Janamaithri Suraksha Project

Global Community Policing Conclave 2010

2010-10-08T23:46:00.000-07:00

Global Community Policing Conclave 2010

( An International Police Executive Symposium Meeting)

Will be held in Kochi, Kerala, India, Hosted by

Government of Kerala at

Hotel Le Meredian, Kochi on

Nov 3^rd - 4^th 2010

Chief Coordinator

Dr. B. Sandhya IPS

Inspector General of Police, Ernakulam Range

madhusandh@gmail.com

Secretary

Shri. Manoj Abraham IPS

Commissioner of Police, Kochi City

Phone 91-484-2394770

Fax 91-484- 2394469

Email manojabraham05@gmail.com

For Online Registration please visit our

Website- www.kochicitypolice.org

Global Community Policing Conclave 2010

2010-09-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

( An International Police Executive Symposium Meeting)

Will be held in Kochi, Kerala, India

Host :

Government of Kerala

Where :

Hotel Le Meredian, Kochi

When : Nov 3^rd - 4^th 2010

Theme:

Community Policing-Theoretical Problems & Operational Issues

Kerala Police is proud to host the International Conference on community policing initiatives around the world, which aims to bring police researchers and practitioners together to facilitate cross-cultural, international and interdisciplinary exchanges for the enrichment of Community policing practices. It aims to correlate and codify the various practices in community policing that exist in various parts of the globe, so that that there is a clear exchange of ideas and practices which can help to strengthen this concept for the betterment of the community as a whole.

This conclave is a two-day interface on specific issues relevant to the public- private participation in policing, where Police officers and Research practitioners from all around the globe will be participating and exchanging ideas and concepts. The conclave is hosted by the Kerala Police, with the approval of the Kerala Government. The conclave also facilitates interaction and exchange of ideas and opinions on all aspects of policing. The agenda is structured to encourage dialogue in both formal and informal settings.

The compilations of all the selected papers from the meeting will be published by the Kerala Police and will be supplied to all the participating delegates with a purpose of highlighting current, innovative police practices from all over the world; providing opportunities for exchanges between police practitioners and researchers; reporting the state of public safety, internationally; focusing on successful practices that build partnerships between police practitioners and communities; as well as drawing attention to other successful police practices in relation to maintaining order, enforcing laws, and serving the community.

Organising Committee

Chairman

Shri Kodiyeri Balakrishnan

Hon’ble Minister for Home, Tourism and Vigilance

Government of Kerala

Vice Chairman

Shri. Jacob Punnoose IPS,

Director General of Police, Kerala

Chief Coordinator

Dr. B. Sandhya IPS

Inspector General of Police, Ernakulam Range

madhusandh@gmail.com

Secretary

Shri. Manoj Abraham IPS

Commissioner of Police, Kochi City

Phone 91-484-2394770

Fax 91-484- 2394469

Email manojabraham05@gmail.com

Website- www.kochicitypolice.org

Host

The meeting will be hosted by Kerala Police. All local arrangements, including assistance before or after the meeting, can be made through the Commissioner of Police, Kochi City, the Secretary of the Organising Committee.

Call for Papers

Participants are encouraged to prepare a paper of approximately 15 pages in English detailing the Community Policing Initiatives in their countries and its unique features. Papers should describe and analyze the responses adopted by a country’s policing system to the new challenges, present original information and data, and summarize the lessons learned so far by each should submit an abstract ASAP.

Panels

Most of the presentations would be through a panel, which will be a balance of Police Officers and Research Practitioners, who would be grouped together, based on the topics and the issues under discussion.

All sessions conducted in English

Dress in business attire

Participants expected to attend all sessions

Schedule of Activities

……

Day 1 - 2^nd Nov 2010

Arrival and Registration

Day 2 - 3^rd Nov 2010

0900-0940- Introduction – By DGP

1000- 1100 Inauguration of the Conclave

1100-1200 ; First Session

: Tea Break

1215- 1345: Second Session

: Lunch Break

1430-1600 : Afternoon Session

1615-1730 : Evening Session

Cultural Extravaganza and Dinner

Day 3 - 4^th Nov 2010

0930 -1100: First Session

: Tea Break

1115- 1245 : Second Session

1245-1330 : Third Session

: Lunch Break

1430-1600 : Afternoon Session

1600-1630 : Conclusion

Excursion and Dinner

Day 4 – 5^th/ 6^th Nov

Local Excursion and Departures

Meeting Programme

The programme will primarily be Presentation based, where in accepted papers will be placed into one of the sessions. Each session will be 90 minutes. Sessions will not overlap, allowing participation in every session. Papers not placed in any may be presented in a special session, as decided by the Chair.

