“Policing by consent in the UK, policing by enforcement in India are two different aspects,” says city’s Commissioner of Police V Balakrishnan IPS. His first book Travel Tales of a Cop (Zero Degree Publishing) draws a comparison between the policing systems of the UK and India starting from the historic background (modern policing in India was introduced by the British) to the current scenario.
The book took shape while he was in the UK as a Chevening Scholar to complete his Post Graduation in Human Rights. “I took notes on policing and cultural aspects that are common to India as well as those that are starkingly different. I found it fascinating. I started writing this book in September 2018 and took two years to finish it.”
Talking about the chapter that highlights the rights of victims and offenders, he says the system in India is often victim-oriented and gives an example of an incident of burglary at a senior citizen’s house. “In an act of self defence, the offender was stabbed to death. He was a habitual offender, and had amassed wealth through his criminal activities. But when he died, the family erected a shrine in front of the senior citizen’s house and the older couple vacated their house out of fear. This exposes the deficiency in the enforcement system.”
