Community Policing in IndiaReaching the Unreached?

Dr.C.Muthuraja, M.A, M.Phil, PhD

Former Secretary, Indian Society of Criminology-Madurai Branch

@ Dean of Self Financed Programmes &

Associate Professor in Economics

The American College, Madurai – 625 002, TAMILNADU

Email: cmuthuraja@gmail.com (M-094863 73765)

(Presented at Rotary Club of Madurai East, Madurai on 21.04.2015)

SINCE 1881

CONTENTS

♦ Introduction♦ Police and National Development ♦ Police Administration & Community Policing♦ The Friends of Police ♦ Area Committees ♦ City Vigilance Committees♦ Interface with Pressure Groups♦ Slum Adoption Scheme♦ Complaint Box System♦ Bravery and Honesty Award♦ Towards Crimefree Society!?

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Introduction ♦ Community policing- its roots in ancient

Indian history♦ Concept of ‘crime reduction through

community partnership’♦ When traditional policing activities failed to

deliver tangible reductions in local crime rates, this significant shift in the traditional policing paradigm led to the increased use of one important policing strategy

SINCE 1881

Community Policing

♦ Engaging the community in crime reduction and prevention allows a more targeted approach to local priorities

♦ By empowering the community to identify and

♦ Respond to local concerns♦ Police and National Development ♦ Police Administration & Community

Policing

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The Friends of Police ♦ holistic and proactive concept that lends a

psychological approach to policing♦ opportunities for ordinary citizens to effectively

contribute to the prevention and detection of crime♦ Beats and night Patrols♦ Assistance in traffic♦ Crime prevention♦ Information collection♦ Assistance in Law and Order Maintenenance♦ Involvement in Prohibition Work

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Area & City Vigilance Committees

♦ Area Committees were formed and they were taught all aspects of community policing which helped them to trace and resolve small local issues

♦ City Vigilance Committees were formed to prevent incidence of property crimes and to give information on the designs and whereabouts of absconding terrorists

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Interface

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♦ Interface with Pressure Groups-interacted with various pressure groups like Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, lawyers, professors, students, doctors +++

♦ Police Interface-Effective student police interaction helped the police to reconstruct peace and harmony. The students were deputed when there was a shortage in police station staff to check vehicles on the roads, check baggage in Railway Stations and Bus Stands etc

Proactive Policing

♦ Slum Adoption Scheme-adopted to disengage slum dwellers from engaging in any anti social activity in future and to secure easy access for the police into the slums. The main objective was to detect and prevent crime through proactive policing

♦ Beat Officers’ System-The city was divided into beat zones and each beat was manned by constable(s) called Beat Officers

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Police: Responsive, Transparent and Interactive

♦ Complaint Box System- Complaint Boxes were kept at different locations of the city to receive information from public who may prefer to remain unidentified and yet participate in their effort to assist the police

♦ Wide Area Network (W.A.N) : linking all police stations and offices with Internet connectivity and email service. brought the police closer to the public, making the police more responsive, transparent and interactive

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Help Line

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♦ Help Line for Distressed Women-To reach to those women who need help and to receive distress calls round the clock by a team of police, activists and students

♦ Separation of Law and Order and Investigation at Police Stations-Detective wings have been created exclusively for investigation of crime especially of a heinous nature

EXAMPLE

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♦ Women Cell-established in all districts - manned by lady investigating officers so that victims of woman related crimes can express themselves freely without hesitation to the women officers as compared to their male counterparts

♦ Sports Activity- organizes the Friendship Tournament

♦ Bravery and Honesty Award-Police organizes this award ceremony every year- Citizens are selected for their acts of bravery and honesty and are felicitated so that others follow the examples set by them

Counseling

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♦ Counseling Centres-The Detective Department of the Police along with several leading NGOs - counseling centres for women, juveniles, elders, drug or alcohol addicts manned by trained counselors and psychiatrists

♦ Claude Martin Fund-Financial assistance to deserving ex-prisoners through the Claude

Why Community Policing ?

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♦ Recognizes that community members can work together with law enforcement agencies and play an active role in reducing local crime

♦ Beneficial to society♦ Community♦ Specific advantages♦ Police♦ Specific benefits♦ Shared benefits

Reaching the UnreachedTowards Crimefree Society!?

SINCE 1881

CRIMINOLOGY EDUCATION FOR ALL

PLEASE

EACH ONE TEACH ONE

IF NOT

EACH ONE CATCH ONE AND TEACH ONE