Registration

To register and formalise your participation, please go online to www.kochicitypolice.org. Complete the registration form and submit your details.

It is reiterated that there is no registration fee or charges to attend the conference. The participants only have to meet the expenditure of travel from their place to Cochin Airport and also obtain their visas to enter the country from the Indian Embassy in their countries. Accompanying spouses have to pay a small fees for meeting the expenses. Please contact the organizing Committee for any further clarifications in this regard.

After you have successfully registered, please e-mail us your bio data as a MS word document and a jpeg/pdf photo of yourself in uniform or business attire for official purposes.

THEME: Community Policing: Theoretical Problems and Operational Issues

This conference explores and expands the area of community policing (CP) that has not been systematically, still less comprehensively, explored, i.e., what are the theoretical problems, operational issues, and practical difficulties confronting police officers, up and down the chain of command, when they do their rounds.

For example:

Theoretically, in the present global world the concept of community must be expanded to account for new forms of global community- Facebook, Tweeter, chat forums, blogs, discussion groups, specific interest based groups are creating new communities that go beyond a small geographical region. What are the ‘problems’ that should define police responsibilities and functions in view of this global community?

Operationally what kind of problems – personal vs. communal, political vs. social vs. economical – are the police willing, able and ready to engage; What functions, practices, style and model constitutes the core of COP- how do similar genres such as ‘working with people; making citizens co-producers of their security; neighborhood policing; problem oriented policing; Friends of police; police citizen academies’ etc structure these operational issues?

Practically, how do police go around solving problems of one type or another; what are the difficulties encountered and how are specific solutions adopted by the organization? Inherent in these questions are the issues of management models, administrative rules and human resources along with format of training, supervision and performance measures that need to be considered for implementing COP

The conference is characterized by the following parameters:

(1) The conference adopts a bottom up vs. top down approach to understand COP problems and issues.

(2) The conference is devoted to eliciting views from police practitioners and front line officers, broadly defined;

(3) The conference favors a case study approach based on real life police experience in the street in defining issues, demonstrating problems, detailing solutions and animating debates.

Participants: 100

Presenters/Chair: 60

Panels: 10 x 4 presenters + Chair (Discussant) = 50

Panel length: 90 minutes + 30 minutes break = 2 hrs.

Key note Address-

Local Operational Problems and Issues with COP- DGP Kerala

Followed by Inauguration Ceremony to be attended by Union Home Minister, State Home Minister, DGP’s of Various States etc,

IPES Policing New Communities- Distinguished Professor Kam C. Wong, Xavier U.

1. Historical (local) Development of COP”

Papers in this session will discuss historical development of COP – conceptually, theoretically, institutionally, organizationally and operationally, in respective countries or regions. The focus is on indigenous ideas and local practices, or what COP unique domestically and internally.

2. Comparative COP Theory and Practice I: Varieties of Communities”

Papers in this session will focus on comparison, i.e., identifying similarities and noting differences, of COP theories and practices between various types and kinds of communities; urban vs. rural, real vs. virtual, majority vs. minority, etc. Papers should discuss how local conditions define and influence COP ideas and practices.

3. Comparative COP Theory and Practice II: Convergence and Divergence Between East and West”

Papers in this session will focus on comparison, i.e., identifying similarities and noting differences between East vs. West COP theories and practices. Comparison should, as much as possible, place COP theory and practice in a broader historical, philosophical, ideological, cultural, social and political context.

4. Theory vs. Practice of COP”

Papers in this session will focus on operational problems and day to day issues arising in the course of implementing of COP theory, imported or home grown, in the field.

5. Critique of COP: Voices from the field.

Papers in this session will focus on “voices” of front line manager and officers as to how COP has affected their work, positively and negatively.

6. Doing COP – Problems and Promises – Case studies.

Papers in this session will focus on success and failures of COP at institutional as well as street level, with the use of case studies to illustrate best practices and problem situations. The objective is to compare how different agencies/officers tackle similar COP problems.

