Information Processing under Stress: A Study of Mumbai Police First Responders

Vol 26, No 2; Article by Rajarshi  Chakraborty, Manish Agrawal and H Raghav Rao; June 2014

The deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, on 26th November 2008 brought into focus the readiness of the Mumbai Police and Indian Marine Commandoes as the first line of defence against such attacks.

Not much research has focussed on gaining insights into the motivation and decision-making process of first responders in the Mumbai Police department. This understanding might serve the purpose of providing a good perspective and also an appreciation of the tasks conducted in such tense situations. It would also help appreciate any potential gaps that need to be filled regarding the police response to terrorist attacks in general.

An officer in the police department, whether in the control room or on the field, makes several decisions, especially during a grave situation like the 26/11 terrorist attacks. Each of these decisions is driven by a motivation which is usually derived from knowledge about the situation at hand, personal experience, and perception about the situation, as earlier research has shown. The authors in this study refer to this, collectively, as Information Processing - a concept that captures various factors including knowledge, experience, personality, and perception that lead to a motivation which in turn leads to a decision taken.

In this study we explore the information processing that governed the first response from the Mumbai Police department towards these attacks. This study was conducted through interviews and survey with officers from two distinct groups within the department. Our study presents several findings about the various dimensions of information processing. The findings focus on the decisions taken by the Mumbai first responders, both on field and in the control room, during the initial hours of the attacks.

Our findings have been used to propose recommendations for law enforcement.