A citizen wishing to report a law and order problem in their neighbourhood can simply dial 100. While the system works well, it doesn’t hurt for citizens to know the officers in charge of their locality and contact them directly. It can even ensure a quicker response.
With this in mind, the Bengaluru City Police has started an initiative aimed at enabling residents to know and contact the beat officers responsible for maintaining law and order in their areas.
Posters and flyers
Starting with Indiranagar, the police have begun pasting posters and flyers with information about the sub-beat officer along with their photograph and contact details outside banks, ATMs and homes of residents on 100 Feet Road, Defence Colony, 12th Main Road, 9th Main Road, Michael Palya, Lakshmipuram and other areas under its jurisdiction. The posters also provide the mobile numbers of senior officers, including assistant sub-inspector, PSI and the Inspector of Indiranagar police station.
In Indiranagar, police officials are as proactive as residents in maintaining a good relationship, said one resident. “It is a great initiative by the police to keep citizens informed about who exactly is responsible for law and order on our streets. Now, we not only know the number of our local beat officer, but also know him by face,” said Swarna Venkatraman, resident of Indiranagar.
Ravi P., inspector, Indiranagar police station, said, “All our officers are happy to share the contact details. This has been done to help residents reach out to us whenever needed.”
Better access
A senior police official said this initiative has been started in East and South divisions, and will soon be replicated in other parts of the city.
The initiative has made residents feel that the police are more accessible.
One poster has been put up in front of the house of Indira Vishwanathan, a resident of 11th Main Road, who called it a citizen-centric move. “When the police comes forward and does something like this, it makes citizens feel more comfortable to reach out to them. On our part, the association is trying set up a meeting between our beat officer and residents. This will help us know the official better and work as a team to keep the neighbourhood safe,” she said.
