Kerala   

Stress on good working relationship

The Government is in the process of finalising the community policing system in Kerala. Residents' associations may have a major role in implementing it. What could be done to make this venture successful, in the urban areas as well as in rural pockets? Our readers respond:

WELCOME MOVE: Representatives of residents associations interacting with a police officer.

New responsibility

The community policing programme contemplated by the State Government is a commendable move that will narrow down the distance between the law enforcing machinery and the public.

Normally, people need not fear the police, but lawbreakers should. Unfortunately, the reverse is the order of the day. So, the police have to be made more people-friendly. The `criminal-friendly' image the police have come to acquire over the years needs a make over. The community policing initiative will serve the purpose in a big way.

Residents' associations can render help in making policing effective and meaningful. In urban areas, the floating population poses a serious threat to law and order. Residents' associations can keep the police posted with information on suspicious elements and or activities in their vicinity.

The Pol-Com reform introduced in Kochi has earned accolades from all quarters. Residents' associations create a lot of awareness about the role of the residents in keeping criminals, especially burglars, at bay. Periodic interaction between the police and the residents will not only dispel several misgivings about the police but also boost public confidence in the force. The police in turn should acknowledge the help these organisations provide. The Crime Stopper number 1090 is of immense use in passing on vital information needed for clinching a crime, preserving anonymity.

If the police and the public were to act in tandem, crime rate will plummet. With the shadow of terrorism and subversive activities looming large, the citizens have to help the police so as to enable them to serve the community better.

N.K.Vijayan

Kizhakkambalam

Include retired officers

Community policing system with the help of residents' associations is a good move to deal with criminal elements and to minimise criminal activities if implemented properly. But the members of the public who are nominated to the squad for this purpose should not take law into their hands. Their duty should end with referring the matter to the police officials concerned. Such nominated persons should be without any active political affiliations and with clean character and habits. Some retired police officers who might be available in an area would prove useful with their experience in handling criminal cases. This system may be introduced on an experimental basis first.

C. George Varghese

Thrissur

A step forward

Community policing is a new venture to make the police more people-friendly. It also aims at emphasising effective performance of the police in democracy rather than the outdated coercive function it followed so far.

According to Marxian view, the police force is a tool in the hands of the ruling class to suppress the proletariat. Although this concept has been changed globally it is almost the same in our country, particularly in Kerala. Recent incidents of custodial deaths owing to physical torture of captives in Kerala are indicative of the harsh treatment that they still follow. In this situation the directives of the apex court to reform the police have particular relevance.

The State Government's proposal is a step forward in policing through which it envisages to do away with corruption, intimidation and political interference that are rampant among the personnel. The new wing to be formed in the police force must consist of personnel of competence and integrity. Prior to deployment they must have obtained proper training in dealing with cases of different nature such as terrorist activity and functioning of mafia groups. They must be always ready to maintain law and order, giving protection to lives and property of the people. Residents' associations in urban areas and several voluntary organisations in villages should come forward to assist the police if they are able to impress upon the public that their activities, including criminal investigation, are impartial. Ensuring public cooperation in this way will pave the way for smoother policing with better coordination between the police and the people.

V.Viswanathan Nambiar

Thrissur

Inappropriate move

Residential associations are supposed to look after problems such as water, electricity, wastage, roads and drainage of a locality. In addition to this, if they are given further burden of community policing, it will become another problem for the residents of the locality. The office-bearers of residential associations are otherwise employed and they may not be getting sufficient time to meet the requirements of the authorities for the works, which they are not bound to do. It would be better if the local authorities themselves handled the issue

S.N. Thiruvazhiode

Kochi

Seek civic

bodies' help

To fulfil its primary aim of keeping peace, a police force should be optimally spread out within communities. These communities should be panchayats, municipal councils and corporations, which enjoy recognition under the Constitution. This is because, policing is a State's statutory obligation, which has constitutional validity and responsibilities; residents' associations are, at best, private initiatives.

Harmony between the local bodies and the police is key to the success of the initiative, which can be achieved if the ward, the unit of representation in these bodies, is also the jurisdiction area of a police unit. The basic aim of community policing must be to ensure this harmony in operations by which, in coordination, not subordination, the police work with local bodies in patrolling, providing security, settling petty quarrels and so on.

The first step is to reform the current organisation of the State police force, operating through police stations, by splitting them up into smaller units, for enhancing their functioning.

Devraj Sambasivan

Alappuzha

Commendable initiative

The proposed community policing system, when implemented, will prove a watershed development in the administrative affairs of the State. This move of the Government is highly commendable.

Residential associations have formed in most urban areas for a decade. This trend needs to get publicised as well as implemented in the rural pockets of the State also.

Formation of associations in various residential colonies enable speedy execution of public works such as sanitation, maintenance of roads, electric and water supply, etc.

Community policing is likely to minimise tensions and disputes among the different communities, especially in remote areas.

Residential associations symbolise peaceful and harmonious co-existence of multifarious interests, cultures and aims. Such coordinated efforts will yield fruits in the near future.

Krishna K

Maradu

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