The Hindu : CATCH 2003 yielding results

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 26, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

CATCH 2003 yielding results

The community-based crime prevention programme, Combined Action against Thieves, Cheats and Hooligans (CATCH-2003), is helping the city police evolve intervention strategies at the station house level on the basis of complaints and suggestions from the public.

The monthly interaction between Sub Inspectors and representatives of resident's associations as part of CATCH 2003 has ensured a relatively higher and more cordial level of interaction between the police and public, police claim.

For instance, in Pettah police station, the residents are supporting "autorickshaw patrolling'' at night by the police. The Sub Inspector, Raj Kumar, says that the 20-odd resident associations in the area are lending hired autorickshaws to the police to patrol the by-roads and lanes of residential colonies at night hours. He claims that autorickshaw patrolling at night has helped the police net several petty criminals, including burglars and hooch peddlers, who were caught by surprise. Moreover, the stress on police vehicles and men is also considerably reduced because of public cooperation, the SI says.

Policemen on night patrol sign books kept at certain select locations in the housing colonies. The residents are consulted before night patrol routes are finalised. The routes are constantly changed to ensure that all areas are covered.

The regular meetings also keep the police posted on problems which are generally overlooked. The chaotic traffic situation at the Pettah railway gate was brought to the notice of the police by residents who demanded that a constable be posted there to regulate traffic.

The residents of the S.N. Nagar Colony in Pettah had expressed fear of burglars after few house-breaks there. The police have also discreetly dealt with complaints of eve-teasing near Pettah school and the market place after it was raised by some residents.

Simple things such as collection of toll at the Venpalavattom bridge toll gate after 7 p.m. and the alleged misbehaviour of those who man the gate were tackled through police intervention. Traffic issues, such as parking of autorickshaws on the bus-bay at the Pattoor Junction and the reluctance of autorickshaw drivers to ferry passengers alighting from late night trains at the Pettah railway station, are being addressed by the police.

Various police stations, including Pettah, are registering an increase in "operational intelligence'' on petty crime ever since the CATCH-2003 has become functional, police say.

The monthly interactions could have prompted residents having information on criminal activities to place more trust on the police, one says.

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