A Super Vision for the Indian Police and the IPS

A SUPER Vision for the Indian Police and the IPS

You can depend on the police a hundred per cent- it is the only organisation in both the private and public sector that works 100 per cent of the time, is present in hundred per cent of the area, is concerned with a hundred different important aspects of your life and you can reach on 100 all the time. a FOP (Friends of Police) tagline


100- The Rise of a Brand called Police



The Indian Police Service- A Calling, a Career and an Honoour



Dr Prateep V Philip IPS
While addressing a world record webinar of nearly 50,000 students in Vellore Institute of Technology, I asked the question to the audience, “ Who in your view plays a more useful role in society –Sachin Tendulkar or the average police constable? More than ninety nine per cent surprisingly said that it was the average police constable who played a more useful role and that he was the real hero. While not underplaying the role of icons like Sachin Tendulkar in boosting national pride and in inspiring youngsters, suffice it to say that police personnel contribute to the safety and security of every citizen, both the VOP or Very Ordinary Person as well as the VIP. The officers of the Indian Police Service constitute the leadership of the police force across the country. We are selected on the basis of the UPSC conducted Civil Service Examinations, appointed under the seal of the President of India and then lent to the states. An average of around 100 officers are selected every year who belong to diverse backgrounds. But the sense of camaraderie and esprit de corps of the service welds together to be friends for life though they may be living in far flung parts of the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Once one is selected, he or she is allotted to different cadres or states and Union Territory cadre.
A recent Google doodle happened to display as part of the cartoon the IPS cap. This was a fitting tribute to the Indian Police Service which is one of the premier civil services of India and certainly one of the most meritorious and educated leadership of the police in any nation in the world. Naturally, the process of selection is highly competitive and is based on the precept, “ Many apply, few are called and even fewer are chosen.” The selection is naturally through the three phase competitive civil service examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission every year in which an estimated number of 400,000 candidates apply of which the number of serious or committed candidates would be roughly ten per cent. The IPS is certainly one of the most challenging of the civil services, so much so even some of the candidates in recent years eligible for selection to the other All India Service have opted for IPS in preference to the others. Part of the prestige attached to this service is the fact that the IPS has produced many nationally renowned and even globally known police leaders. While participating in a debate on the advisability of the three point entry into the police service, I stated that “ the IPS constitute an aristocracy of merit and talent.” Many IPS officers like Mr J. Ribeiro, K P S Gill and Dr Kiran Bedi have become household names all over the country. Several have distinguished themselves as authors, administrators , governors and some have even made a mark in the private sector after having resigned or retired from service. Many IPS officers after a long and distinguished career in the police go on to be appointed to various public offices where they can contribute with their rich experience and expertise.

A career in the Indian Police Service could include lots of adventures and even risks or threats to life. It is not for the weak hearted but it is a big draw for those who combine physical and moral courage, the endurance to bear with prolonged stress and occupational hazards as well as life threatening situations in handling terrorists, fundamentalists, communal forces, extremist and other violent lawless elements. Handling law and order is one of the topmost priorities of administration in a country of India’s size, diversity and volatility of the social fabric. Often it challenges one’s wit and wisdom to take on the spot decisions to handle mobs, crowds and protestors of a variety of hues. Solving whodunit of crimes and major heists is another recurring challenge that could prove exciting and intellectually as well as professionally rewarding. Who would have imagined that the author of this article would be standing next to a former Prime Minister when the world’s first Human and Woman bomb exploded killing the VIP and 17 others besides injuring him and scores of others, leaving marks and shrapnel as a livid memory of that terrible night? There are risks and occupational hazards that come with the job of the IPS Officer. The training in IPS develops every individual holistically and equips him/her to dedicate time and talent for the greater development of the nation. The IPS is the only civil service that encompasses the virtues, of loyalty and self sacrifice, if need be at the cost of one's life bringing glory to the nation. A couple of my own batchmates have made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in the cause of the nation in militancy or naxal affected states.

