Bengaluru: Training is rudimentary to uniformed forces, but going by the state of affairs, Karnataka will soon have a police force with inadequately trained constables and sub inspectors.
The police training institutes in Karnataka are either headless or without adequate number of instructors. Out of the 12 training institutes, four have been working without a principal for several months now. As a result over 2,000 trainee constables undergoing training institutes in Channapatna, Thanisandra (Bengaluru), Kadur and Hassan are being trained without a principal and instructors.
Officers of the rank of Superintendent of police are posted as principals of police training institutes.Top sources told this newspaper that efforts to draw the attention of the government to this serious lapse in police training have proved futile. “There are numerous vacancies in the institutes; from the level of principals to grass root trainers. Some institutes have been running without a principal for nearly eight months. This is not only an administrative lacuna; it will also lead to corruption and corrupt practices. It is a matter of very serious concern to have policemen, who have not been trained for their job,” said an officer on condition of anonymity.
The recent blow was the transfer of the in-charge outdoor trainer in the Karnataka Police Academy in Mysuru. “There are 400 trainee sub inspectors, who are undergoing training at the KPA. Outdoor training is a must for them, where among other things they are taught work discipline,” he said.
Unlike the Defence forces, where posting in the training wing is supposed to be prestigious and cadets take pride in being trained under handpicked officers, posting in police training is perceived as a punishment. There are 12 police training institutes in Karnataka - at Bengaluru, Channapatna, Mysuru, Kadur, Hassan, Khanapur and Kalaburagi.
At each institute over 400 constables are being ‘trained.’ In the absence of trainers it is learnt that the Training wing of the Police Department is unable to take up refresher courses for serving officers and the staff.
