How much do you know about your neighbour? In a world becoming increasingly insecure, you might even have a terrorist or murderer bang opposite your house and not have any inkling about it. The fast-paced lifestyle in the City clubbed with a reluctance to socialise has made many of us totally unaware of our surroundings. It therefore becomes imperative that the concept of Community policing, which attempts to build bridges between the police and the public to ensure a safer environment, be welcomed with open arms.

Sanjay Nagar, R T Nagar, J C Nagar, Hebbal and Yeshwantpur are areas fortunate to have kicked off the process, thanks to the strenuous efforts undertaken by retired army officer Mohammed Sharif, the founder and secretary general of `Dedicated Servants of India Society’ and his team. Altogether 7,500 people are quietly keeping watch over these pockets of the City today.

To the uninitiated, this is how the system works. Each area is divided into 50 units and each unit will have a Community Police Officer (CPO) along with five members he or she is allowed to choose. They constitute the `panchayat katte’ or ‘aswath katte’. The photos and contact details of the CPO and his `panch’ are submitted to the nearby police station. The team has to be approved by the Inspector at the station. The work done by the CPO and team is purely voluntary.

“All that the members have to do is to keep their eyes and ears open when it comes to ongoing activities in their locality,” said Sharif. They keep tab on taking place around—a new tenant next door, wife-beating, harassment of a daughter-in-law for dowry and any kind of suspicious behaviour displayed by anyone in their locality. They pass on the information in their possession to the CPO. The `beat constable’ in a particular area has to compulsorily stop at the CPO’s house every day for information. The CPO segregates the newsy wheat from chaff and passes on information to the cop. It is then upto the police to initiate action.

There are other useful areas where the community police helps, like in the case of matrimony. Those wanting accurate information about a particular boy or girl whom they have in mind as a partner for their daughter or son have also approached them.

Praise from CPOs

S Anand, CPO at Shivashankar block in Hebbal says, “This is a very good scheme and has to be extended all over the City. Apart from regularly giving information to the beat police, I have rushed to the police station many times and mediated between the public and the police and settled disputes without any case being filed.” Ex-corporator K N Parameshwarappa, a CPO at Yelumandamma temple road at Hebbal Kempapura says, “The beat constable used to frequent my house daily earlier but now he comes twice a week and keeps tab on the area with my help.”

The only qualification one needs to have to be a part of the community police network is that one should be a retiree (preferably from government service) with no criminal record.  The credibility enjoyed by the Dedicated Servants of India Society with police and public has ensured that people trust them. It has 400 members, including 31 retired judges, apart from retired IPS and IAS officers among others and has been involved in many social service ventures.

Syed Ulfath Hussain, Deputy Commissioner of Police, North Zone is all praise for this venture and is making plans to extend to it more areas.

The areas set to have community police by this year end are Peenya, Jalahalli, Gangammangudi, Vidyarangpur and Soldenhalli. “If awareness about the concept spreads, the City will one day have a community policing strength of 1,25,000. I hope to see this in my lifetime” says 84-old Sharif.

Those interested in being a part of this altruistic venture can contact him at 23416779 or 9886218159.