Police Corruption in India

Police as a Law enforcing agency is an important institution of that social control which existed in some form or the other in all society in all ages. Police is an integral part of the present day society. A society in the present set up cannot live and progress without an effective, sincere and honest police force. The Indian police have its roots in the ancient period and the present day police are the outcome of an evolutionary process. The bad things which it has inherited from the old system include corruption among policemen today. Corruption exists in one form or the other in the police system. Corruption has infected every sphere of modern life. It has vitiated the moral values of the society and the police force cannot be an exception. In fact, corruption of police is not a new phenomenon, but the irony is that the issue has seldom been seized by the organization with a sense of seriousness. In this paper an attempt has been made to discuss the various aspects of police corruption in India. The author has tried to discuss the various factors responsible for police corruption and suggest some remedies to control the corruption among policemen. The main objective of the paper is to discuss the extent, causes and remedies of police corruption and explain the extent of distrust that create against police due to corruption. The basis of the discussion is from secondary sources like police commission reports, books, magazines, news paper, and other sources