The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : When the police and citizens get together

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 12, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

When the police and citizens get together

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: On August 13, Police and Residents' Associations' Initiative in District Ernakulam (PRIDE), the friendly face of City Police, will be completing one year. Police officers are pro ud that they did not miss any of the second Saturdays, ever since the movement began on August 14, 2004. "Residents associatio ns in West Kochi region, such as Mattancherry and Fort Kochi, were not represented in initial meetings. But once this was regularised, the participation increased," said Dinendra Kash yap, City Police Commissioner.

The concept was first tried out in Thiruvananthapuram city, but the momentum could not be sustained for long there. Officers in Kochi could claim the distinction of running the show, without any disruption. All senior officers, starting with the Commissioner to Assistant Commissioners and Circle Inspectors, are present for interaction with representatives of residents' associations.

"As many as 325 complaints were filed in these meetings, filtering out those with repetitive nature. About 60 per cent of the se were traffic-related complai nts. There were also complaints that involved other departments such as PWD, KSEB and Motor Vehicles Department," said S. Su rendran, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime Detachme nt), who is coordinating PRIDE.

One year down the lane, the City Police could improve its interaction with the city residents. And more importantly, the force could convince them about the limitations of monitoring the law and order situation of an emerging metro city.

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