The police are a primary stakeholders when it comes to mitigating violence against women (VAW), such as rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence. More importantly, the police are also the first point of contact for women who seek remedy for violence. How crime is reported and whether it is redressed or not largely depends on the police. In our research, we recognise the important role played by the police in our civil society and conducted in-depth interviews with police officials who strive to resolve such crimes on a daily basis.

After the infamous Nirbhaya gang rape in 2012, in which a young physiotherapist student was gang raped on a moving bus in Delhi, and the resulting public outcry, the Indian policing and judicial system underwent several changes. These included stricter rape laws, the introduction of the Fast Track Courts, increased police vigilance through more patrolling, and the installation of home-guards. Many operational changes were also implemented, such as compulsory filing of a case upon receipt of a complaint on VAW, a provision for registration of complaints online, increased number of police officers on-the-ground, and the sensitisation of the police force towards VAW.

To capture the essence of these changes, we conducted semi-structured interviews with police personnel of varying ranks, especially those who are directly involved in case-handling and interacting with complainants. These interviews introduced us to cases we’d never imagined, and left me quite unnerved. My colleague and I visited the police station at Shahdara (a district in eastern part of Delhi). The day unveiled many interesting facts and insights from the field.

After a long cab journey, a small and rocky road led us into the gates of the Shahdara Police station, where we headed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police’s (DCP) office. As opposed to my stereotypical mental image of a small, dingy space (thanks to the cultivation of this concept in my mind by the Indian Cinema), the whole office building was spacious, well-lit and well-ventilated. I took a minute to soak everything in and headed to the DCP’s room, where we introduced our research study to her, which was greeted very warmly. We were able to get the required permissions from her and then moved on to our first interview.

Our first interview with an inspector stationed at the Shahdara Police Station was an extensive one, in which he provided very hands-on information about the locality. He informed us that the region faces two key socio-economic problems: poverty and unemployment. Both are cited as the main reason for the high crime rate in the region, which includes petty economic crimes like chain-snatching and thefts of cars or bikes.

With regard to VAW, one of the most interesting points raised was that after the Nirbhaya incident, the police was a sort of “fix.” The officer stated that he suspects misuse of the directive on compulsory registration of cases on VAW. Since case registry has become compulsory, some women have made it their “profession” to con men into paying them money by filing a rape case against them. This has become a problem for the police because their previous ability to dismiss false charges has been curtailed. This counter-intuitive outcome to the directive, which was otherwise well-intended, provides ample food for thought.

After completing the first interview, we wanted to interview female constables. This is when our otherwise smooth journey came to a screeching halt. The female constables, unlike the inspector, seemed rather uninterested in our research. Perhaps this was because they were on a lunch break and their shifts could last up to twelve hours. We decided to break for lunch ourselves and headed to the police canteen, where we had a hearty and humble meal. After lunch, we made our way to another police station (in a neighbourhood called Seemapuri) situated at the border of  Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. It has a reputation as a notorious locality because of the prevalence of petty crimes.

At the second police station, we first met the head of the police station, the station house office (SHO). The SHO informed us that the locality was particularly challenging to work in; it had the highest population density in India with a population of 6.5 lakhs. He asked one of his junior officers to show us around the police station. We visited multiple desks including the public facilitation desk (where a complainant is first directed to when s/he comes to register a complaint), record-keeping room (where all police files are maintained), and computer room (where online complaints are received). As we visited these rooms, we briefly crossed two lockups, one for males and one for females. Stopping in front of the lockups sent a shiver down my spine, and I was silently grateful that they were empty the day we decided to visit the police station.

Next, we were warmly greeted by a female sub-inspector. She informed us that since she was a female inspector, many cases of crimes against women came to her. This was an indication of some implicit gender-segregation on case-handling within the police station. Ideally, one would expect that both men and women would be sensitive and capable of handling VAW cases. Through the interview, we were acquainted with the rarest and most gruesome of cases, many of which are not picked up by the media or public-discussion. For example, in one case, a mother claimed her young daughter had been raped, but the girl would not disclose the perpetrator. After a thorough investigation, it was found that the rapist was her own father, who had fled from Delhi. The case is still open because the father remains at large.

Our last stop at Seemapuri police station was Crime Against Women cell. The cell primarily handles cases on domestic violence and marital discord. There, we encountered women constables who were responsible for filing the complaint as reported by the survivor. We witnessed a case requesting divorce, but the details of the reason were unknown to us. We later learned that the family was trying to settle the case through monetary transactionsoutside of the court, which the police also favoured. The Inspector of the Crime Against Women Cell told us that such settlements are commonplace and that it is better to not get into the ropes of the judiciary, so a settlement outside the court seems like the best option for an “easy” divorce.

Furthermore, our interaction with the officer in-charge of the women’s cell also demonstrated a streak of paternalism that underlies the system; one which endeavours to rehabilitate the survivor within the perpetrator’s family for the greater good of her future life, especially when the couple has a child. The officer told us that they do not believe in splitting families and instead try to help in resolving conflict through counselling and mediation. We also noticed that there was only one counsellor present at the time we were there, which seemed insufficient given the large number of cases coming in everyday. However, it was inspiring to see how much the officer believed in the system.

After a long day of interviewing police personnel, we made our way to the office of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Shahdara. The ACP greeted us with a bright smiled and signalled us to sit. His table was decorated with his name plate alongside a picture of him from a deployment when he was part of the UN Peace Corps. He began by introducing us to the socio-economic situation of the locality, and his comments suggested that issues of relative deprivation contribute to deviance and crimes (cf. Merton, 1938).

Our interview with the ACP was a lengthy one that was full of interesting details and anecdotes. Quite interestingly, he told us about a case in which a boy had asked to be arrested just to get two square meals a day and a proper room to live in. The ACP also spoke at length about the key changes that the Nirbhaya incident had brought about in the police force. Firstly, the police is now highly sensitized towards cases of VAW. Secondly, survivors are now neither afraid nor hesitant in reporting crimes. This interview in particular gave us powerful insights into the lives of the people who stay in the Shahdara area and how the plight they endure makes committing an economic crime a matter of life and death.

After eight hours of fieldwork, we took our time to process all the conversations. I learnt that it is easy to be an outsider who blames the police for not taking action at the right time. Even with this small snapshot into the lives of these people, I realized it is important for us to be sensitive and understand the police’s standpoint in the same way that we expect them to be sympathetic towards a complainant’s situation. While we interacted with a range of officers across ranks, differing backgrounds, and their exposure to varying types cases, we found one thing common among all them: their passion and desire to work for the greater good of society.

Reference:

Merton, R. K. (1938). Social structure and Anomie. American Sociological Review, 3, 672-682.

By Abhilasha Sahay and Lakshita Ashwini Iyer. Abhilasha Sahay a Sigur Center Field Research Grant Recipient for Summer 2019, and a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Economics at the George Washington University. She studies the intersection of development economics and public policy, with key focus on topics in gender. Abhilasha also works at the World Bank’s Gender Innovation Lab. Lakshita Ashwini Iyer is a research associate in the Qualitative Study on Violence Against Women Project.