Govt study bats for police teams to protect tourists

A government-sponsored study has recommended the creation of a special police force for the safety of tourists, noting that the existing mechanism failed to effectively check crime against tourists in India.

In its report to the Union Ministry of Tourism, the study team noted that the introduction of “tourist police” could reduce the crime rate against tourists by more than 70%.

According to tour operators, theft (25%) has been the most common crime faced by tourists, followed by cheating (16%) and sexual harassment (16%), the study noted.

Bhubaneswar-based Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Tourism, conducted the study.

“Like the general police, the tourist police should also be under the state government’s control. It should work under the district police administration with policing powers exclusively for maintaining the safety and security of the tourists, so that the crime rate can be reduced by more than 70%,” the study team recommended in its report.

The mode of operation, functions, powers, training and uniform of the tourist police should be designed keeping in mind the requirement of a tourist. The tourism ministry can provide financial assistance to the state governments for effective implementation of the scheme, it added.

In almost all the states and Union Territories, there exists one or the other form of a police system to assist tourists.