The Indian Police Service has personally been very satisfying and rewarding from my standpoint as an innovator. The moment one gets a new idea and he decides to implement it in one’s jurisdiction, the rank and file of subordinates would fall in line to implement in letter and spirit. The discipline and implicit obedience of well intended executive orders from police leaders meet little resistance at least from those we command in our jurisdiction whether as a young ASP or Assistant Superintendent of Police in charge of a subdivision or a SP in charge of a district or a DIG in charge of a zone or an IGP in charge of a zone or a DGP in charge of the state. No wonder I could implement a variety of initiatives that won national and global attention as well as awards and recognition- the Friends of Police Movement, Social Justice Tea Parties, Victim Assistance Scheme, Shorecare Committees and so on. The Indian Police Service gives many opportunities to prove one’s mettle, bravery, acumen and empathy with the victim and underprivileged in society. It is therefore essential that candidates with appropriate mental attitudes and values of integrity are selected particularly into this service that is so intermeshed with the criminal justice machinery. Whatever be the assignment one is given, he can immediately address and redress the grievances of the public who approach in their hour of dire need.


The perquisites, salary and other working conditions are largely commensurate these days with the arduous responsibilities and duties the IPS officer has to handle. The promotion within the hierarchy being time bound and based on seniority affords a sense of security and a blanket of assurance in a career fraught with other factors over which one does not have control or be able to predict. In the course of one ‘s career, there are enough opportunities to pursue personal interests like academics, writing or other creative pastimes for personal advancement. The department also sends officers at different levels in one’s career for courses and training both in India and abroad. The training at the National Police Academy, Hyderabad with its physical, professional and cerebral inputs is one of the things to be looked forward to as it has a transformative and holistic value since it covers virtually all aspects of the IPS probationer’s personality. The outdoor training is quite rigorous and includes physical training, drill, arms training, martial arts, yoga, commando training and games. The indoor training includes the spread of laws, police administration, ethics, forensic science, management, human rights and so on.
The prestige, power, authority and influence of the Indian Police Service is immense and unmatched in virtually any other profession or service. It is essential that young officers enter the service with a gleam of idealism in their eyes and uncompromising sense of integrity above all things. It is vital that IPS officers possess a calm temperament that cannot be easily provoked. The discipline that is instilled in one stands one in good stead. The best part of the career of the IPS officer on all accounts is the time spent as district police chiefs or Superintendents of Police. The ability to lead from the front, stamina to work long hours, man management , people skills are both honed and tested during this period as Superintendent of Police. One of the great advantages of the IPS and a source of soul satisfaction if not job satisfaction is the opportunity to resolve the grievances of the aggrieved and affected people in society. One is in direct contact with the public who approach him for the resolution of a variety of issues that affect him.
The career progression of an IPS officer is quite well charted out: one spends a little more than two years as an IPS probationer, thereafter serve for two years as a subdivision officer or Assistant Superintendent of Police. On completion of the fourth year, one is promoted as Superintendent of Police or senior scale. In the second decade of one’s career, he works as a Deputy Inspector General of Police with supervisory charge of two or more districts that constitute a range. Thereafter, he is promoted as Inspector General of Police. As IGP one can be place in charge of a zone consisting in some states of two or more ranges or he may be assigned to the several special units of the police like Crime, CID, Intelligence, Operations, Training and so on. In the third decade of service or after completion of twenty five years of service, one is promoted as Additional Director General of Police heading different wings of the police administration and usually based out of the state headquarters. After five to seven years as an ADGP, one is promoted to the final and senior-most rank of Director General of Police. There may be four to six Director Generals of Police in a state depending on its size but only one of them is appointed as head of the whole police department of the state. The others would enjoy the rank of DGP and head some of the special wings of police like Crime Branch, Police Housing, Training, Vigilance and so on.
There are adequate compensations for the personal hardship one suffers and there are rewards and recognition in the form of medals for those who distinguish themselves. If one works with a sense of rectitude and uprightness, he would certainly earn the respect of the political element and colleagues as well as the goodwill of the general public. There is enough scope in the department for those with original ideas and creativity. The sense of security should not lull the member of the Service into doing only the routine. While it is true that there is a great deal of peer pressure to conform and to stick to the status quo, a member of the IPS should do all he can to create a just, humane, safe and progressive society. This kind of mandate sometimes requires one to swim against the current and come up against stiff resistance and opposition but one should have the inner strength to plough his lonely furrow. The growing demand for police reform augurs well for the new breed of police officers who are working for change and greater professionalism in the police force.