7. Future of COP

Papers in this session will focus on looking back as a way of looking forward. What were the lessons learnt with the adoption of COP in ones nation – organization – community? What is the future of COP locally and globally? Theoretically and operationally?

Conference Timetable

Time Nov 2^nd- Arrival and Registration

Nov 3^rd 2010

7.30 – 8.30 Breakfast

0900 – 09.45 Registration Keynote

1000 – 1100 Inauguration

1100 – 12.30 Panel Discussion

12.30 –0130 Panel Discussion

01.30-0230 Lunch

2.30 – 4.30 Panel

4.30 – 6.30 Panel

6.30 to 830 Social hour and Group Photos

Award dinner

Inauguration of the Office of

GLOBAL COMMUNITY POLICING CONCLAVE 2010

at CPO, Kochi City on 11.09.2010

Community Policing Project of the Government of Kerala

2010-09-10T04:16:00.000-07:00

Law Enforcement in a democracy is a process by which public security is ensured by securing and enlisting the willing co-operation of people who are simultaneously the beneficiaries of such enforcement. Citizens are subject to the law which they themselves create by means of established legislative processes; therefore they also need to proactively participate in the process of preventing violations of enacted law.

Community Policing seeks the responsible participation of the citizens in crime prevention at the level of the local community, conserving the resources, both of the community and of the police, in fighting against crimes which threaten the security of the community. Experience shows that by seeking the active co-operation of the public in performance of police duties, the process of Law Enforcement becomes far more effective.

Community Policing Project of the Government of Kerala

2010-08-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

JANAMAITHRI SURAKSHA PROJECT

Community Policing Project of the Government of Kerala

-Dr B Sandhya IPS,

- Nodal Officer, Janamaithri Suraksha Project

Social context of Community Policing in Kerala

Kerala is the most literate State of India. It is the least corrupt State (Transparency International- 2005). The area is maximum media penetrated with 78 Lakhs copies of print media and 16 TV channels. Hence any new idea will be under media scrutiny.

10% of Kerala population live outside the Country. At least 20% of the population has visited a foreign country. Thus the people view things in a global perspective.

Kerala is a highly politicised State. Almost everybody has his/her political belief.

But at the same time they are highly tolerant. For example, in the same family you may find people working for different political parties.

The population is multi religious with 50% population belonging to minority groups. There is no untouchability. There are no nuclear villages. People live intermixed.

In Kerala, Police is very high but there are no major industries. Service sector is the most developed.

Police constabulary of Kerala are highly qualified. Highest paid and highest qualified policemen of India are from Kerala. This has a historical background. The Travancore State Manual by T.K.velu Pillai (1882-1950) (first published in 1940) mentioned that only literate persons were recruited in Police Force. Men of high education are frequently chosen to fill places in the subordinate ranks. The document further states that "Prominent persons like Mahatma Gandhi have been so much impressed with the discipline and courtesy exhibited by the generality of the Force that they have thought it fit to give them high compliment by comparing them with London Police."

Public appreciate political neutrality. Public sensitivity is high on open and brazen partiality. Civil society appreciates impartial policing. However they are highly critical of any police action.

Against the back drop of such a social milieu, many individual officers of Kerala had attempted and succeeded in implementing Community Policing Programmes.

Janamaithri Suraksha Project – the background.

Justice K.T. Thomas Commission, appointed by the Government of Kerala to suggest Police Reforms submitted its report in 2006. The report recommended that the Government should implement Community Policing on an experimental basis. Accordingly the Government asked the Police Department to prepare and submit a draft scheme. The draft scheme submitted by the Department in 2007 was discussed elaborately at various levels and based on suggestions/recommendations by various persons a final project was prepared by the Police Department. The project in a nutshell is discussed below.

Janamaithri Suraksha Project is the community policing project of the Kerala Police.

The project is structured so as to facilitate closer community involvement in ensuring security and safety within communities. The project envisages to achieve the following objectives.

1. To prevent crime.

2. Co-operation of the Police and the Public in security matters.

3. To ensure mutual co operation of members of the public in the domain of security.

The project envisages to strengthen the Police by achieving the support of the local community. It is not a project aimed at bettering the image of the Police. It is also not a project wherein police duties are performed by the citizens. Rather it is a project to professionally strengthen Police and increase its accessibility to the needy public through close interaction with and better understanding of the public. Through the Beat Officers, citizen living in the area will be known to the Police and every citizen will be acquainted e Beat Officers.

