With the government’s appeal to the general public to observe safety measures to check the spread of the pandemic, Nepal Police on Monday detained hundreds in Kathmandu Valley and gave them a 20-minute awareness class on the dangers of not wearing a mask in public.

Prohibitory orders in the Valley have been announced from Thursday midnight. This too will be enforced by the police.

But Nepal Police is short staffed.

Of the 9,440 positions vacant in the 72,000-strong police force, most are for new recruits, whether they are constables or higher ranking officers.

According to both serving and former police officials the primary reason for such a huge number of vacant posts in Nepal Police is that people do not wish to join the force as they are compelled to do excessive work for a limited salary.

“Police officers are supposed to maintain law and order in the country by protecting members of the public and their property, preventing crime, reducing the fear of crime; however in Nepal, police officers' job is not limited to maintaining peace; they are given many other tasks which do not fall under policing,” said former Deputy Inspector General Hemanta Malla

He said the police are the first responders when there is a fire, they clear roads during landslides and floods, they relocate victims of natural disasters and enforce lockdowns and prohibitory orders.

“They basically do what other government agencies do not,” said Malla.

When the Post contacted some lower ranking police officers to get their views about their job many agreed with Malla.

“I joined the police force two years ago in the hope of becoming a good investigator by solving crimes. However, after joining I realised police work is not just limited to solving crimes, we have to do many other works too,” a police constable told the post on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution for speaking out. “From clearing blocked roads during the monsoon to controlling forest fires in summer, we are mobilised in all these activities.”

“We have to work 24/7 in case of an emergency but the salary provided to us is very meager,” said the officer.

He has thought of quitting but he does not see better alternatives, given the pandemic.

The lowest rung recruit makes only Rs25, 930 and this includes food and beverage allowance. The top cop—the inspector general of police—draws a monthly salary of Rs65,930.

The shortage of staff is not a new issue for Nepal Police. But at present call for new recruitments has not been made.

“The process for recruitment has not been started for a long time now because of the Covid-19 pandemic which has resulted in a staff shortage,” said Senior Superintendent Basanta Bahadur Kunwar, spokesperson for the Nepal Police. “The vacancies have somehow hindered the operation and work of the police, as the low-ranking officers could feel more pressure due to insufficient manpower.”

One of total vacancies, one is for the post of deputy inspector general, four for senior superintendents, three for superintendents, 17 for deputy superintendents, 200 for inspectors, 140 for sub-inspectors, 1,176 for assistant sub-inspectors, 166 for head constables, 7,617 for constables, and 116 for office assistants.

“To fill the vacancies, we promote junior officers after evaluating their performance and recruit new people in the vacant places,” Kunwar said.

Though Kunwar claimed that the vacancy was due to Covid-19, in February last year when the country was not under lockdown, over 11,000 positions in Nepal Police were vacant.

“Nepal Police work has become very overloaded, as they are often mobilised to finish other tasks which are not related to policing due to which not many people wish to join the force,” said Malla. “Low-ranking officers follow the orders of their seniors very sincerely and do the duties assigned without questioning due to which they have to work beyond their range.”

During the lockdown last year, police personnel were deployed to locate suspected Covid-positive cases and bring them to the designated health facilities for testing and treatment, all of which were apparently not their work, said Malla.

During the lockdown ‘Hazard Allowance Management Order for Human Resources Involved in the Treatment of Covid-19 Infection’ was announced by the government, which was also published in the Nepal Gazette, promising risk allowances, up to 100 percent of the salary, to frontline workers including security personnel, doctors, nurses, paramedics, lab workers, ambulance drivers and helpers. However, when the Post talked to multiple officers to know about the allowance they denied having received anything besides salary.

Low pay, excessive work and poor morale has not only resulted in staff shortage in Nepal Police but also led to resignations by police officers. According to the data provided by the Nepal Police, in the past 33 months, a total of 5,792 police officials resigned their posts. Majority of resignations involved junior officers, data show.

“I left my job after I saw no future in it,” said Kailash Karki, a former sub-inspector with the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police who resigned in 2014 after working for eight years. “Despite working for eight years, I only got a promotion once. My salary was not enough to provide a good education and basic comforts to my children, so hoping or a better future, I applied for a dependent visa for Australia, where my wife lives.”

“Not only me, many of my friends resigned due to reasons like discrimination in promotion, and meager salaries.”

Police personnel stuck in low-level positions think looking for other careers is a better option than waiting for a promotion, which might never come. Many turn to work in the private sector, as security guards or bouncers, as a history in the police force tends to lend them credibility in their new jobs including jobs in foreign lands.

According to Karki, timely promotions, competitive salary, transfers, and training abroad could serve as motivational factors for police personnel to continue in their jobs.