Student Police Cadet Project will soon cover entire state

The Home Department is all set to expand the Student Police Cadet Project (SPCP) to the entire state. SPCP is a youth development initiative by the state government. The project aims to develop a student community that is physically and emotionally healthy.

“The government is impressed with the success of the first phase of SPCP and hence a decision has been taken to expand to the SPCP all over the state,” SPCP state nodal officer and additional commissioner of police (East), Bengaluru, P Harishekharan told Deccan Herald. The government is likely to issue an order in this regard very soon.

The Home department launched the SPCP in December 2014 in association with the departments of Education, Transport, Forests and Excise and local bodies.
The Chief Minister officially launched it in March 2015 and Rs 1.60 crore has been earmarked for three-year-pilot project.

The Home department covered 25 government/government-aided high schools in Bengaluru, five each in Kodagu, Shivamogga and Mysuru districts in the first phase.

“Karnataka is next only to Kerala, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan in the country to start the SPCP. At present, Karnataka is ranked number two after Kerala. We will surely become the number one state soon,” Harishekharan added.

The Home department is planning to select one school from each taluk and three schools from district headquarters in the second phase, he added.

“Any high school with a strength of over 500 students and having an independent ground spread over two acres of land will be eligible for the selection. We plan to have two platoons, each comprising 22 students, from each of these schools,” he said.

The committee comprising a local police inspector, community police officer, assistant cadet police officer, drill instructor and assistant drill instructor will select the schools and students.

A government medical officer will test the students’ physical abilities and issue a fitness certificate. The selected students will have to submit the acceptance letter, said the police and added that there will be separate platoons of boys and girls.

The training will be held for about two hours every Saturday after school hours. Students are expected to participate in indoor and outdoor activities and will be taken to police stations, local bodies, traffic management centres, courts, Vidhana Soudha and fire stations as part of field visits. The students will be given shoes and uniforms, Harishekharan added. 

The additional SP will be the district nodal officer, while the SP will supervise the SPCP’s implementation.