Police personnel in all states and UTs to be trained in tackling crime in tribal areas

The Union Ministry of Home Afffairs (MHA) has asked the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), Sardar Vallabhbahai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), Hyderabad and North East Police Academy (NEPA), Shillong, to prepare training modules for police personnel to tackle crime in tribal areas and to strengthen village policing.

The MHA plans to have such special training modules, in order to implement recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Parliamentary Committee, in its report submitted to the parliament early this month, has recommended that the SVPNPA and NEPA should collaborate with the state police training institutes to study the cultural gap among various tribes and to include their aspirations and traditions as part of the police personnel training curriculum.

The report suggests that the training manual for states must be suitably amended so that police officers are made aware of local traditions and customs, particularly of the tribals and other vulnerable groups. The parliamentarians have stated in the report that personnel posted in the tribal belt should have regular interaction with tribal leaders, NGOs, non-state representatives like lawyers, professors and scholars having specialization in tribal issues for better handling of crimes in those areas.

The panel has also asked MHA to coordinate with states and Union Territories to make arrangements for providing training to members of village policing system about their role and responsibilities to help the police in maintenance of law and order in the interiors. It also recommended securing state-wise data on the village policing system and taking remedial measures.