Community policing

Joint night patrolling by citizens, police
(New Delhi, 8 February 1981)

The place, a street in a small colony of West District. Time, a little after midnight. Suddenly, the silence of the night is broken by the tap of the police boot as the patrolling party moves along checking doors and examining suspicious looking shadows caused by the erratic street lights. As the party approaches closer, one sees about half a dozen policemen snug in their great coats and a couple of civilians, wrapped in blankets and mufflers to ward off the cold.     Public help     This is the joint police night  patrol. For the first time in the history of the Union Territory, the public is now actively cooperating with the law enforcement authorities to check crime and lawlessness.     The test of any police force—public cooperation has been realized at least in one area of the capital in the West District just because the Deputy Commissioner of Police has decided to take the initiative.    The cooperative venture between the police and the public started about a month ago, immediately after Mrs Kiran Bedi, the first woman Indian Police Officer took over as the Deputy Commissioner of police in the West District.    Mrs Bedi took charge of the district when the people of the area were in a state of panic over a spate of armed robberies and dacoities. Faced with the twin task of curbing the incidences of crime and restoring the people’s confidence, Mrs Bedi went about it with the instinct of a woman.    After studying the crime graph of the district and consulting her staff, Mrs Bedi concluded that nothing constructive can be done without the participation of the community. It was imperative that the residents of the area were made to realize that the task of maintaining law and order in the area was as much their concern as that of the police.     The first thing the woman Deputy Commissioner of police did, was to have about 5000 handbills printed both in Hindi and English. These were then distributed by the beat policemen in their respective areas. The handbills requested the people to cooperate with the police and inform them about the anti social elements in their areas immediately and, if necessary, anonymously.     Large posters carrying the same message were also put up at vantage

points in the District. The officers, especially in the field, were instructed to contact citizens in their areas and to talk to them as to how the situation could be improved. In fact, a small exercise in community relationship was launched by the police in the district. At first, because of the usual lingering fear and distrust of the police, the response from the public was lukewarm. But after a couple of weeks, the people realized that the police were serious about improving the condition of the locality. Some very useful tips were provided by the citizens which not only resulted in the arrest of alleged anti social elements but also yielded a rich haul of stolen property and illegal arms.     Useful tips     According to the police officials of the area at least two to three calls were received everyday from the public providing useful tips. There have been some ‘dumb calls’ which send the police rushing on a wild goose chase but this was to be expected, the officials said.     Once a rapport had been established it was easy for the police to requisition the help of the citizens for night patrolling in their areas. Mrs Bedi who declined to take credit for this community relationship venture, said that the exercise has had two effects. First, the people had come to know the policemen of the respective areas which is a very important step towards restoring confidence. Second, the people had started realizing that the job of a policeman is not always an easy one.     Mrs Bedi said the response from the people for night patrolling in the area had been overwhelming especially in residential colonies like Saraswati Vihar, Paschim Vihar and Janakpuri, which had recently been terrorized by desperadoes. The residents of these areas also agreed to hire some chowkidars.     Residents of 77 villages out of 119 under the jurisdiction of the West District police have also expressed eagerness to participate in the night patrolling and help the police get rid of the anti-social elements.     Both police officials and residents of the area claimed that the incidents of crime had declined considerably ever since the joint venture was enacted. ‘The law abiding citizens have come to realize that they can actively participate in maintaining law and order’, a senior police official said.

Public Police take Pledge
(National Herald, 2 January 1981)

New Delhi. In a unique ceremony, first of its kind in the Capital, members of the public and the police today  resolved to help each other.   The West Delhi Police at an impressive function announced, ’help to anyone in need coming to us. Our efforts for the year 1981 would not only be to help but as far as possible bring immediate help. We all should be of the view that we shall continue making efforts to achieve cent percent target of helping people who come to us for help.’     The people under the leadership of Mr M.L. Batra, retired Chief Secretary of the Haryana Government took the oath to help the police in its works.     Both the police and the public joined them in a popular Punjabi folk dance ‘Bhangra’ after the function.     The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mrs Kiran Bedi submitted a brief resume of the police performance during the last year.     The overall crime figure has come down. It was mainly due to the public cooperation with the police. Mrs Kiran Bedi observed the number of registered cases with the West District police last year was 4323 compared to 5294 in 1979.     Robbery has come down from 73 to 42; snatching from 46 to 29; burglary from 491 to 344; riots from 51 to 16 and; attempted murders from 48 to 24, according to the figures released by the West District.

It was mainly due to the combined efforts of police and public. According to Mrs Bedi intensive night checking of vehicles and people moving around was done in the entire district. This was done through police pickets posted at all entry posts to West District as well as other sensitive points from the crime prevention point of view. All police pickets were equipped with a wireless and a motorcycle. The West District could be sealed within no time as barriers had also been installed at points.     The biggest achievement of the year, Mrs. Bedi says, is  the public cooperation in night patrolling in the district. Minor offences have come down because of the continuous drive against boot-legging. The West District is maintaining  history sheets of all professional criminals, and they were under strict surveillance. The records of the local criminals are being maintained in the concerned police stations.’      Among the major achievements of the year, the West District police have smashed a number of auto lifting gangs, and recovered stolen property worth rupees nine lakhs. On August 23, the West District police had recovered a machine gun from a gang when they were planning to commit an offence in the locality.     The police, in 1980, claimed to have arrested 13,820 persons under the various sections of the law.