There are also several avenues of deputation to the Central Government, Central police agencies like the CBI and the paramilitary forces like the CRPF and BSF. On the whole, the Indian Police Service offers a career that is most rewarding, promising, challenging and satisfying – all at the same time. It is no wonder that the best and brightest in many domains including those who enjoy well paid jobs in the private sector aspire and attempt to fulfil their ambition to join this coveted service. To cite a new slogan that reflects the due role and sacrifices made by the police of all ranks in building our nation- Jai Hind, Jai Kisan, Jai Jawan, Jai Police!
https://www.facebook.com/Gladiator.Anand?fref=ts
Dr Prateep V Philip IPS
Additional Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu
Winner of Her Majesty the Queen’s Award for Innovation in Police Training and Development and only civil servant selected for the inaugural prestigious British Gurukul Chevening Program in Excellence and Leadership on the occasion of India’s Golden Jubilee, 1997. Founder of Friends of Police, Excenomics and Eqthinking.
www.prateepphilip.com,www.friendsofpolice.net

100- Rise of a Brand

You can depend on the police a hundred per cent- it is the only organisation in both the private and public sector that works 100 per cent of the time, is present in hundred per cent of the area, is concerned with a hundred different important aspects of your life and you can reach on 100 all the time. a FOP (Friends of Police) tagline

A Shepherd after God's heart

UV 419/10,000 Jeremiah 3 v 15 Shepherds after God’s heart Jer 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. The word, “ pastor” comes from “ shepherd” or the one who takes the sheep to the pasture to feed. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd but in every generation He has anointed shepherds over his flock who imbued with knowledge and understanding fed the flock from the Word of God. All of the pastors start off as sheep or as believers but are groomed by Lord over a period of time to become transformed into being shepherds. A shepherd must be moulded after God’s own heart, loving, caring, considerate and humble. From the Lord’s perspective, feeding the sheep or believers with the Word of God is the equivalent of leadership. A shepherd must be devoted to the well being of the last person in his flock like the shepherd who went looking for the lost sheep. A shepherd who is a hireling is more interested in the profit or the lucre that the sheep will bring in. Such a hireling is only interested in shearing the sheep of their earnings and not in defending or providing or feeding them. In contrast, a true shepherd or pastor is not interested in self aggrandisement or self glorification but in reflecting the love of the very heart of God. A shepherd needs two gifts : the Word of knowledge and the word of wisdom. He must know the apt portion of scripture to share at the needed time. He must also have the sensitivity to people’s needs and be able to give wise counsel. A knowledge of the Word accompanied by a deep understanding of people will enable a shepherd or pastor to be effective. The Lord promises to give such faithful pastors who would lead or feed the sheep. Prateep V Philip

On the Banning of Humour

ON the Banning of Humour WE the people of India must vote to ban humour from our country. When we have so many serious challenges and problems to confront, humour is an unnecessary luxury. Look at the frequent controversy erupting in the recent past over cartoons: if we ban humour such controversies are not likely to emerge. No disrespect to any person living or dead, intended or unwitting would be shown. Some people may argue against the banning of humour. They might say that such a law would be unenforceable. There would be too many violations. The people being laughed at might however agree and enthusiastically support the motion. The trouble with humour is that it has often unintended innuendos. Take the word, “ motion” for example. It means different things to different professionals, for instance, an honourable legislator or a medical professional. It will also evoke different kinds of emotions in the audience. Some others might think that a total ban on humour might be too harsh. Like smoking, humour in public spaces can be restricted. We can have boards to demarcate “ No humour zones.” Come to think of it -what has humour achieved in the history of mankind or of any particular nation? Has humour won a war? Taking things too lightly might have cost some victory in war. Humour has not helped anyone invent anything new. The flippant and the frivolous have never achieved anything serious in life- that’s the lesson of history. Humour has never been known to have helped any country’s GNP or per capita income increase at a faster pace. Take Japan as a nation, though humour is not banned- we can rarely see people smile, laugh or crack jokes. No wonder the country has progressed rapidly. Imagine what a complete ban on humour could do to a nation’s progress. Humour does have a distracting effect on our focus. Still some others still hold on to the urban legend that humour is the best medicine. Laughter has therapeutic effects, they argue. This is at best a myth or at worst a joke on human gullibility. We all know of people who laughed heartily but died of heart attacks. At the same time, there are lots of serious people who outlived the less grave and went to the grave much later than their more humorous counterparts. Now, once we are convinced that humour should be banned or at least regulated or restricted, how do we get enough people to support such a move. There are enough people around who have been hurt by humour at one time or other. If all of them can be organized around this one point –manifesto : Ban humour, we can build a lot of momentum into the campaign. What are the penalties that can be imposed on those violating the law once it is passed? Should it be fines or solitary confinement? Solitary confinement can be thought of for habitual offenders but for first offenders, we can have fines. The fines should not be so light that the offender would laugh it off. Once humour is banned, it would certainly have a salutary effect on society, not just economically in terms of greater productivity but also in terms of cultural effect. We would have better music, art, drama and literature. The serious canon of the arts and letters would develop and we would have no loose cannons around. Education would also achieve the chief and only purpose it has ever had-to educate people to be serious about life and their pursuits. What do we do about the existing jokes,cartoons, amusing anecdotes and humour available online and offline?We can find ways to destroy or make inaccessible all such stuff. Prateep V Philip

