By IANS
New Delhi : An urgent overhaul of the police system is required to sustain economic growth and safeguard democracy from criminalisation, former Uttar Pradesh director general of police Prakash Singh said Wednesday.
"If we want the democratic system to prevail, police should be made impartial and accountable. Our economy is growing and we need ideal police to protect the industrial institutes and businessmen," he told a conference on police reforms here.
He said the government should implement the proposed police reforms, a set of institutional guidelines to improve policing and insulate it from politicians.
"We have not reformed the police system since 1861, we must change the system as per the new scenario. It is very disappointing that some state governments are still defying the Supreme Court judgment, which had clearly directed them to implement it," Prakash Singh said.
Last year the apex court had directed all states to implement these guidelines following a public interest petition filed by Prakash Singh. But several states have taken exception to the recommendations saying that law and order is a state subject.
The guidelines focus on insulating state police forces from the political class that is bound to make it professional.
It suggested reforms to tone up the police functioning including national and state security commissions, a police complaint authority system and separation of law-and-order and investigation, a fixed tenure to officers from the rank of director general of police.