The forgotten 'beat box system'

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

What has happened to Delhi police's successful ``beat box system''? Nearly two decades after it made headlines for all the right reasons, the system -- which helped bring the ordinary police personnel close to the citizens, forging a better relationship between them -- has been all but forgotten.

The novel scheme has, over the years, become a casualty to the laid-back approach of senior police officials -- who apparently dread to step out of their plush air-conditioned offices.

It was in 1981 that blue and white beat boxes had mushroomed in the West District -- which then also comprised the South West and North West police districts of this day. Funded entirely through neighbourhood donations, these boxes were manned for three hours every day by the local beat constable.

The scheme brought the police assistance almost literally to the doorstep of the residents. Backing this up was an intensive system of monitoring with the beat box constable being briefed and debriefed every day by the Station House Officer.

Significantly, the beat boxes brought a sense of security to the denizens by acting as scarecrows to prospective law-breakers. Their success was such that the crime rate had dropped by about 40 per cent following their introduction.

The Joint Commissioner (Training) of Delhi Police, Dr. Kiran Bedi, who had introduced the beat box system during her tenure as DCP West, says: ``It was one of my most successful projects. I created 126 beat, each one of which had a box. It was more than a mere grievance redressal system, it was more of a mini police station where people could go with their complaints and get heard by the beat constable at fixed hours.''

The police personnel, she says, had got extremely close to the public because of the scheme as they would even go to the extent of examining the report cards of children and `questioning' them on their performance.

The scheme, which also covered 116 villages, helped resolve local disputes amicably. The beat constables had such a say in local matters that they would even intervene in problems relating to drunkards, water distribution and routine family squabbles.

In her biography, ``I Dare'', Dr. Bedi has been quoted as saying ``Who would not accept a policeman who is ready to help? I would, if I were a citizen''. Also she had noted: ``We have found that if the police take one step forward, the public responds by taking five steps forward.''

Alas, the novel scheme lasted only as long as her tenure in the district. ``The continuation of a scheme rests heavily on the senior officers, primarily the Commissioner of Police. Unfortunately, in the years to come none of the Commissioners showed an inclination for this scheme.'' And so the beat boxes -- which were opened with much fanfare -- died a silent death.

Dr. Bedi, who tried to revive the scheme in North Delhi in 1986 and subsequently was honoured with the Magsaysay Award, says the scheme had found a mention in the award citation. Also, it was emulated by the Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir police in the 1980s.

And while the West Midlands Police invited Dr. Bedi to Birmingham in Britain after being impressed by the scheme, Dr Bedi laments that it found little appreciation at home. ``We send officers abroad to learn about community policing, but have ourselves chosen to ignore this successful model of Indianised Koban style.''

What is needed to successfully implement the scheme is the intervention at the Commissioner of the Director General of Police level. ``Unless the scheme is carried forward by the supervisory officers, nothing would happen. But that requires a lot of personal commitment, mobilisation of resources and field visits.''

Incidentally, a similar scheme of beat box policing had been implemented by Mr. J.K. Tripathy, Joint Commissioner of Police (South Zone and Traffic) of Chennai police, during his tenure as Commissioner in Trichy. The scheme even made the officer the first Indian to be selected for the prestigious IACP/ITT Community Policing Award.

But such successes in bits and pieces apart, the scheme is struggling to find institutional support, so that it acquires some continuity and does not remain a prisoner of the whims and fancies of the officers. But considering the manner in which senior Delhi police officers try to outdo each other by remaining closeted in meetings, it appears that it would be a while before this dream project turns into a reality.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Other States
Next     : US fall-out: Hoteliers keeping their fingers
           crossed