The police are faced with new challenges in a democratising India that is beset with corruption, and has a predominantly parochial social structure, an unequal distribution of national wealth and prevailing poverty. Policing urban areas is also becoming difficult in view of increases in the poor, the unemployed, organised crime, pressure on infrastructure and basic amenities, illegal settlements and ruralisation of the urban territories. There has been a growing perception of the decaying policing system in terms of credibility, popular image, corruption and attitudinal dimensions of policing in India (see Indian National Police Commission Report, vol.II, Delhi: Government of India, 1979).The police-public interface in India is witness to the continuing, if not growing, mistrust, which critically impacts on police performance at the cutting edge, i.e. the police station. It is the meeting place for the criminal justice system and the community, where the people are the direct recipients of good or bad delivery of justice and service. The fairness and effectiveness of the process is dependent on law enforcement officers and any unwarranted action and practices on their part may erode public trust and tarnish the police image. The people are at the centre of the whole exercise, both as subjects and objects. Hence, policing has to be community-based and community-oriented with the active coordination and cooperation of the public. It is necessary for the prevention of crime, which is receiving increasing attention from policy makers as well as civil society and even the common man. The present study is an empirical endeavour at the micro-level, Delhi, the capital city of India, to find the meaning, acceptance and operation of the paradigm shift in the police arising from the understanding that, in maintaining social order and crime management, public cooperation is paramount.
Scope of the StudyThis study has been applied to the National Capital Territory of Delhi, where the districts of south Delhi, south-west and central Delhi have been selected, and specifically it relates to the police stations of Malviya Nagar and Sarita Vihar in south Delhi, Najafgarh in the south-west and Karol Bagh in the central Delhi police districts. The selection of Delhi, the districts within it and the police stations concerned was guided by the geographical, political and cultural factors that are peculiar to Delhi, and the police stations were particularly selected for available socioeconomic and crime profiles, feasibility of carrying out research and obtaining data, rural and urban background factors and border links. A sizable segment of the people of Delhi comprises migrant labour from neighbouring states and contributes to the complexities and quantum of crime significantly. Nearly 4% of all reported offences committed throughout India are committed in Delhi. Of late, terrorist and organised crimes have added an important dimension to the criminal scene in Delhi and illegal settlements, socio-cultural diversities, uneven distribu...
