Parades – a system of physical conditioning introduced by the British to the Indians for the orderly conduct of camp life in the military - has been the most distinguishing feature of the police department in India. However in recent years, due to the multifarious duties of the Police department it is becoming more and more difficult to arrange parades regularly either at the Police Station or the district police hqrs. Even the interest shown by the officers and staff in taking and attending Parades and drill is slowly eroding over the years. As a consequence, whenever parades are ignored, there will be perceptible slackness in discipline, command and control and turnout of the staff. It is not an exaggeration to state that the Police Department can not exist without Drill and Discipline. Parades are inevitable to inculcate discipline, develop physique and above all to achieve espirit d' corps. Thus it is the bounden duty of every person wearing uniform to have pride in doing parades and other such drill activities.
Keeping this in mind, parades have been made mandatory for DK Police. Every week two parades have to be held compulsorily and without fail irrespective of the other nature of duties to be formed. Accordingly a Standing Order has been issued by SPDK delineating the following instructions:
1. Weekly Parades should be held on Mondays and Fridays without fail at all PSs and DAR. If for any reason parade is not held on the said day, it should be kept on the immediate next day. Thus it should be ensured that two Parades (of 1 hr duration each) are held in a week compulsorily.
2. Except those who are on Night Rounds the previous night, all other Officers and men -who are in the station –irrespective of the duty they are performing should attend the Parades without fail.
3. The jurisdictional SDPOs can hold a Monthly General Parade in their respective Sub -Divisional Hqrs, which should be attended to by the officers and men of all Police Stations of the Sub Division.
4. For the Weekly Parades being held at the Police Hqrs, Mangalore besides those who are already attending, the following staff should also attend compulsorily.
a) Officers and Staff of DCRB, DCIB, DSB and FPB.
b) Drivers of all Police Vehicle stationed at Mangalore.
c) Civil and DAR staff working in the offices of SP and Addl. SP.
d) Civil staff including WHCs/WPCs of Police Stations outside Hqrs, who are working in DPO on official duty
5. For the weekly Parades of Police Stations, besides the local Civil Staff, the MT drivers given to Station jeeps and staff of any DAR striking force stationed there should also attend.
6. Those who have medical problems or cannot attend parades regularly for any other reason should take prior permission from the SPDK for exemption from Parades.
7. The Parade Attendance Register should be maintained in all police stations in proper format and entries should be made regularly. In this register, against staff who are not attending Parades for being engaged in other duties, it should be mentioned clearly as to for what duty they have been deployed. The present practice of merely writing “DUTY” should be discontinued.
8. After every parade, opportunity should be given to the staff to redress any of their grievances. Accordingly, at the Police Hqrs, during the Friday parades, the staff attending can approach the SPDK with respect to any of their grievances.
9. In addition to general parades including ceremonial parades, foot drill, arms drill etc, PT parades should also be arranged on some days to avoid the monotony of doing the same thing week after week. Similarly special drills like mob operation drill, route march …etc. may also be arranged at frequent intervals.
10. On days when out door parades can not be held due to rain, lack of staff…etc available men can be made to assemble indoors and they may be briefed orally about drill, turnout, weapon training etc so as to refresh their knowledge in these areas.
These instructions have been issued to achieve the overall purpose of holding parades in the department i.e. to bring in smartness, inculcate loyalty to the department and ensure highest order of discipline in the force. Since last six months as per the instructions, parades are being conducted regularly at the police hqrs as well as at all the police stations of the district.
In addition, proper wearing of uniform is also stressed. Instructions have been issued to all Police officers and staff of the district to be in proper and prescribed uniform while on duty. The unifrom should be neatly washed and pressed. In addition, the wearing of name plate by staff has been made compulsory. It is being ensured that these instructions are adhered to scrupulously by all concerned through close supervision and proper briefing.