The project centres around Beat Officers who are Police Constables/Head constables/Asst. Sub Inspectors, specially selected and trained.

Beat Officer & his Duties

For each residential area forming one "Jana Souhrida consisting of around 1000 houses within an area of 3 km there will be a Beat Officer. All the duties of the Police relating to patrolling, process service, petition enquiry, verification, collection of public complaints, servicing of complaint boxes, etc. will be done, subject to proper supervision HO, through such Beat Officer.

Within two or three months of becoming the beat officer, at Officer should personally know atleast one member of family living in his beat, all the roads and by-lanes in his area, working habits of local people and their special on a house to house basis.

At least three days a week, the beat officer should be available for an hour or so at a pre-announced place in the beat anybody who wants to communicate anything to him going to the police station may meet him there.

The Beat Officer is provided with a 'Janamaithri Bike' specially painted, depicting Janamaithri Emblem.

The Beat Officer shall also maintain a Beat Register showing the daily activities and daily transactions with respect to the beat and such Beat Register shall be examined SHO everyday.

Woman Police Constable is detailed as Assistant Beat Officer, so that problems of women could be addressed properly. The Women Police Constable is provided with a two wheeler..

The Beat Officers shall also attend the Janamaithri Suraksha Samithi Meeting every month. It is expected that the Beat Officer shall spend atleast 20 hours a week actually moving about and meeting residents in his beat.

It is essential that the Beat Officer conducts himself in an exemplary manner. Special Training Courses and periodical evaluations are done for making Beat Officers fully competent for the task.

Janamaithri Suraksha Samithi

Janamaithri Suraksha Samithi is a Samithi formed to assist the project function Samithi member should have time to spare for its activities and he/she shall not be involved in any criminal cases. the Samithi does not have any statutory powers.

The Janamaithri Suraksha Samithi shall consist of Corporation / Municipal Councilors, representatives of each active Residents Association, NGOs, local representatives, nominees of every High School Head Master / College Principal, reputed persons of the locality, retired police personnel and ex-service personnel.

The Samithi should have 10 % senior citizens 30 % ladies and 20 % SC/ST members. Political party members in that capacity are not included in the Samiti. The number of members is 10-25.

A Janamaithri Suraksha Samithi has to be formed in the Police Station based the report submitted by the Circle Inspector, through the Sub Divisional Police Officer to the Superintendent of Police/ Commissioner of Police form the Samithi.

Meetings of the Samithi

The Samithi shall meet atleast once in a month at a previously notified place and any member of the public, residing within the local area of the police station, may also attend the meeting to give suggestions / air complaints.

No Criminal cases under investigation or trial should be discussed in the Samithi. No discussion is made of arrest or any other statutory functions of the Police.

The meeting is convened by the Circle Inspector and SHO is the secretary Samithi.

The meetings shall be attended by the Sub Divisional Police Officer once in every months and by the Superintendent of Police atleast once a year.

The minutes of the Samithi meetings are recorded and kept in a minutes book. A is forwarded to the Sub Divisional Police Office.

Activities under the Janamaithri Suraksha Samithi

The Janamaithri Suraksha Samithi may formulate and implement, depending upon local perception, the following types of plans for betterment of policing and crime prevention area.

Formulation of joint Police - Community patrols to prevent thefts and street crimes in residential areas.

To identify strangers and migrants to the area and to help the police ascertain their identity and antecedents.

To formulate plans for security measures and installation of security devices in houses, flats, shopping complexes etc.

To identify the needs of the disabled and aged population and of weaker sections living in the limits and to devise plans for ensuring their security.

To develop and implement plans for improved traffic regulation in the area, including co-ordination and management of traffic wardens.

To develop plans to give training to youth in First Aid and Trauma Care, Palliative Care, blood donation, self employment etc. and involve youth in community oriented projects.

To form Jagratha Samithis for women and for school/college students to arrange legal aid/counseling etc.

Organise legal awareness classes, traffic awareness programmes, blood donation camps etc.

Special programme for security of taxi drivers etc./ involving local community road accident victims, Highway Suraksha Jagratha Samithis.

Environment friendly volunteers to protect the environment.

