How police view custody torture in India: data

Investigation shows that four out of one-tenth of police officers

Concerns over police brutality and custody torture have intensified debates about justice, accountability and human rights in recent years. The latest study of the “police reporting status” of the “Indian Police Report” report reveals this grim reality for the research and common reasons for the development of society.

The study analyses responses from 82 locations in 17 states, including Delhi, providing disturbing insights into the culture of abuse behind the closed back.

When asked whether police could accept violence against serious crimes against the greater good of society, two-thirds of police officers (63%) agreed.

Of these, 22% agreed and 41% agreed. Only 35% of officers opposed this idea (Table 1). Support for violence by suspected serious offenders is consistent across the entire level.

Table 1 | Police Violence: A Reasonable Tool

When asked about torture, many police officers expressed strong support for their use in interrogation in various crime categories. The highest support is cases related to national security such as terrorism, with 42% strongly supporting torture. More than one-third (34%) also strongly support their use in rape, sexual assault, and serious violent crimes such as murder (Table 2). Furthermore, 28% strongly agreed that the historical table must be tortured.

Table 2 | Defend violence: Police shocking support for torture

It makes sense to ask police officers about the use of certain mandatory and violent acts of the defendants so that criminal cases can be resolved. The data reveal disturbing acceptance of coercive strategies, ranging from verbal abuse and threats to slap and tertiary approaches.

Nearly half (49%) said that verbal abuse or threatening suspects in case of minor crimes such as theft is justified, with 32% agreeing with slap and even 9% even supporting the use of a third-level approach (Table 3).

Table 3 | The situation of the third-level method

In the case of serious crime, support for this violent approach has increased dramatically. In cases such as rape and murder, one in ten (30%) of police officers proved that the third-degree approach was justified, while half (50%) approved slap suspects, and more than half (55%) endorsed verbal abuse or threats.

Threat and slap or use light force is common. About a quarter (26%) of police officers say suspects are often threatened, while 34% say this happens sometimes. Similarly, two out of 10 (18%) of nearly two people said that slapping or using light force is common, and 28% said that it happens occasionally (Table 4).

Table 4 | How often do investigators use powerful tactics?

Regarding the third-level approach, one in 10 police officers acknowledge that this extreme violence often occurs, sometimes 16% of violence. In addition, one-third of respondents reported that investigators often used mandatory strategies.

The findings show that nearly four out of one in 10 police officers believe that reporting custodial torture should be mandatory, while in some cases, a similar proportion supports it as mandatory. About one in ten people think it should never be mandatory (Table 5).

Table 5 | Police’s opinion on mandatory reporting of torture

Although most support mandatory reporting, the largest groups only “sometimes” indicate a degree of hesitation or conditional acceptance. The data also suggests that police department-level officials are more conducive to mandatory reporting than their senior peers.

Table 6 |Will legal protection encourage police to report violence?