Police Reforms: India
Police Reforms: Too Important to Neglect, Too Urgent to Delay

The Committee on Police Training

The Government of India constituted the Committee on Police Training on November 10, 1971. This body also came to be known as the Gore Committee on Police Training, as Professor M.S. Gore, a famous Indian social scientist and former Director of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences Bombay, was its chairman. In addition, Mr. M.M.L. Hooja, the former Director of the Intelligence Bureau, was Vice Chairman, along with nine members, including eminent police officers, academicians and bureaucrats. Its Member Secretary was Dr. A. Gupta, the first Director of the Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

The terms of reference of the Committee required it to suggest the objectives that should govern all arrangements for training of police officers; as well as the basic shortcomings in the arrangements, and finally measures to be taken to bring about the desired improvement.

The recommendations made by the Committee covered a broad range of issues involving the need to:

• impart necessary knowledge and skills
• create the right attitudes
• generate effective decision making ability
• stimulate critical and innovative thinking

The main thrust of the Committee's recommendations was towards enlarging the content of police training from law and order and crime prevention to a greater sensitivity and understanding of human behaviour, and imbibing of communication skills and development of attitudes that promote service oriented activities.