Victim support Cells.

District Advisory Samithi

Superintendent of Police/Commissioner of Police should form a 'Jilla Upadesaka Samithi' including M.P, M.L.A, Municipal Chairman/Mayor and also other representatives nominated by the Superintendent of Police/Commissioner of Police. The Samiti have 10 - 20 numbers. Once in three months, Superintendent of Police/Commission Police may convene a meeting and review the activities of the Project and give nee advices for successful implementation of the Project.

Janamaithri Kendran

To popularize the concept of Janamaithri Suraksha Project, Janamaithri Kendrams were opened in some places. These centres help people to come and interact with Classes on traffic safety, career guidance etc. are organised at such centres.

Janamaithri Kendrams have been functioning in some of the Districts and in Battalions.

The main objectives of the Kendram is to function as an information developing Janamaithri Yuvakendram, to provide sports and youth training facilities counseling space and facilities for women, giving career planning and self employment training, anti drug campaign, palliative care training, traffic education centre/ traffic el park and any other activities facilitating police - community interface helping serve the community in a better manner. It is proposed to start Janamaithri Kendrams 10 more places.

A notice board may be put up giving various news items, photographs etc on Janamaithri Suraksha Project.

Various posters inculcating Traffic sense, Civic sense etc among student community may be put up.

Posters depicting helpline numbers, awareness posters on drug abuse, Crime against women etc also can be put up.

The centre can be developed as a community Interaction entre. Help from the public is sought in educating traffic accidents/quickly responding during traffic accidents, natural calamities etc.

Voluntary groups/ organizations, etc which are working in the field of promoting peace, National Integration and Communal Harmony may be encouraged to associate with the centre.

Youth are encouraged to work in the project under ‘Janamaithri Yuvakendram’

From the Nodal Officer’s Diary

In 2007, I got an order from the Government, giving me an additional responsibility to the Nodal Officer for the Community Policing project of Kerala, to be conceived and implemented, as suggested by the Justice K.T. Thomas Commission.

Mr. Jacob Punnoose, the then Add!. Director General of Police Intelligence and Chairman, Implementation Committee asked me to prepare a Project Report. He specifically told me not e in an exercise of finding out literature and dabbling in theoretical research papers. down to earth practical project was the thing required.

We listed out a number of successful Community Policing initiatives of Keral and various other States. Based on the models, around 17 feasible projects were prepared. Then we had discussions on the modalities, taking into consideration, the demographic distribution, number of houses in urban and rural localities and various other aspects. Finally our draft scheme was submitted to the Government.

The Government was very particular about a dialogue and consultation with each and every section of the society, before finalizing what to do.

It was decided to have a State Level Consultation Meeting involving all political parties and representatives from each and every section of the society.

The draft scheme was widely publicised, making it into a small booklet viz 'Community Policing Project of Kerala (Draft) (Janamaithri Suraksha Project).

In Kerala the society is extremely sceptical about anything new. When the draft was circulated, many eyebrows were raised. However we reiterated that it is only a draft and anybody interested has a stake in finalising the scheme and that everybody is free and welcome to put forward their suggestions through email or post.

The State Level Consultation was held under the leadership of the Home Ministeri Opposition Leader and Justice K.T. Thomas at the Government Guest Thiruvananthapuram in September 2007. There was participation of all Political Party State Level Leaders, intellectuals, sociologists, journalists, literature, Planning Board members, n of NGOs and each and every section of the society was well represented in the Can Meeting. Many Officers who are pioneers in Community Policing Projects throughout the length and breadth of the Country were invited to share their experiences.

Many an apprehensions were shared in the meeting by various dignitaries. The, divided opinions and heated discussions. But by the end of the day long sessions, the consensus on the point that we needed a Community Policing Project to make a more secure and safer neighborhood and society. Everybody was requested to e-mail or post their well thought out written suggestions also.

Those who attended the Consultation and studied the draft project were very positive during their private conversations with me. However many others, including Police who never read the draft or studied the project commented that we may burn fingers by trying to implement something which is necessarily bound to fail, due to lack of man power and interference and misuse by political parties.

The next responsibility was to modify the draft project, based on the suggestions. This

Was done fast and a final draft was sent to the Government. The Government accepted the scheme and GO (Rt) No. 3161/2007/Home Dtd. 23.11.2007 launched the pilot project in 20 Police Stations in the State.

