1. Introduction
The mob has mostly been seen as a destructive entity by the law enforcement agencies, as it has often given splitting headaches to them. The psychology of a mob is interesting. People in a mob will act and react much differently than they will at other times. Otherwise peaceful, law-abiding citizens can quickly turn angry and violent, committing atrocities as they express their displeasure in not finding answers. Together, those people are capable of doing anything, of committing the most heinous crimes. In this era of the vocal media and human rights activism, the law enforcement agencies often get criticized for indulging in human rights violation when dealing with the crowd. Controlling a crowd is indeed a gigantic task, which becomes even more complex in a country like India, where the mob may comprise of various groups based on religion, caste, class, region, profession, etc. It is imperative that the law enforcement agencies. study about the psychology of the crowd; else it will not be possible to control the crowd effectively by only wielding the baton.
2. Theories of Mob Psychology
Let's step back a moment to the classic psychological theory on crowds, which gave rise to many of the tougher approaches taken today. Originating during the political instability of 19th-century France, and later adopted by most 20th-century social scientists, this thinking held that people in a crowd lost their individuality and became suggestible to the aggressive behavior of those around them. That view gave rise to phrases like "mob mentality" and "deindividuation"-the idea of a crowd as a singular entity rather than a collection of independent people capable of thinking for themselves.
Some of the most important theories regarding crowd behaviour are as follows: 1. Le Bon's Theory 2. McDougall's Theory 3. Freud's Theory 4. Allport's Theory 5. Turner's Theory
The study of collective behaviour started with the study of crowd behaviour. In the 19th century, crowd behaviour was a significant area of study in the field of psychology. Early social psychologists such as Gustavo Le Bon and Gabrial Tarde suggested the origins of crowds in her instincts and mass imitation. On this basis, Le Bon proposed 'mob psychology' as a theory of crowd.Since then sociologists have largely replaced psychological point of view of crowd behaviour. They have shown that behaviour in crowds is far more mindful, rational and socially organized than Le Bon believed. Not only this, they have broadened the field and coined the new term 'collective behaviour' to include mob, riot, panics and craze, rumour, audience, public and mass (social) movements, along with crowd.
Many theories have been propounded by various psychologists and sociologists to explain why the crowd behaves in a particular way. We will below examine a few of them. The behaviour of the crowd is always emotionally determined. The things common to all people are such fundamental emotions as fear, anger and rage. In terms of these common elements, crowds form, feel and act. These provide a common bond and a basis for interaction in all conditions.In the crowd the emotional tone is heightened by the concentration of attention, the suggestions of leaders, the use of verbal and other symbols, the excited gestures of the crowd members, and other circumstances of the occasion. On the basis of these emotional characteristics, the crowd is easily led. In the crowd, mostly critical faculties are in abeyance. Individuals accept as true the most improbable of statements.
2.1. Le Bon's Theory:
According to Le Bon, the earliest and main exponent of crowd behavior, the individual yields 'to instincts which had he been alone, he would perforce have kept under restraint'. Like the hypnotized person, 'he is no longer conscious of his acts. At the same time that certain faculties are destroyed, others may be brought to a high degree of exaltation.
He is no longer himself, but has become an automation that has ceased to be guided by his will. In the crowd he is barbarian. He possesses the spontaneity, the violence, the ferocity and also the enthusiasm and heroism of primitive beings'.
While explaining the crowd behavior, Le Bon developed his most important notion of 'group mind'. Group mind makes people feel, think and act in a manner quite different from that in. which each individual would feel, think and act where he in a state of isolation.
The group mind is not a mere collection (or the sum) of the minds of all the individual members of a group. It is a mind of its own distinct from minds working on different levels. Its working is based on emotions, appeals, suggestions and slogans.
Its acts are less rational and more emotional. It is an irresponsible mind focusing its attention on some immediate object. Its mental level is very low. It becomes easily excited and acts in a hypnotic way. It is on this account that individuals behave most irrationally in a crowd than otherwise behave individually. Le Bon's ideas may be summarized as follow:
(i) Crowds emerge through the existence of anonymity (which allows a decline in personal responsibility);
(ii) In contagion (ideas moving rapidly through a group)
(iii) Through a suggestibility. In the crowd, the individual psychology is subordinated to a 'collective mentality" which radically transforms individual behaviour. Le Bon said that in periods of social decline and disintegration, society in threatened by the rule of crowds.
2.2. McDougall's Theory:
Psychologist William McDougall's theory of the behaviour of unorganized groups or crowd is practically the same as Le Bon's. He explains the two central phenomena of crowd behaviour, namely, the intensification of emotion in a crowd and the lowering of intellectual level, as follows: The former is due to the principle of direct induction of emotion by way of 'primitive sympathetic response'
He says, the greater the number of people in whom the same emotions can be simultaneously observed, the greater the contagion. The individual under the influence of emotion loses the power of criticism and slips into the same emotion. The collective emotion becomes intensified by mutual interaction. The intensification of emotion and unpreparedness for opposing the authority of the crowd, in their turn, inhibit intellectual processes and the lowering of intellectual level in a crowd.
McDougall described the behaviour of the crowd in the following words:
A crowd is 'excessively emotional, impulsive, fickle, inconsistent, irresolute and extreme in action, displaying only the coarser emotions and the less refined sentiments; extremely suggestible, careless in deliberation, hasty in judgment, incapable of any but the simpler and imperfect forms of reasoning; easily swayed and led, lacking in self-consciousness, devoid of self-respect and of sense of responsibility.... Hence its behaviour is like that of an unruly child or it is like a wild beast.
