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PRIDE to be discussed at international meet

KOCHI: The Police Residents Associations Initiative in District Ernakulam (PRIDE) will soon be discussed at an international level as a unique community policing initiative.

The idea has been accepted and a representative of the city police would make a presentation on the topic at the next meeting of the International Police Executive Symposium (IPES) to be held in May at Cincinnati, USA.

The IPES is an organisation that works to bring police researchers and practitioners together and thus facilitate cross-cultural, international and inter-disciplinary exchanges. The theme for this year is “Police without borders: the fading distinction between local and global”.

The papers presented at the meeting will be published in “Police practice and research: an international journal”. “This will be a great exposure to the community policing initiative taken up by the city police,” said Manoj Abraham, City Police Commissioner.

The glory comes as PRIDE is about to celebrate its third anniversary in a big way. This is for the first time a community policing initiative from the State is being discussed at international level.

Four awards are being given to residents’ associations at the anniversary celebrations to be held on January 12.

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will present the awards — two for clean city and two for safe city.

Residents’ associations should submit their applications to the City Police Commissioner through the secretary of PRIDE before January 5 to participate in the competition for cleanliness and safety measures implemented by the associations.

Two separate monitoring committees comprising representatives of the corporation, the police and the public will visit the residents associations and will evaluate the situation.

Aspects like general cleanliness, proper garbage bins, permanent cleaning staff, innovations like bio-gas for treatment of waste, mechanism for disposal of plastic waste, greenery and condition of internal roads will be checked for the clean city award.

Effective night-patrolling, presence of security guard, installation of security equipment, police siren, and communication between members of the associations are the aspects to be monitored for safe city awards.

The awards carry cash prize of Rs.25,000 each and two persons each from the award-winning associations will get a chance to visit Singapore to study how cleanliness is maintained in a developed country.

The anniversary celebrations will begin on January 11 with a run featuring 500 policemen, NCC cadets and public carrying messages against drug abuse and on safe driving habits. The run will be from Rajendra Maidan to Marine Drive.

Anniversary celebrations will be formally inaugurated on January 12 at two domes to be set up at Marine Drive. The Web site of PRIDE and SMS traffic complaint system will also be launched on the occasion.

One of the domes will have special programmes for women and children. An interactive session, ‘Sarkar Sangamam’, for representatives of residents’ associations with heads of all departments will also be held as part of the anniversary celebrations. Tug-of-war, skits, exhibitions and seminars will also be part of the celebrations.

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