Government considering separate community policing wing

New Delhi: The government would consider institutionalising community policing by setting up a separate wing in police forces and allow law-abiding citizens to participate in police processes, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday.

Chidambaram said such a force will have an entirely different uniform than that of regular police forces.

Speaking at a meeting of parliamentary consultative committee for the home ministry, he said various initiatives have been taken in various cities and states to involve community members in the policing process, overcome the problems faced by public, and provide assistance to crime victims.

The home minister said some of these programmes have been successful and have continued to work.

He said different community policing models were being implemented in various parts of the country, and highlighted the one followed in Kerala as "one of the best".

"Delhi and Tamil Nadu models have also met with some success," he said.

Panel members emphasized that none of the community policing schemes was institutionalised.

"Ad hocism is another characteristic of the efforts in India. Some of the reasons outlined by members were that the experiments and programmes are not always tailored to community's needs. They work well in times of crisis. Once the emergency passes, they lose momentum," according to an official statement.

Community policing is built on the idea that the community interaction and support can help in controlling crime. It requires partnership between police and citizens and uses different strategies such as foot patrolling and problem solving at the neighbourhood level.

It has been practiced in India for a long time, for example during festivals police engage civil society organisations and individual volunteers for crowd control and other activities like managing traffic.

In the meeting, the panel members said that the police-community relationships have mostly remained an urban phenomena.

The home minister informed the members that new courses were also being developed in police academy to sensitise police for their role in community policing.

 

Home | Top of the Page

Top Stories

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was Thursday slapped in the face by a Delhi youth who had only four days ago kicked former minister  »

They're all thieves, says Pawar assaulter

Shoes thrown at others, Pawar first to be assaulted

Why should I react, Pawar asks after assault

Pawar supporters protest across Maharashtra

  Most Read

Parliament didn't function for the third consecutive day of its winter session Thursday despite peace being in sight after the government and opposition agreed to a debate on  »

  News Pick

Life moves on, but what remains are the ugly scars. Nearly three years after the gruesome attack on Mumbai, 26/11 is still fresh in the minds of survivors and  »

Farooq, Omar crumbling to Congress pressure: Mustafa Kamal

Mustafa Kamal, the ousted chief spokesman of the National Conference, says his nephew and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his elder brother and party  »

Picture of the Day

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Emeritus Senior Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, unveiled the bust and the Marker of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, at Asian Civilizations Museum, in Singapore on November 20, 2011.

(Photo: M. Asokan )