The quality of welfare and training given to the police personnel has significant
impact on their operational efficiency and behavioral integrity. Therefore, the
concerned authorities should give serious attention to the provision of appropriate and adequate welfare and training of the police. In this domain, I am discussing the various elements of welfare and training as components of human resource management. I apply the insight from the discussion to the analysis of training and welfare, including their challenges and imperatives in the governance of the “Police Force”.
In order to contextualize the discussion on human resources management, we
provide an overview of the functions and powers of the “Police Force”.
Functions & Powers
• Prevention and detection of crime
• Apprehension of offenders
• Preservation of law and order
• Protection of life and property
• Enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are charged
Human Resources Management
Broadly, human resources management consists of the following interrelated
processes and activities:
• Determining required quantity, quality and composition of personnel
• Recruiting new employees
• Training new and serving employees
• Deploying or assigning personnel to tasks
• Remunerating and motivating staff
• Disciplining erring personnel
• Determining or negotiating and managing retirement processes and
benefits
The overall aim of HRM is to ensure that an organization realizes it goals or
objectives with optimal effectiveness and efficiency through proper mobilization
of human resources. The key components of human resources management are
personnel planning, recruitment, training and development, utilization,
performance evaluation, compensation and welfare.
Human resources management (HRM) is aimed at realizing
(a) effectiveness and efficiency of employees in organization, an
(b) satisfaction for the employee.
Generally, human resources management begins with and revolves around
manpower planning, which involves
(a) analysis of employees required by an organization for its various tasks, and
(b) identifying and evaluating how an organization’s need can be met through recruitment, employee training(internally and externally), employee incentives and discipline and deployment of personnel.
If in the “Police Force”, these chains of decisions and activities would be disconnected. As a result, training does not translate to appropriate employees’ deployment and organizational effectiveness.
Training, the core element of HRM refers to the process of
(a) developing the competence of an individual in relation to specific tasks, and
(b) changing or enhancing the attitudes, dispositions and behavior of individuals through exposure to new information, technology and practice.
The principal aim of training is to improve the competence of an individual. In organizational setting, training may be on –the- job or off-the job.
Training should be determined by work force need analysis and planning (manpower planning). Manpower planning, an important element of human resources management, involves constant evaluation or projection of needed manpower in the future, developing plans to attract and retain employees, allocating employees to task, training and motivating employees. Following these steps enables an organization to meet its need for efficient workers and to satisfy employees need for job satisfaction and welfare.
In the “Police Force”, training does not take into account:
1. The need of the Force in specific tasks and expertise
2. The skill and interest of officers
3. The need to match skills acquired in the course of training with deployment thereafter
4. Requisite infrastructure, facilities and supplies for effective use of skills acquired by officers during training for the purpose of efficiency in the Force and career advancement of the personnel
These gaps between training, skills, deployment and career advancement would be engendered the view in the Force that training is worthless to both the organization and the officers. Officers asked to proceed on leave sometimes try to avoid it because they see it as deprivation. Similarly, staff posted to training institutions as directing staff or instructors grumble and allege victimization. These unwholesome attitudes toward training and training institutions have adverse effects on the performance of the Force, in part because it breeds antiintellectualism and anti-professionalism.
Enhancing Training in the “Police Force”
There are six related processes in human resources management. They are:
• Training policy and planning
• Training need analysis
• Designing and evaluating training delivery methods
• Implementation of training programmes
• Evaluation of training implementation or delivery, and
• Evaluation of the impact of training on the competence of employees and the efficiency of an organization in the short, medium and long run
Training Need Analysis (TNA) refers to the method of assessing the training programmes that are necessary to fill the gap between required and available skills within an organization generally and at all levels. Thus, training need analysis addresses what training an organization should provide its staff in order to remain effective, efficient and competitive. Training need analysis involves the following:
• Identification of gaps in skills within organization or its functionalunits;
• Identify individuals lacking skills required for their current, new or prospective job within the organization;
• Identify employees lacking skills but who possess the capability to
acquire needed skills through training;
• Identify appropriate training that meets the need of filling the gap in
required skills.
In order to develop and maintain appropriate training programmes in the” Police Force’ that will meet the needs of the organization and individual employees, the
following steps should be taken:
1. The training needs of the Force should be determined. For example, the core functions of the police are crime prevention, crime control, law enforcement, prosecution and assistance to citizens in distress. Crime control and prevention, and law enforcement require skills in surveillance, intelligence and investigation. Therefore, there should be
emphasis on the training of officers in these core areas. Effective training in these areas requires adequate forensic and surveillance facilities (communication, transportation, electronic monitoring devices, including CCTV for cities) in the country. This is not the case at present. Further, facilities and competences in routine aids to intelligence and
investigation like handwriting, ballistic and fingerprinting analyses are currently lacking. There is need to undertake training needs analysis in the light of the functions of the police and expected level of efficiency. The findings should guide training policy and programmes.
