The internal security scenario in the country, situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir, and a key role played by the police during COVID-19 pandemic are some of the issues to be discussed at the annual DGPs and IGPs conference to be held in Lucknow on November 20-21, officials said. New-age crimes like cyber terrorism, radicalisation of youth and violence perpetrated by Maoists will also be discussed at the top police officers' conference to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
About 250 officers in the rank of DGP and IGP from all states, union territories and central government will take part in the meet, organised by the Intelligence Bureau (IB). An overview of the internal security situation in the country will be presented to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister and discussions will be held on how to improve the overall security scenario with more people-friendly initiatives, an official said.
Pakistan-sponsored terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, the role of police as frontline warriors during the pandemic will be part of the two-day deliberations. The state police chiefs are expected to share their experiences in handling the pandemic and how the police have helped distressed people during the health crisis, another official said.
According to an estimate, over one lakh police and paramilitary personnel were infected by the COVID-19 in the country and nearly 1,000 of them succumbed to the virus. Among the infected include about 40,000 paramilitary personnel and 30,000 police officials in Maharashtra, one of the worst hit states in India.
Among the deaths include over 120 paramilitary personnel and nearly 300 in Maharashtra Police, almost all of them while playing different roles during the pandemic. There have been considerable changes in the format, venue, topics covered, deliverables in the DGPs and IGPs conference since 2014. The Modi government has been organising it outside the national capital since then.
The number of business sessions and topics have increased significantly with focus on improving policing in service of people. Before 2014, deliberations largely focused on national security matters only. Since 2014, these conferences have a twin focus of national security as well as core policing issues, including prevention and detection of crime, community policing, law and order, improving police's image, etc., the official said.
Earlier, the conference was Delhi-centric with officers coming together only for the conference. Residing in the same premises since 2014, over a period of 2-3 days, has served to build a heightened sense of unity amongst officers of all cadres and organisations. Direct interaction of the top brass of police with the head of government has resulted in convergence of views on crucial challenges faced by the country and emergence of doable recommendations, the official said.
In the past few years, the topics have been selected after detailed discussions with the highest echelons of the police service. Once selected, several iterations of presentations are made before committees of DGs in order to encourage participation and to incorporate ideas from the field and from younger officers.
As a result, all presentations are now broad-based, content-intensive and carry a set of cogent, actionable recommendations. Since 2015, detailed follow-up of recommendations of past conferences is the norm and is the topic of the first business session, attended by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
Recommendations are tracked closely by the conference secretariat, led by the IB, with the help of nodal officers of the states. From 2017 onwards, guest speakers were invited to share their knowledge and experiences with delegates.
Decisions made in the past few conferences led to significant policy changes leading to improvement of policing in the country, including setting higher standards for effective policing in rural and urban areas, and improved methods of modern policing, based on SMART parameters. The DGPs and IGPs conference is an annual affair where senior police officials of the states and the Centre meet and discuss issues of importance.
The previous conferences were held in Guwahati, Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, Hyderabad, Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh, Kevadia in Gujarat and Pune. In 2020, the conference was held virtually due to the pandemic situation.
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