudden 180-degree move, it is multilayer policing today unlike before.

As the Army cannot be pressed into handling civilian situations, the police is the only department to deal with the underworld, Naxals and terrorists. Therefore, the police role has undergone a change."

Another officer, who did not wish to be named, said, "In 1999 and 2000, the biggest challenge for the police was to eradicate the underworld and by and large the department succeeded.

More Power To 'EM: The police battle on.

The city faced the first terror strike in 1993, wherein RDX and AKs were used and cracking the case was easier, as they had used the underworld as the planters.

The police networking within the underworld gangs was strong and they could succeed in cracking down on the menace.

However, today the police is taking on well-trained militants and cross border terrorism. Militants are highly trained and motivated.

The mistake of not preparing ourselves soon after the serial blasts in 1993 to tackle future terror attacks was like ignoring the warning signs."

On December 2002, Singh retired as the city police commissioner and he had then saidu00a0 "terrorism will be the main problem".

"Today we are facing the same. I believe in the future war won't be fought on borders, but it will be terror strikes on civilian areas. The police need to be prepared to face such a situation," he said.

Expert Eye

Security experts say that in the coming years, the police need to prepare themselves in combating terrorists using biological, chemical or even nuclear weapons. Unlike earlier, where terrorists would plant bombs in trains or vehicles, the 26/11 incidents have seen a new style of terror attack. u00a0 In the coming years, the paramilitary forces including the defence, revenue intelligence agencies (DRI, ED, NCB, I-T) and immigration will have to work closely with the police. Mumbai has a large number of iconic buildings and personalities and protecting them will be a big challenge. The police will have to think of insulating the whole city rather than focussing on individual buildings and select personalities. This would involve a coordinated counter terrorism mechanism, comprising civil police, commando units, paramilitary forces, Coast Guard and other defence organisations. u00a0 The department will have to depend more on technology than manpower.

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