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What is your PD Factor? It determines your success-failure rate

Your PD is your Person Differentiator, your Product Differentiator and your Process Differentiator. Your Person Differentiator may be the way you look, your persona per se. It could be your unique talent in some particular domain. It could be the way you think or the way you talk or what you talk or what you think or what you write. Person Differentiator defines and determines personal success or failure. Product Differentiator defines and determines corporate success or failure at a given point in time. The first person who made a rough wheel or struck fire with flint stones had a product differentiator on his/her hands. His Person Differentiator led him to the innovation on account of his desire to create something new , different and probably useful. His Process Differentiator led him to share his success story with the rest of his circle, his family and hunt-mates. All subsequent inventions and innovations are an extension of that wheel. Who said, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel? We need to be at it. Process Differentiation is the way you do things as individuals or organizations. Persons, organizations, governments and nations that work on all their three PD factors experience a greater success to failure ratio.
Prateep V Philip ( copyright-Prateep v Philip)

100 per cent persons have voted new/ interesting

Six persons have voted the Perception re-engineering blog as being new and interesting, registering 100 per cent in the online poll that closed today. I wish to thank all of you for having followed the blog, given me valuable feedback. I also encourage you to write how in your experience, perceptions have changed experience or reality. With your consent I will post your experience as case studies on the blog duly acknowledged.
with thanks and best wishes

FOP an instance of perception re-engineering

The FOP or Friends of People, Police, Press, Poor, Progress, Pupils, Principles, Peace concept transforms the perceptions of the average citizen such that he/she becomes empowered by a new sense of identity with all these facets. The average citizen whose concept of citizenship was that he/she should live peacefully, enjoy his/her rights, pay the taxes, obey the laws, now realizes that the citizen can play a more active contributory role in society and the state. Besides, the perception about the police, the equal role of the public in policing, the perception of the police themselves vis a vis their role as catalysts facilitating citizens to better police themselves lead to mutual understanding and a better security environment. The police, for one thing will begin to perceive themselves not as agents of the government or not merely as creatures of the law but as servants and friends of the people as a whole. This perception will lead to behavioural modification since people are beginning to openly identify themselves as Friends of Police, it behooves the police to behave as Friends of People. The palpable sense of fear of police that exists in postcolonial countries like India will begin to decline and eventually disappear. The people's perception that police are indeed, their friends and can be trusted would lead to them sharing information and intelligence with the police. When citizens participate in policing by doing night patrols, traffic regulation and so on, their perception of the police will change and they will develop a sense of empathy for the police. The view that the police are defenders of the status quo, and are pro-rich and anti-poor will change when the other meaning of FOP Friend of Poor is canvassed. People and police personnel will begin to take actions to help the poor and underprivileged. Such changes in perception, behaviour and actions will lead to a gradual, incremental transformation of the hitherto negative police image in the eyes of the public they are meant to serve.