If Rajasthan police has its way, constables will soon be allowed to investigate petty cases. For this, the crime branch is exploring the feasibility of delegating investigation powers to constables who pass an examination.
Directors general of police Kapil Garg said, “The proposal is with the government and it is under consideration.”
According to the proposal drafted by the police department, before becoming investigation officers, the constables will have to write an exam and those who will pass it will go through training. The selected constables will then be given a right to probe cases which can invite a maximum punishment of five years.
The draft proposal – appointing constables as investigation officers -- assumes significance in the context of case burden on senior police officers. In Rajasthan, each investigation officer has a pendency of 50 cases per year; about 35,000 constables are posted across police stations in the state.
Giving investigation powers to constables will reduce burden on senior officers and quality of probe can be ensured in cases of serious offences. Though the constables will get the right to investigate cases, there will be a no hike in their salaries.
According to the Rajasthan Police Act, 2007, only policemen above the constable rank can investigate a case.
{{/usCountry}}According to the Rajasthan Police Act, 2007, only policemen above the constable rank can investigate a case.
{{/usCountry}}“A police officer is loaded with many duties other than investigation of cases. Every year in Rajasthan on an average 10,000 cases of missing persons and 15,000 cases of unnatural deaths are lodged across various police stations in the state. The burden of investigation of these petty cases falls on assistant sub-inspectors, sub-inspectors, and inspectors. Other than that around 3 lakh preventive actions, like bounding miscreants, is done by these officers,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.
“If this proposal is accepted, then the pendency of cases will be reduced and senior officers can focus on serious cases like rape, murder, loot and dacoity. The constables will also be empowered and they will get extra training. It would help in prompt and quality investigation of cases with backlog clearance at the police station level. It would also help in increasing the conviction rate which is not encouraging at present due to paucity of quality investigation.”
According to the draft of the proposal, the trained constables who will be made investigation officers will look into crimes, such as theft, pick-pocketing, car theft, and cases filed under the Gambling Act and the Defacement Act. Generally, these cases are investigated by head constables and other senior officers.