The Po-Po

I am going to preface this post by saying very clearly I respect and admire all the men and women who risk their lives every day to keep our cities safe from crime and danger. I find most police officers are noble people who truly want to make a difference in their communities and do a fantastic job.

That being said I never enjoy an interaction with a police officer. Police spend most of their time interacting with the worst society has to offer, and dealing with people generally at their lowest.

Today I had to go to the district commissioner of police in Cuttack. The instructions I received were… vague at best.

William Matthew Lanigan Purcell

Your presence is required at the District Police Headquarters in Cuttack District. Please treat this notice as urgent.

I received this notice on Good Friday, called and told them I wouldn’t be able to make it until Tuesday. So yesterday I went to the district police HQ and sat down in a hot room for an hour being asked questions.

Where are you from?
What are you doing in Orissa?
When did you arrive in Orissa?
When do you plan on leaving Orissa?
Would you like tea?
How much do you weigh?
Do you have a photocopy of your passport and visa?
Where are you staying in Orissa?
Is it too hot for you?

I answered all their questions. They made me write a letter for them to keep on file with all my answers. They took a copy of my passport and visa. They took their time.

It was then my turn to ask some questions. What was all this about? Does everyone who comes into Orissa need to do this? If I didn’t have a cell phone number here would I need to be here? Can this be avoided in the future? Shouldn’t the paperwork that I handed into the police station in Niali be sufficient (it being the exact same paperwork)?

Their answers were less than satisfactory. That means they really didn’t answer any of my questions. See… here in Orissa police are NOTORIOUSLY corrupt. I heard a little 7 year old boy once say that he wanted to be a police officer because you can make a lot of money taking bribes! I was in a restaurant once and a police officer walked in and started shouting because he found people drinking illegally in the back room, and then he just stuck his hand out and waited. Almost every time I have interacted with police here in Orissa I have left feeling like I needed a hot shower and anti-bacterial soap.