Recently in Indiranagar, a suspect in a hit-and-run case was captured on CCTV camera. Immediately, connecting with the residents on Twitter and the local WhatsApp group, the Jeevan Bima Nagar traffic police requested their help by either identifying the person or widely circulating the message so that someone could give a clue about the person, and have been getting regular inputs since then.
The residents’ WhatsApp groups that were started as a means to register complaints and issues in the neighbourhood with the police has turned into a useful platform for the police. In many areas of the city, where the citizens have been actively liaising with security personnel, the latter has taken citizens into confidence, so much so that their help is elicited for getting leads on various cases.
Swarna Venkatraman, member of I Change Indiranagar, said separate WhatsApp groups connecting the residents with the traffic and law & order police officers were created over two years ago. “We have been able to work well with the police departments because officers have been very accessible and responsive. Though the groups were started to flag off issues in the neighbourhood, we felt that only complaining would not be in the right spirit. We started connecting offline with the officers and, over the years, have build a good rapport with them,” she said.
This has led to mutual understanding between citizens and police. “We felt citizens should be part of the solution as well. In the two years, we have extended whatever help we could to the police in controlling crime in the neighbourhood. Residents, who are the eyes and ears of the area, have helped police identify those involved in gambling and prostitution, and this has led to raids by the police. We have alerted them about illegal parking and traffic snarls,” Ms. Venkatraman said, adding that this connect has helped lower crimes, such as chain-snatching and molestation, in the neighbourhood. “It is a give and take relationship, and it has worked well,” she added.
Residents of Whitefield have have something called the 'neighbourhood watch', under which they have worked with the police. “The group was started in 2016 with support from the police. Watch groups were created in various areas. Six groups were formed, each falling under different police beats. Our community volunteers have been informing the police about suspicious movements in the area. We also installed CCTV cameras to help police nab criminals,” said Anupama Kilaru, member of Whitefield Rising.
In fact, earlier this year, the Whitefield police set up a ‘blind box’ where residents could report illegal activities anonymously by dropping a message in the box.
However, Ms. Kilaru added that greater engagement between the police and the citizens was possible, and the group was working towards this.
Everyone wins
In Bellandur, the collaboration between residents and the police, especially traffic, has made life easier. “There is a mutual understanding between the residents and police. We are not angry voices who just raise issues, but often come up with action plans and are part of the solution. That is why the police like to work with us. We are asked to manage traffic on busy roads. Some of our team members have been coordinating traffic flow where water pipelines are being laid,” said Kishori Mudaliar, a member of Bellandur Jothege.
Inspector P. Ravi, Indiranagar police station, said this collaboration with the residents had made policing easier for his team. “Many residents have taken the responsibility for the safety of their areas and keep us alerted about problems. They help us as much as we help them.”
