The city police, which struggled to ensure law and order during the recent Cauvery-related violence and the garment workers’ strike a few months ago, is gearing up to restructure and reorganise the existing police stations in the city more scientifically.
This exercise will begin from next week, said Home Minister G. Parameshwara said, adding that the city will also get an additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).
Aimed at making policing more effective, the move is to ensure that the jurisdictional limits of police stations are scientifically divided.
“As of now, we have some stations with too many areas/wards and some with very few. This makes it difficult, especially in times of disturbances and law and order situations. We have learnt quite a few lessons from the recent Cauvery riots and garment workers strike,” the Minister said.
With Madiwala being the largest police station, the government is also set to split it into two or three stations. Following the restructuring the 105 existing number of police stations are likely to go up by five more, he said.
Clarifying that there was no proposal to have two commissionerates for the city, the Home Minister said: “As of now we are concerned with restructuring and reorganising police stations.”
To fill 19,000 vacancies
The Home Department is hoping to fill about 19,000 vacancies in the State by next year.
With at least 3,000 police vacancies created every year due to retirement and promotions, the Home Ministry has sought clearance from the Finance Department to fill up these vacancies. The vacancies have piled up because no recruitments were done during the previous BJP rule, he added. “We have told the Finance Department that as these vacancies are against sanctioned posts, it is not required to get clearance every year and they have agreed,” he added.
