Bhubaneswar keen to follow B'lore on community policing

It seems the efforts of Bangalore police in involving members of the community in policing are being noticed by authorities from other states as well.

If all goes well, the city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha may soon replicate the Bangalore system of community policing, which is running successfully for nearly a year now. 

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Bangalore City Police Commissioner, Raghavendra Auradkar, confirmed that the Odisha Director General of Police had shown an interest in setting up a similar initiative and has contacted his department.

The Bangalore City Police in association with City-based NGO Janaagraha started a pilot project of community policing about eight months ago for which seven police stations were initially selected.

Volunteers from the community help the police officials from the respective police stations in patrolling and raising awareness about safety and security in the area. Regular meetings are also held between the police and these volunteers.

“Once the deal is finalised between the two departments, we plan to go to Bhubaneswar and conduct a reconnaissance after which we will decide what to do. We will probably set up the community policing measure on a pilot basis in say two police stations before deciding on any further action,” said Community Policing, Coordinator, Janaagraha, Maj Gen (rtd), K R Prasad. 

Auradkar said his department was working on trying to extend the community policing initiative beyond its present scope. “We want to take this initiative forward as a whole and besides Janaagraha, we are presently also in talks with another NGO,” Auradkar said.

Pranob Mohanty, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), said: “The community police pilot study was a good exercise and I have been told that the same might be replicated all over the City. In any case, policing is always a joint effort that needs the participation of community members and police.”