In the Indian police system, low salary and poor work situations reflect the economic and structural challenges faced by policemen, especially constables, head constables and sub-inspectors. These challenges contribute significantly in normalizing corruption in the Indian police force. When law enforcement officers are given low salary, more work is taken from them and deprived of basic facilities, they increase the possibility of involving bribery, forced recovery and misuse of power to survive. This situation is both a structural defect and a humanitarian crisis that deeply affects the integrity of the police system in India.
In most Indian states, the police constable-law enforcement often receive insufficient salary according to the cost of living, especially in urban and metropolitan areas like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore or Chennai. A newly appointed constable can earn between ₹ 20,000 to ₹ 30,000 per month. This may seem enough on paper, but the real-world needs such as the maintenance of the family, raising children, rent, medical care and emergency conditions make these vests extremely insufficient. The lack of inflation and regular pay amendment further increases this economic stress. In contrast, their counterparts in developed countries have better compensation, housing benefits, pension security and modern health services, which reduces their economic weakness.
In addition, Indian policemen often have to work for a long time under tedious and inhuman conditions. In many states, police officers regularly work for seven days of the week, 12 to 18 hours per day. They are often not given weekly holidays, and during festivals, elections, or VIP activities, their charge increases manifold. It is difficult to get holidays and is often canceled at the last time due to lack of employees. In some cases, authorities have reported continuously working for months without a single day holiday. This causes persistent fatigue, mental stress and burnout.
Apart from long work hours, working conditions are also very bad. Police stations of rural areas and small cities often lack basic facilities – no good drinking water, clean toilets, functional office furniture, even computer and modern communication equipment.
Some police stations operate in dilapidated buildings whose walls are broken, chairs are broken and lack of proper light or ventilation. Due to the needs of duty, there are several cases of gold on land or temporary beds in the police station premises of the constables. In the absence of departmental system, officers are often forced to buy their uniforms, shoes, raincoats or stationery from their pockets.
There is also a huge lack of healthcare. There is no comprehensive insurance or health plan for policemen in many states. Duty injuries, mental health problems caused by mental trauma, or the system of chronic diseases caused by excessive work are poorly treated. In many tragic cases, officers have died during duty due to lack of medical help or delay in treatment. Mental health, which is important in law enforcement businesses, is almost completely ignored. Policemen often face PTSD, depression or anxiety due to crime sites, public enmity and commercial stress – but they do not get any psychological counseling or aid.
These accumulated pressure – bundle, family responsibilities, lack of rest, poor environment of living and working structures – create economic and emotionally weak status. For many lower level police officers, the greed of bribe becomes a way of living instead of greed action. A traffic police officer can take a bribe of ₹ 100 to let a person go without a license because it helps him to buy milk for his child that day. A constable can take the monthly security amount from roadside sellers not enough to make his children to good school or to bear the cost of treating elderly parents.
In this context, corruption becomes systemic and self-interested. Officers begin to see bribery as a proper adjustment to compensate for the injustice of the system, not a crime. Taking a bribe becomes not only culturally, but also psychologically normal – as a means of surviving and maintaining respect in a system that fails to take care of itself. Junior officers see their superiors involved in similar activities and learn that the “real world” works similarly. Over time, this mentality institutionalizes corruption from bottom to top.
The situation becomes even more difficult due to clear career progress, performance-based incentives or skill development programs. Promotion is slow and often depends more on political impact than merit or service records. A constable can remain in the same position for 15-20 years, with negligible increase in responsibilities or salary. This deficiency of moving upwards creates disappointment, discouragement and resentment. Many officials, knowing that their efforts are unlikely to be rewarded by legitimate means, choose to “earn” in illegal methods such as illegal commissions, unwritten fines, or tampering of evidence.
Comparative studies suggest that police forces work more under human and tributaries in other countries such as UK, Germany, Canada or Singapore. These countries offer competitive salary, retirement pension, weekly holidays, miniature holidays and overtime payments. They also invest heavy in mental health assistance, fitness programs, modern housing colonies for officers and physical stress and technology-reducing technology-operated systems. As a result, police officers in those systems are less prone to corruption and focus more on public service, accountability and professional morality.
India’s efforts to improve this scenario have been inconsistent and inspired by politics. The recommendations made by committees like Padmanabhaiya Committee (2000) and Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2007) have emphasized the need for better salary, service conditions and work hours. However, their implementation in the states has been bad and uneven. The directions of the Supreme Court of 2006 in the Prakash Singh vs India Union case also highlighted the importance of police autonomy and improvement in situations, but progress remains minimum due to lack of political will.
Low salary and poor working conditions in the Indian police system are a structural root cause of broad corruption. They weaken morale, increase dependence on immoral income sources, and destroy the foundation of the service created to maintain the rule of law. When the authorities are forced to select between starvation and corruption, corruption becomes a rational option. This system requires more than increasing salary for improvement – this requires training, promotion, mental health assistance, infrastructure, transparency and systemic change in public respect. When the state treats its police respectfully only then he can expect the police to be honestly treated with its citizens.
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