The Gujarat Police archives documented that after India gained Independence, hiring parties were subsequently dispatched to neighboring States to recruit police constables. These successful hiring parties were also well rewarded for their efforts.
Jump to 2018. The Government of Gujarat advertised 9700 Police Constables posts. The response was overwhelming as about 8.75 lakh candidates applied. A transparent, objective and judicious system for recruitment is put in place to not only effectively manage these huge numbers, but to also ensure recruitment of the most eligible and appropriate candidates. This is also important because directly-recruited Police Sub-Inspectors and Police Constables account for about 90% of the entire police force.
It was, therefore, imperative that a transparent, objective and judicious system for recruitment is put in place to not only effectively manage these huge numbers, but to also ensure recruitment of the most eligible and appropriate candidates. This is also important because directly-recruited Police Sub-Inspectors and Police Constables account for about 90% of the entire police force.
The Gujarat Police can undoubtedly boast of being one of the most honest and transparent systems of police recruitment. This technology-driven and technology-leveraged system has stood the scrutiny of the law and has been held as one of the major achievements of the Government and the Gujarat Police in the last few years. Since 2010, about 3,360 Police Sub-Inspectors and 42,300 Police Constables have been recruited in Gujarat through this very transparent system of recruitment.
Process of Recruitment
Call for Applications: Eligible candidates apply for the advertised post online through OJAS (Online Job Application System) handled by NIC, Government of India. This online application form system has also been embedded with the system of online payment of application fees. All this makes it easy for the Recruitment Board to generate call letters with confirmation numbers as also to manage its finances easily.- Issue of Call Letters: Once the application forms are received, the system automatically generates bar-coded call letters which are directly downloaded from the web portal by the concerned candidates. This technology-driven system of issuing bar-coded call letters not only saves man hours and manpower, but also re-emphasizes the utility of technology in the process of recruitment.
- Written Examination: This component of recruitment process is OMR-based, making the entire process objective and reliable. The written examinations are held in government/semi government schools in which all the classrooms are fitted with CCTV cameras to ensure that there is no irregularity during the examination. CCTV footages of the written examination are analyzed by specially-created Cyber Cells, and any irregularity found is dealt with harshly and severely.
- Physical Test: This component of the recruitment process involves running and measurement of height, chest and weight. The entire process of physical test is done through technology with the use of RFID, CCTV cameras, biometric and cross verification of the bar-coded call letters. The use of RFID tags for running is seen as one of the major technological interventions, making the entire process very transparent, objective and reliable.
- Biometric: Right from the stage of written examination, which is the first physical interface of the candidate with the Recruitment Board, the biometric of all the candidates are registered and at every subsequent stage, a system of biometric verification is put in place to ensure that there is no impersonation. Besides biometric registration, photographs of all the candidates are also taken at the written examination centers and matched with the photographs in the call letters.
- Result Generation: The final generation of the merit list is also computer-based with no human interference; making the entire process transparent and true.
The entire process of recruitment is guided through a defined set of rules and procedures. Different SOPs are prepared for different stages of the recruitment process. This ensures uniformity of procedure and purpose, making the entire process streamlined and smooth.
In the last decade, the Government of Gujarat has earned laurels for initiating and funding this technology-driven recruitment system. It has withstood the scrutiny of law and has helped the Gujarat Police in gaining the trust and faith of the public at large.
