JOIN USCops arrest college girls' attention
The visit of students of the VHD Central Institute of Home Science, Palace Road to the JC Nagar Police Station here on Saturday was part of the “extension education” programme to understand the communication process of a chosen community, in this instance the police station.
“The programme envisages visiting various government departments and understanding their functioning. For the first time ever, however, we decided to visit a police station to know its working culture. And surprisingly, it was the girls who came up with the initiative,” a beaming Belinda Lopez, lecturer told Deccan Herald.
And the interaction, planned for an hour lasted for a marathon three hours, to the surprise of both the girls and the police officers.
The girls were briefed about the various procedures involved in the functioning of a police station. For instance, many girls didn't know before the interaction basic information like the department's hierarchy, the process for filing a First Information Report (FIR), and how the department went about cracking down on the criminals. The girls were “not much excited” before the visit, but their genial faces after the interaction conveyed that the three hours were well spent.
“Initially, I thought it will be a very tedious and boring exercise. But it turned out to be a worthwhile interaction resulting in knowledge about the police department,” Alafia, a student of BA II.
Ashwini K agrees. “Earlier, I considered the police to be very corrupt, non-transparent and archaic. But, I was stunned to know how the department had gone tech-savvy with the extensive use of latest gadgets like the GPS and the tag and reader in its day-to-day functioning,” she said.
The girls couldn't realise how the time slipped away as they were glued in the interaction, Ashwini added.
Police Inspector Tanveer Ahmed was absolutely delighted. “It was a great opportunity for us to clear many misconceptions and stereotypical myths associated with the police,” he told this reporter.