2.3. Freud's Theory:
McDougall's theory of sympathetic induction that accounts for the intensification of emotion is not accepted by all scholars. Sigmund Freud in his essay on Group Psychology and Analysis of Ego remarks, 'There is no doubt that something exist in us which, when we become aware of signs of emotion; how often do we not successfully oppose it, resist the emotion and react in quite an opposite way? Why, therefore, do we invariably give way to this contagion when we are
in group?' Freud traces it to our indirect impulses. Freud suggests that what holds any group together is a love relationship, i.e., emotional ties. This explains what he considers to be 'the principal phenomenon of group psychology'. Using psycho-analytic approach of Freud, E. D. Martin interpreted crowd behaviour as the release for repressed drives.
Through a crowd, the restraints of a superego are relaxed and primitive ego-impulses come into play. The 'censor' within the individual is set aside in the crowd and the 'instinct' or basic 'id' impulses, which are normally confined to the inner depths of the personality, come to surface. The crowd thus provides a momentary release of otherwise repressed drives.
How far the Freudian theory is helpful in explaining crowd behaviour, it is argued that it is not substantiated by factual observation. Sometimes, the crowd behaviour may be the expression of repressed drives, but it may not be true of all the crowds. Moreover, it is unable to explain all the features of crowd behaviour.
2.4. Allport's Theory:
F. H. Allport has also criticized McDougall's theory of sympathetic induction of emotion and behaviour. He offered the explanation of crowd behaviour by two principles, of which one is the principle of social facilitation.
According to this principle, a common stimulus prepares two individuals for the same response and when they are so prepared, the sight of one making that response releases and heightens that response in the other. The second principle is that of inter stimulation.
2.5. Turner's Theory:
Sociologist Ralf Turner has gone beyond inadequate psychological explanation of the crowd behaviour and developed an emergent norm perspective. The central thesis of this perspective is that even in the most violent and dangerous crowds, there is also social interaction, in which a situation is defined, norms for sanctioning behaviour emerge, and lines of action are justified and agreed upon.
Thus, all above explanations throw light on either one the other factor of the complex phenomenon of crowd behaviour. As such, they are incomplete and insufficient. There are multiple factors, such as anonymity, stimulation, emotionality, suggestibility, initiation, contagion, lack of volition, force of unconscious impulses, etc., which are responsible for the emergence of the typical behaviour of the crowd.
The theory of crowd behaviour has moved away from the older perspective (McDougall, Le Bon, etc.) that viewed the individual as coming under the sway of the crowd and losing its capacity for rational judgement before the sweep of an overpowering emotional contagion. Instead, sociolo-gists explain crowd behaviour by the same sociological concepts that explain social group behaviour
3. Crowd Control:
Considering the goal is to disperse the mob of armed protesters, law enforcement agencies have a few methods to choose from. Law enforcement agencies need to consider carefully what course of action to take. take. They need to remember, it really depends on the threat level. Mob psychology shows that there always some leaders. the mob who have a major influence on the crowd and also pacifiers or mediators who are more rational and understanding than the other members. The law enforcement agencies need to identify these people amongst the crowd and try to negotiate with them or urge them to maintain a control over the crowd behavior. If the leaders are aggressive and threaten to take things in their own hand, law enforcement agencies must try to control these leaders and prevent the situation out of their hand. Even after repeated warnings, if the crowd does not relent, the police should use minimum force to block the crowd or divert them the path, by using shields and batons. If the crowd starts becoming violent, use of tear gas, water hose, and rubber bullets are also advisable. Arms and ammunition should be used in rarest of rare cases when there is a serious threat of injury or death to the police officers or other people. While controlling the crowd, law enforcement agencies need to be patient and persuasive on one-hand while being active and swift on the other hand. They need to understand the psychology of the crowd while dealing with them. The leader of the police force needs to be a good decision maker and also impartial while dealing with two parties.
There numerous techniques designed to provide the commander with flexibility of action in accomplishing crowd control. The commander must select a combination of techniques that will produce the desired results within the framework of the selected crowd control option. The most common techniques are discussed below.
a. Observation
Observation consists of the deployment of individuals or teams to the outermost region of a crowd for the purpose of monitoring the crowd's activity. It includes gathering information on crowd size, location, and mood, and reporting on the developing situation.
b. Communication of Interest and Intent
In certain situations, effective communication with crowd leaders and participants may enable the force to control the situation without resorting to more severe actions. When planned and organized demonstrations, marches, rallies within the disturbed area are announced, the control force commander, in coordination with local authorities, should meet with the activity organizers to communicate the interest of the control forces.
The commanding officer and local authorities should communicate to the activity organizers their intent to cope with violence, unlawful actions, and violations of restrictions imposed on the activity. It is intended that, by this communication between activity organizers and control force personnel, the demonstration, rally, or parade will occur without incident through the mutual cooperation of all concerned. The intentions of control forces will not be effective if delivered as an ultimatum. A limited, begrudging dialogue with activity organizers reduces the opportunity for authorities to learn the plans of the demonstrators. It must be remembered that if this communication is not ication is not effective, the activity organizers might well hold the demonstration in defiance of authorities.
c. Channelization
Where communications have been established with the dissident leadership and the intent and nature of the crowd activity is known in advance, pressure may be brought to bear on the leaders. This will channel the crowd into an area that will minimize the disruption that the crowd might have on the community, and that will facilitate the operations of the control force.
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