Sector policing in the city will get visible soon as the personnel involved will be in special uniforms and patrol on differently coloured bikes in the coming weeks.
Sector policing teams, different from the regular patrol teams, were introduced a year ago by the city police. The personnel involved in the duty, however, don the regular khaki uniforms at present.
In order to make them stand apart and make it easier for residents to identify them, the personnel will be provided with fluorescent jackets, similar to those worn by the traffic police.
“We are also finalising a colour for the bikes on which they will be patrolling the sectors. The bikes will have sirens and LED lights, similar to those found on high- end cars,” said a senior police officer.
The personnel involved in sector policing are charged with various duties including patrolling the designated locality, making enquires on petitions and gathering intelligence. “This helps the police familiarise themselves with residents and security guards of apartment complexes. They are the first to reach a spot, before a regular patrol team, when a distress call arrives at the police control room,” said the officer.
Each police station is divided into three sectors and three constables work in three shifts 24x7. “We have installed 1,500 boards across the city with the numbers of the respective beat personnel, inspector and stations. As of now they have been placed in important residential buildings, but we are planning to have them in places like supermarkets where residents gather in large numbers,” said the officer.
Meanwhile, the sector policing system does not seem to be very efficient in parts of Anna Nagar where chain-snatching incidents are reported frequently.P. Vadivelu, secretary of Anna Nagar Western Extension, which represents over 5,000 flats, said they seldom saw policemen patrolling the area on bikes.
“They are found patrolling the area in cars during the nights or checking vehicles on street corners. If policemen with special uniforms and vehicles patrol the locality, it will instil confidence in residents. They should not be used for bandobast duty,” he said.
