Police social work in India

This chapter unpacks the complex policing landscape in India and the challenges associated with maintaining law and order in a highly diverse population. The authors highlight how a country as diverse as India, with its cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity, presents a unique set of challenges for law enforcement agencies. This provides a contextual understanding of police social work (PSW). They argue that while maintaining law and order is crucial, achieving a balance with social justice demands a shift towards a tactical change of policing frameworks. While PSW is not yet formally recognised, it is being demonstrated in practice by several social work educational institutions, one of which is the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The authors give practice insights to elucidate how police social workers (PSWs) enhance police interventions using multiple strategies to manage and mitigate the effects of social inequalities within policing.