Problems Faced By Law Enforcement Agencies In India

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Law enforcement is an important arm of a secure democracy. There are different wings of law enforcement like the Traffic police, Cyber crime, Policemen on mufti, Women police, Special operations group, Perform routine law and order duties etc. There are many more wings which are there in India. The requirements are diverse so are the different wings of the police. These law enforcement agencies perform a thankless job. I am sure many countries around the world the situation will be more or less the same but minor differences will be there.

The unique challenge which law enforcement agencies in India face is the limited amount of law enforcement people available when compared to the size of the population of the country. This makes regulation and enforcement a more difficult task for them. It has to be said that despite these limitations they try to do their best. Here are a few problems which people serving as law enforcers face on a day to day basis. This is being discussed in detail.

Duty hours – There are fixed duty hours but due to their nature of work and as they are short staffed when compared to the size of the population which they have to served these people are very few in number. So what happens to be a eight hour duty turns out to be a more than twelve hour duty. Their timings are there but they have to work according the requirement of the time. Say if an public event is going to take place they have to be there from early hours till late night till the event is over. Work hours are erratic. As one day may be a normal day in office while the next day will be at a place out in the hot sun the whole day without even the time for proper nourishment.

Some time work will run till late hours in the police station itself and they will have to stay their till early hours. So the result is that no one day or a few days seem to be similar. Which is not a good thing for the whole police force. This affects the work during the  duty hours and as they are overstretched efficiency of the work force gets hit in the long run. Which is not good for the force on the whole and this issue has to be addressed on a long term basis. There are some changes which are being effected which are helpful to the people but more needs to be done as it is like a drop in an ocean. More reforms are needed and have to be strictly implemented.

Sleep – The kind of schedule discussed above leads to a erratic lifestyle which directly affects the health and has negative consequences in the long run. When sleep pattern is disturbed and once they report for duty there will be irritation, impatience, anger, anxiety and other such qualities which will be out there on display. Work pressure adds to the problem and increases it. A good nights sleep is very much essential for an effective work force. This will also affect the reaction time, will result in fatigue, will reduce appetite which in turn takes a toll on their health. They would not usually be the personality who actually they were before joining the force. They would end up being more serious and this does not help their job and decreases their efficiency.

Continuing sleep problems in the long run result in behavioral changes,  change in attitude and outlook of life in general. Work will tend to be monotonous. The person who was initially enjoying the job and excited about it will start losing interest in his job. He will start feeling that the job is like a millstone around his or her neck. This leads to other mind related issues like social withdrawal, depression, tension, anxiety about work deadlines not being completed and similar other problems. Every morning when they get up and get ready for work they will feel as if they are forced to go office and slog for their pay.

Family and social life – This is one more important place where the first two issues discussed have an effect. As they will not have a standard time they find it difficult to lead a proper life with their family, friends and society. Many a times they will be working when the whole nation will be celebrating on some festival or the other. While a few of the people may be able to get leave not all can be given leave. Even though they are elder they this does affect their frame of mind and thoughts. This brings changes in their personality too. Their only consolation will be at the end of the day to see their family having a contented meal and sleep peacefully and see that life carries on. Many will be clinging to this one emotional thing, the scene which they see when they reach in the night  and be happy that their family is not suffering.

Friends even if they are there their will be no time for them to meet them or have an outing or some sort of relaxation. The new rules of reform  which have been announced alleviate this problem to some extent. But the main thing they are few people to take care of a big population. This also leads to marital discords and other kinds of trouble in their families which can be very well avoided if this thing is sorted out. Families also will miss them and children will miss the presence of their father. That too has been found out to be a cause of many psychological problems in children.

Unhealthy habits – Many end up becoming alcoholics or have a smoke as they would like to relax during  break hours and this  ends up becoming a addiction which will control their lives leading to serious health issues in the long run. Generally this develops mostly as they are having time and are not at home to attend to family or children and are lost in thoughts and would want some company they treat these as company. One more thing which many get addicted to is tea and coffee. They end up having more than around four to eight cups of tea or coffee which impacts their health negatively. Many also use items like tobacco, betel nuts, pan, etc. Which are cause or oral cancer and other health issues.  Alcohol affects the kidneys and stomach and causes ulcers too.

While smoking causes cancer of the lungs or oral cancer to. Once lifetime is reduced and so is once quality of health. Healthy life becomes a distant dream for many. There are many measures being taken by the address these issues but more needs to be done a holistic approach is needed to help these people. Consuming junk food and not consuming food on time makes them obese which again leads to diabitis, blood sugar and other related health issues. While they are given medical benefits which is appreciated. Prevention is always better than cure.

These are only a few of the important issues faced by law enforcement agencies being highlighted. The best solution I can suggest is to increase the number of workforce as it will have a salutary effect on majority of the problems and other problems which are not discussed due to limit of size of articles. Many more issues which government is addressing is like physical exercises, regular medical checkups, taking care of their financial requirements, seeing that they are being rotated on shifts properly and relieved on time,  granting of leaves and  other such  measures are welcome. These have to be implemented and monitored to see that this wing of the government  turns out to be a strong and efficient one and helps in strengthening the India. By protecting themselves and our country efficiently. A strong force is a prerequisite for a strong nation.