Kerala - Kannur   

Importance of community policing stressed

By Our Staff Reporter

KANNUR, FEB. 15. Involvement of the public in police efforts to maintain law and order and other crime prevention measures will not only yield better results but will also enhance the image of the police force, according to speakers at a seminar on community policing here.

Delivering the keynote address at the seminar organised by the Kerala Police Association today, the Kannur Bishop, Varghese Chakkalakkal, said the community policing essentially meant police personnel establishing better relationship with people. What were today highlighted in the media were the actions of a very small section of the police force, he said adding that the police personnel should work to cast away the prejudiced idea in society.

Urging police personnel to better understand the people and their problems, the bishop said the personal welfare of the personnel would reflect on their activities. He also stressed the importance of police personnel imbibing value system to ensure that their activities served the larger interests of society.

Earlier, the Kannur municipal chairperson, M.C. Sreeja, inaugurated the seminar. She said that the relationship between the police and municipal administration had improved over the years.

The KPA State president, K. Bhaskaran, presided over the function. The District Superintendent of Police, Mathew Polycarp, was also present.

Areas of cooperation

Speaking at the function, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Kannur Range, Nitin Agrawal, said that the sensitivity of the police force in the State was very high. Community policing meant involvement of people in a locality in chalking out measures for crime prevention measures in that locality and implementing them. The police were seen by different people in different ways based on their different experiences, he said adding that the police officers had to be made aware of the advantages of community policing.

The process of community policing were already under way, he said adding that areas for village level police-community interaction including creation of traffic awareness, law and order maintenance and natural disaster relief work were being identified.

Complementary act

The KPA general secretary, P.C. Kunhoonh, said that community policing was a complementary

activity as it involved the cooperation of the people in helping the police in their activities aimed at helping the people. The State was estimated to have 1.25 lakh criminals and the number would work out to be one criminal per a population of 1,000. Hence, the people had to be taken into confidence in the efforts to tackle the criminals. Opening up of reception counters in police stations and fixing eight-hour duty were among the proposals submitted by the KPA to ensure better police-community interaction, he said.

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