Tired of 14-hour work days, a third of Indian police officers are keen on quitting

• Police force in India work for more than 14 hours daily without any weekly off, according to Status of Policing in India 2019.
  
• A third of police officers in India are willing to choose another profession with the same perks and salaries.
  
• Moreover, one out of two police personnel say they aren't entitled to a weekly off.
  

Police officers in India are overworked, underpaid and deprived of a weekly off, as per a report. They are not compensated for overtime either.

Yet, the lure of working with and for the government brings many highly educated people into the force, including doctoral candidates.

On an average, police officers work for more than 14 hours a day, which is six hours more than their stated working duration, according to Status of Policing in India 2019.

Police personnel work for 14 hours a day on an average


Source: Status of Policing in India 2019

The real scenario is quite the opposite of what the law states.

According to Section18, Model Police Act 2006, "The state government shall take effective steps to ensure that the average hours of duty of a police officer do not normally exceed eight hours a day; provided that in exceptional situations, the duty hours of a police officer may extend up to 12 hours or beyond."

37% personnel willing to give up their jobs for another profession, if the perks and salaries remain the same

Screenshot of chart from Status of Policing in India

A third of the police personnel hold the opinion that they will give up their current position to get another with the same perks and salaries.

"One out of two police personnel do not get any weekly off days"
Majority of the police officers work more than eight hours a day. Even after that, one out of two police personnel say they aren't entitled to a weekly off. They also do not get any additional incentives for working overtime.

In other words, they work 14 hours a day and seven days a week. Some of them even want to switch to other professions, because of the harsh working conditions.

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