2. Training policy and planning: Training policy deals with a range of questions. How many people should be trained? Who should be trained? What are people being trained to do? How are people to be trained? Where are people to be trained? Who are the prospective trainers? How long will training last? What certifications are to be provided? What resources are required for training? How will the resources for training be mobilized? Where will the beneficiaries of the training programmes be deployed to enable them apply newly acquired skills? How will the impact of the training and trainees on organizational effectives be determined? The development of appropriate guidelines as well as decisions on these issues constitutes training policy.
3. Curricula: Curriculum development is important. In police-work, curriculum should be designed through a multi-disciplinary approach. This means that experts from different fields combining theory and practice should design the curriculum for the different courses. The core curricula for the training of police officers should emphasize skill required for efficiency in their core functions without neglecting the understanding of the factors in environment that impact on police efficiency, integrity and legitimacy.
4. Designing and evaluating training delivery methods: Training should be
designed to provide the skills and competencies needed for specific tasks. The content of training must be amenable to measurable knowledge outcomes. Curriculum should contain appropriate and adequate information and exercises for the acquisition of different type of skills that are necessary for police efficiency and integrity.
5. Implementation of training programmes: There should be scrupulous implementation of training programmes. Courses should be properly organized and managed. There should be appropriate and adequate instructors and instruction materials.
6. Monitoring and evaluation of training implementation or delivery: Training should be monitored and evaluated in relation to training policy and expected training outcomes in the curricula. There is need to evaluate the impact or training on competence of employees and efficiency of organization in the short, medium and long run. Training policy and programmes should be integrated with manpower flow.
There are three major dimensions of human resource flow:
(a) Inflow of employees – employee selection and recruitment;
(b) Through-flow of employees – promotion and horizontal or lateral
movements or transfers of employees, and
(c) Outflow of employees – redundancy, resignation, dismissal and
retirement
Recruitment and training in the “Police Force” should ensure that manpower flow is managed so that there is the right mix of staff that can function with optimal efficiency. In recent years, there have been reports of the retirement of aged personnel responsible for ballistic, fingerprint and handwriting analysis without corresponding replacements resulting in dearth of personnel in those critical fields.
Training has many benefits, including:
• Availability of highly skilled personnel within an organization;
• Increased effectiveness and efficiency as a result of mutual reinforcement of experience and improved skills acquired through job-related training;
• Increase employee job satisfaction and career development
The Police Authorities in collaboration with the Training Directorate of the “Police Force” need to review current training programmes and curricula in the Force in order to streamline them with the foregoing enumerated principles of training.
The following measures should be adopted to enhance welfare in the “Police Force”:
(a) Develop explicit rules and guidelines on operations and behaviors and their enforcement. The government should review The Police Regulations with a view to providing clear and appropriate guidelines for operations and conducts.
(b) Promotion should be determined by performance. There should be impartial and prompt enforcement of penalties against breaches of the Police Regulations
(c) Decent working condition should be guaranteed. Adequate working tools and facilities, working space, convenience (water, toilet) should be provided. Most police formations and stations lack working tools, including stationery, working space, toilet facilities and other conveniences.
(d) Police officers deserve adequate remuneration, especially salary and allowances. The remunerations of the police should reflect the dangers and inconveniences associated with their tasks. Further, salaries of the police should be reviewed every three years.
(e) Officers should be deployed on the basis of their competence and to areas where they are likely to be most effective and efficient.
(f) Provision of uniform and accoutrement: Due to inadequate plan for the supply of police uniform and accoutrement, the police would be poorly clothed and equipped. This deficiency affects the performance and public image of the police.
(g) Transportation and communication are critical for the efficiency of
security and intelligence personnel. These facilities are grossly inadequate and negatively impact on the performance and morale of the officers and the Force
(h) Housing: Barrack accommodation is useful in the country because it
facilitates mobilization. However, accommodation for the police is grossly
inadequately and existing ones are in general state of disrepair
(i) Health care: Police officers need access to efficient health care services, given the risk of violence and disabilities they face in the course of their work. In addition, insurance for risks of injury and death is necessary as a measure to enhance performance and morale of officers
(j) Prompt payment of severance benefits and regular payment of pensions enhance morale and motivate performance.
Shahid Rashid
M.Sc (Criminology & Security
Studies)
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