In a research survey conducted by the public relations department of the New York Police, a patrol officer explained public behaviour with much dejection: “I don’t know why we are hated so much. We are only doing our job.” I thought, it’s because people just hate power and authority over them.”

Humourist and playwright, Younas Butt, has joked that you do not need any specific reasons to condemn police, it is enough that they are the police.

Of all the things that bring police criticism, police’s behaviour with the public tops the list. The print, electronic and social media are full of comments on the subject. One hardly sees any research on how and why people behave with the police officers the way they do.

But does anybody notice how a car driver or a motorcyclist behaves when he or she is pulled over by a traffic warden for a traffic violation? People become angry, agitated and sometimes resort to abusive language against the officers without any provocation on the part of police officers. People who have never had any interaction with the police are often equally critical of it. Why is this so?

Research conducted in the west showed that for most people who hated the police, it was about the power and authority that the police represent and not the actual person wearing the uniform. However, that person does become a target for hate and or abuse.

In our context it has a historical background as well. During the movement for independence from the British Raj, defying the authority of the then government was considered an act of bravery because of the gulf between the foreign rulers and the ruled. Unfortunately, the defiance ingrained into the mass psyche has not left it as our post-colonial (native) rulers have not proved much better and the trust gap between the state and people has not been bridged.

Lack of education in general and poor awareness of rule of law in particular has spawned a culture of defiance. This does not mean that educated and law-abiding people in advanced countries all love their police officers.

Surveys conducted from time to time show as many people praising police as expressing dislike or outright hatred. People who dislike or hate the police will still call them when they are needed. This balance in the opposing viewpoints finds its roots in generally good behaviour, efficient service delivery, professionalism and accountability of the police officers.

An educated and enlightened public generally understands the difficulties, risks and dangers of the police. However, the gap between expectations and actual performance remains huge. In our context, we find the love-hate ratio visibly tilted towards dislike and hatred.

Here public, being largely uneducated and having little knowledge of the working of the police, looks at each and every step of the police with apprehensions. For instance, there is an old legend that police know each and everything about the crime and criminals. This is not true but many people suspect that the police are hiding something or are in league with the criminals.

Then there are people, particularly in the rural areas, who join the nay-sayers if they do not get what they want from the police.

The fact that more than ninety percent of the people who criticise the police have never had a direct interaction with the police is shocking. Most of the people learn about police high-handedness, brutality and other negative things from the media. Here there is a difference between how police are painted in Pakistani media and in the Western media. In the west the news is the main source of negative news about the police; for instance, when a black youth is killed by the police. The TV and films, however, give a relatively balanced or positive view of the police.

The Indian film industry too has come up with a positive narrative about the police possibly to encourage officers to be good cops and public to be more cooperative with the police. This was how Mr Parkash Jha responded to criticism by a TV anchor who believed he had painted too bright a picture of the police in his movie Gangajal.

In Pakistan, police are often cast in a negative light in news media as well as in TV pays and films. Social media has given further impetus to this trend. This accounts for the negative view of those 90 percent who have never had a single contact with the police throughout their lives.

To conclude, some people may have good reasons to hate the police. The police, on the other hand, are neither angels nor devils. There are certain characteristics of police culture like an aura of authority, inappropriate behaviour, secrecy, lack of professionalism, etc, which make them look bad in the eyes of the people.

In addition to improving in the above mentioned areas, they need to develop a close liaison with the community. They should serve people and, involve them in the working of the police in an open and transparent environment. The public, on the other hand, needs to understand that policing is inherently controversial and whether you like the police or hate them, they are essential for our everyday safety and security. 

The writer is a senior police officer