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The Dynamics of Police encounters - Part 2 The background of encountered criminals

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The Dynamics of Police encounters - Part 2 The background of encountered criminals - Venkatesh Pannaiyar This was an encounter which resulted in the transfer of the charismatic Vijayakumar IPS, the then Commissioner of Police, Chennai. Read on to understand how the police fight crime with one arm tied behind their back. Also how the media, which cant shed its caste and community prejudices, packed off an efficient officer from the state itself, in spite of delivering whatever assignment given to him. VENKATESH PANNAIYAR - THE BACKGROUND  The diminutive and nattily dressed Venkatesh Pannaiyar won’t physically fit the prevalent image of a don. But he is a product of generations of caste feud plaguing Southern TamilNadu. His family is from Moolakarai near Tuiticorin; an area with the dubious reputation for making country bombs and gun running. Venkatesh's uncle, grandfather - important elders of their community have been murdered by Dalits, when he was a boy. Venkatesh, g

The Dynamics of Police encounters - Part 1

The Dynamics of Police encounters - Part 1 Since 2002 I have been asked to assist the police on various ‘encounters’, including the recent Chennai Bank robbery gang. Having the twin advantage of the objectivity as a civilian who enjoys the front-row view of the inner dynamics of police-criminal confrontations, I have my two cents worth on the subject of police encounters. I will be covering the Media's role in this first part. I will proceed to the encountered criminals' background and later how equipped is the force for effective policing. Part I - Police encounters and the Media THE REPONSIBILITY OF MEDIA I totally accept the dictum that in a working democracy each institution, like Legislature, Judiciary, Politicians and the Media has also the responsibility of keeping each others in check. This prevents power being blatantly misused by any unchecked institution. The media does its journalistic duty of putting everything on the proper perspective, by givin

CLOSE COMBAT FOR POLICE - CONCERNS IN TEACHING

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KravMaga close combat for Police   The concerns to be taken into consideration when training police in close combat are – CONCERN 1 - Police can't use force disproportionate to the threat and risk being censured by human rights activists and media . The techniques taught to field patrol officers should NOT involve hitting of vital parts KravMaga teaches hitting VULNERABLE parts & NOT VITAL parts The focus should be on DISARMING, cutting his MOBILITY and CONTROL of the aggressor. CONCERN 2 - While a civilian can neutralize an attacker and leave the scene, Police job is NOT complete till control and arrest of the attacker. Stress on submission techniques & takedowns. Emphasize personal safety of the policeman – (ex) long weapon > go short; short weapon >> go long Teach criminal escorting holds CONCERN 3 - While civilian training is more on self defense, training to police has to give importance to pro-active intervention in a violent situation. Teach interven