Remember those days when policemen used to pedal past on bicycles and stop by occasionally for chats with residents? The Chennai city police will soon be reviving this practice by introducing cycle patrolling across the city.
According to senior police officers, each station will be provided with five cycles. The team will patrol streets and even small alleys, which are otherwise not accessible.
“The main aim of this system is to increase visible policing and also develop a rapport with the public,” said a senior police officer.
As of now, 410 sector beat officers work in each of the three shifts. “In addition, senior officers also patrol their jurisdictions in cars and monitor important junctions,” an officer added.
Cycle patrolling is also expected to improve intelligence gathering. “The cycle patrol team cannot zoom past the street. They can move slowly and interact with residents and know about newcomers to the locality. This will aid in intelligence gathering,” former police commissioner R. Nataraj said.
He said that when the Coastal Security Group was introduced in 1992, there were check posts every 50 kilometres. “Cycles were used to patrol the area between these posts. This ensured better communication with the local population,” he added.
Senior police officers feel that a cycle patrol can help crime fighting, especially in north Chennai. “There are many localities which cannot be patrolled using a motorcycle or car. Policemen can go there by cycle and this will ensure police visibility in interior areas,” said the officer.
Residents too are happy with the system. “Since the cycle is a common man’s vehicle, people will feel closer to them. Besides, the policemen can gauge the situation properly while pedalling as compared to whizzing past on a bike,” said V. Rajagopal, a resident of Anna Nagar.
