For more than a fortnight, police personnel in Koyembedu, Maduravoyal, Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminal (CMBT), Nolambur, Tirumangalam and Anna Nagar have been visiting houses to interact with the residents and tell them what it takes to stay safe.
Pamphlets with detailed safety tips including steps that need to be taken before going out of station and installation of CCTVs cameras at the entrance of houses, are being distributed. More than a dozen teams of police personnel with at least three in each group visited several neighbourhoods for a few weeks.
The pamphlets list the dos and don’ts for the residents. It also has phone numbers of government officials including the Corporation, Metrowater, Tangedco, emergency, ambulance, fire and police.
“The public have a larger role in preventing crime in the neighbourhood. Residents can also take responsibility by taking turns to go on night-patrolling along with the police during the early hours of the evening,” said a police officer.
Apart from issuing pamphlets, the police have also advised residents, especially women and senior-citizens, to be more cautious while walking on the road in the wake of a spurt in chain-snatching incidents across the city.
They suggested that they go out in groups. Further, residents were also asked to install CCTV cameras in front of their houses, street lanes, arterial roads, important public gathering places including bus stops and parks. The cameras will provide vital clues to the beat policemen in the area. In order to ensure safety of the house, police also advised residents to fix a metal grille or collapsible gate outside the main door, which will allow them to see visitors without having to open the main door of the house.
Police also said that residents should inform the police if they came across any suspicious object or person.
The police also urged banks and educational institutions in the neighbourhood to install surveillance cameras, electronic burglary alarms, provide quality locker systems to the customers and caller identification facility in telephones to keep a tab on pranksters making hoax calls.
Under the orders of the Chennai City Police Commissioner S. George, the Chennai Police has decided to meet residents at regular intervals to encourage them to comply with basic crime prevention measures.
On their part, residents asked the police to step up night vigilance, install sign boards on important intersections in the neighbourhood and also set up new check points at the entry and exit routes in the neighbourhood.
