Pramesh S Jain
In a major reform aimed at strengthening field policing, the Karnataka Police has decided to redeploy 3,320 trained personnel currently working as orderlies to active law-and-order duties.
The directive was issued on April 4 by Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP) M.A.Saleem, who ordered that the use of orderlies be reduced by 50 per cent.
Trained constables and head constables engaged in domestic and non-policing duties at the residences of senior officers will now be withdrawn and reassigned to core policing roles.
The idea is to get back trained police personnel and assign the job they are supposed to be trained and abolish the age old tredition of orderlies, Mr.Saleem told reporters.
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Officials said that in Bengaluru alone,around 1,239 personnel were working as orderlies and will now return to field duties.
The move is expected to address manpower shortages, particularly during emergencies and law-and-order situations.
Under the revised system,officers will be allowed only half the earlier number of support staff.These roles will now be filled by “followers” or Group D employees or house keeping staff recruited by the reserve forces,who are not trained for policing work.
Officers will also receive a fixed monthly allowance in place of the reduced staff strength.While the ration orderly replacement will be fized as 50:50,with half of the number of orderilers entittled for the senior officials will be replaces with followers while for the rest of the numbers they can claim renumeration in terms of allowence .
The allowance structure includes ₹59,700 for DGP rank officers, ₹47,760 for ADGPs,and ₹27,860 for IGPs, DIGs, SPs, and Commandants.
Police sources said the decision was taken after internal assessments revealed that trained personnel were being diverted to non-core duties,affecting operational efficiency.
The reform also aims to prevent misuse of orderly postings and end an outdated practice dating back to the British era.
The “orderly system”originally involved assigning constables to assist senior officers with official duties.
However,over time,many were deployed for domestic work such as cooking,cleaning,and running personal errands at the residences of these officials .
Officials believe the move will improve policing efficiency, strengthen field presence,and reduce unnecessary expenditure on recruitment and training and help to fill the existing vacancies.
This move will also help the state exchequer to save the money and resources in terms of recruitment and trianing,sources in the department,said .
