Don't just sit in office and give orders, Bedi tells top cops in Delhi

Retired Indian Police Service official and social activist Kiran Bedi has called for a more ‘communicative’ than intelligence-oriented leadership in Delhi Police for crime prevention.

Bedi claimed that senior police officials in the force in the last 10 years have been weakest in history.

“We need senior police officials on the field interacting with people, not ones sitting in office and giving orders,” she said while addressing a seminar on ‘better security and safety for woman’ at India International Center Annexe on Thursday.

She highlighted that if Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar and others interact more with public, it would make the common man feel confident of the entire policing system.
“Officials are regularly covered in the media, but that’s the job of the media. Interaction with people and junior police officials would have a positive impact on them and boost their morale,” Bedi added.

Crime against women is a national disease which needs to be addressed.
“There is not a woman in India, including me, who has not suffered harassment in her life,” she said.

Bedi insisted that better training must also be provided to officials at police stations to make them more aware of problems faced by women. Police station personnel must stop misbehaving when a woman comes to lodge a complaint, she added.

She further highlighted that the government must adopt technology to have a more secure society.

Citing examples of London and New York, she claimed that closed circuit television cameras must cover different parts of the city to make it safe for women.

“CCTV cameras can be used as a deterrent to eve-teasing incidents, and it would also help in police functioning and improving law and order situation. But in Delhi, it has generally been ineffective,” Bedi said.

Delhi Police have been planning to put the entire city under surveillance through CCTV
cameras, but several ambitious projects are yet to see the light of day.

It has also come to light that Cabinet approval in September, 2008 for setting up cameras at 27 border checkposts and 58 marketplaces has till date not been completed.