Travails of police families

Interacting with families resolves problems, says Superintendent of Police

February 12, 2013 11:14 am | Updated 11:14 am IST - MADURAI:

PATIENT HEARING: Councelling session for family members of police personnel under way in Madurai.

PATIENT HEARING: Councelling session for family members of police personnel under way in Madurai.

“My father never attends the parent-teacher association (PTA) meetings in my school. Every time I inform him about one, he has a stock reply that he can’t get permission from his boss to be away from work,” a 12-year-old boy, studying seventh standard in a city school, told a counselling session organised for the family members of police personnel by the Madurai District Police here on Sunday.

Many families echoed the boy's sentiment.

A 15-year-old boy wanted to become an IPS officer, and he was motivated by his Inspector father. “I asked my father whether I could go with him to his office and see him at work,” said the boy. After initial hesitation, his father agreed and the boy spent almost a full day at the office. On returning home, the boy told his mother, “I will never become a police officer…,” After a pause, the boy continued, “the way policemen are treated by their higher-ups is inhuman and my father vents his anger at home by yelling at us.”

The grievances aired at the meeting sounded alike.

Many women police, including those of the rank of Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors, wanted an exclusive counselling session with their husbands and children.

In his introductory speech, Superintendent of Police V. Balakrishnan said that it was an initiative earnestly being implemented with the objective of reaching out to the families of police personnel through counselling sessions.Interacting with family members helped resolve problems. “Wherever there is a possibility of setting things right, we will do so and ensure that there is harmony at home, which would also help staff perform better at the workplace,” he said.

Explaining the significance of counselling, the Association for Social Health in India (Madurai chapter) secretary Janet Shankar said, “It is a platform to air the good and bad things happening in a policeman’s family. One gets a chance to know the problems faced by each member in a family. Above all, this is an opportunity for the family members to meet the Superintendent of Police. Problems when get redressed, bringing them happiness. It is a good beginning and Madurai police are setting a model.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.