Union Home Minister Mr. P Chidambaram has stressed the need for capacity building and providing adequate funds to the police force to tackle crime rates in the country. He was inaugurating the Global Community Policing Conclave organised by the Kerala Police in Kochi today. Noting that four lakh police posts are lying vacant in the country, Mr. Chidambaram said deficiencies within the police force should be addressed first before taking up community policing. He said community policing is an exercise in trust between equal partners and added that the fear and antagonism in the minds of the public for the police should be replaced with respect and fear of law. He said efforts to counter threats to national security by using Salwa Judum in Chattisgarh and Harmad Bahini in West Bengal are bad examples of community policing. He noted that it amounted to police abdicating its responsibility. Mr. Chidambaram said police should recognise the role of non-elected representatives of the people and cautioned about self-appointed leaders who work their system to their personal advantage.