Karnataka appoints three panels to propose police reforms

Karnataka’s Home Department has formed three committees to recommend police reforms over the next two months, Home Minister Priyank Kharge said on Monday. The committees will be led by retired Director Generals of Police R.K. Dutta, M.N.

Reddi and Kamal Pant. Serving police officers will also serve as members. Dutta will head a panel reviewing police services and recommending ways to make them more efficient, prompt, transparent, citizen-friendly and technology-driven.

Its work will cover the registration of FIRs, complaint handling, police-station operations, emergency services, lost-property reports, cybercrime complaints, permissions and certificates. The committee will also recommend key performance indicators and a regular system for assessing service quality. It will examine a Citizens’ Charter setting out standards for police services, including the time and procedure for providing them.

Reddi will lead a panel examining police infrastructure and capabilities. Its proposed modernisation plan will focus on technology, artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities and other emerging requirements. The review will include emergency response systems, control rooms, the 112 service, forensic laboratories, vehicles and communications equipment.

The committee will also study computerisation, the use of artificial intelligence in policing and the possible creation of police training academies at state and regional levels. Pant’s committee will review the department’s cadre structure, posts, recruitment rules and staffing needs. It will examine eligibility criteria, training, promotions, career progression, mobility, new posts, reclassification, reservation requirements and a recruitment plan.