The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : The man behind proactive, participatory policing

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Sunday, May 04, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

The man behind proactive, participatory policing

“Cooperation between government agencies, citizens’ participation
key to curb crime”

J. K. Tripathy.

IPS officer J.K. Tripathy took proactive policing to a new level by listening to people. Mr. Tripathy, now Inspector General of Police (Economic Offences Wing), believes in cooperation between various government agencies and citizens’ participation key to curb crime. L. Srikrishna meets the man who recently won the Prime Minister’s award for excellence in public administration for 2006-07. The award was “for his outstanding initiative — Tiruchi Community Policing.”

A police constable on night duty in a locality in Tiruchi city took the initiative to inform the local body staff to replace a few non-functioning tube lights on a particular road as the public felt insecure during late evenings.

In another locality, an alert police constable not only persuaded 100 women, seeking adequate supply of drinking water, against resorting to a road roko, but also requested officials concerned to ensure water supply in the area.

The Corporation staff replaced the street lights, which prevented crimes from occurring in the locality. Timely supply of drinking water came as a relief to the residents.

What was behind this proactive policing?

When the Tamil Nadu government posted Jalad Kumar Tripathy, IPS, as the Deputy Inspector General–cum-Commissioner of Police, Tiruchi City, in February 1999, the city was experiencing major law and order issues, as a functionary belonging to a Hindu outfit had been murdered. The police were also on the look out for some suspects involved in the sensational Coimbatore bomb blast incident.

Then there were other problems, ranging from offences such as eve-teasing, thefts and burglaries to residents taking to the streets in support of their demand for better civic amenities.

Mr. Tripathy took up the issues one after the other, with assistance from his colleagues. He also enlisted the support of citizens. Apart from focussing on serious issues, Mr. Tripathy’s priorities were to prevent crime, recover stolen property and maintain law and order.

The only solution that came to Mr. Tripathy’s mind was to involve people and empower them.

As a first step, he deployed 60 policemen in plainclothes, covering each of 60 wards in the city. All that the men had to do was to gather information on the problems faced by the public in that locality and report to him. The public felt that their problems were being heard and the police force was able to build its image.

The concept of community policing picked up well. Whenever there was a friction between communities, they were solved locally. Mr. Tripathy said the police played the role of a catalyst.

This also enabled the police to corner miscreants and, even, draw them away from crime.

“By reaching out to the people and gathering a list of their grievances, we were able to identify the problems. All this was possible because of cooperation from the government, the Corporation authorities, the Revenue officers, the non-governmental organisations, the media and the police force,” Mr. Tripathy said.

An IPS officer from the 1985 batch, Mr. Tripathy who hails from Orissa, says with pride: “Having served in several cities and districts of Tamil Nadu in different capacities, this is my home.”

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