This was followed by State Level Seminar with the participation of Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly, Municipal Chairmen and Officers of the places pilot project was planned. Training for the Officers was arranged at the Kerala Police Academy. Preparing the draft syllabus for the training of Beat Officers again was a process required lot of detailed attention even on minutest details. It was not an easy task to train table/Head Constable to work as a responsible Beat Officer, who deals with all kinds of people from all sections of the society on a daily basis. A Beat Officer's personality has to be moulded. He has to have interpersonal skills, communication skills, behavioural skills and what not ! How can you mould a super character or model character out of an ordinary Head Constable! It was a big dilemma! Selection of Beat Officer was made a personal responsibility Superintendent of Police/ Commissioner of Police. The training syllabus was discussed time and again. Committed Senior Police Officers, Psychologists, Management experts etc were selected and discussions were held with them about the modalities of the classes. Classes arranged in batches in the Police Training College so as to ensure that everybody gets the same training input.

It was just like a new born baby to be taken care of every minute.

Visiting and interacting with the beat officers and the Janamaithri Suraksha Sc members in all Districts, organizing State level meetings, attending all District organizing State level meetings, attending Seminars. it was the most hectic period in my professional life. Slowly we found that scepticism is giving way to enthusiasm. People who were reluctant to share information the Police started voluntarily coming forward with information. The women folk started request in some places that their beat officers should not be changed. Municipal Chairmen of Payyannur, Perinthalmanna, Thodupuzha, etc. started constantly interacting, proposing project Janamaithri in their Municipalities; crime cases were being solved through information gat under the Project. ..... Yes ..... Janamaithri Suraksha Project started taking its first baby steps..

Janamaithri suraksha Project – Implementation

The Janamaithri Suraksha Project seeks to develop closer ties between the police the citizens, and create synergistic partnerships within local communities to deal effectively with anti-social activities and prevent crime.

Janamaithri Suraksha Project was a product of concerted and inclusive deliberations; involving the whole cross section of society. The programme was cogently drafted, providing detailed guidelines for uniform compliance across the State. Yet, it afforded sufficient: for local adaptations, facilitating the evolution of the programme with qualitative improver as the implementation continued. Police Associations too contributed their mite towards project, thus ensuring that the process of reform was from within, and not pushed down.

Following its statewide launch in March 2008, it has been adopted on a pilot within the jurisdictions of 20 police stations across the State, with three each in the metre of Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram and one in each of the other Districts. Residential areas within the jurisdictions of each Janamaithri Suraksha Police Station were demarcated into separate and distinct 'Beats', and one Beat Officer, attached to that particular Police s was assigned to cover each beat. As part of their duties, these Beat Officers were request visit all residences within their given beat areas. Often these beat officers were accompanied by Women Police Constables as Assistant Beat Officers, during the house visits. Since the programme seeks to maximize contact with the local community members, these beat officers also made it a point to pay regular visits to local educational institutions such as school colleges that fall in their respective Beat areas. In each area where the programme was launched several community initiatives for enhanced security were also formulated, jointly with the citizens. Regular meetings between police personnel and local residents were conducted each beat area, as well as at the Police Station-level. Senior police officers of each also took part in these community meetings.

It is very heartening to note that in some places, local ward sabhas of Municipalities shifted the venue to the Samithi meeting/ Beat officers' meeting place.

In Calicut city, where the basic ingredients were all in place for Janamaithri to prosper, it was implemented in Chemmangad, Panniyankara, and Kasaba Police Stations. While the first two were relatively small Police Stations, Kasaba held the pride of place amongst all Police Stations, housing the central market area as well as well to do residences. Chemmangad Police Station encompasses the backward coastal area that, tiny although, is home to a lot of soscial activities. Surprisingly, Janamaithri efforts in Chemmangad yielded maximum results. from the start of the programme, people had great enthusiasm for the programme. Beyond expectations, poor Muslim women in hundreds flocked to the Ward level Meetings, participating meaningfully in the deliberations. Beat Officers, in fact, used to complain that their preliminary house visits were often inordinately delayed because enquiries at each house usually take up to an hour. As time passed, the Ward level Meetings turned out to be less

And less about police issues, but more about community issues. They wanted problems of housing, sanitation, and garbage disposal to be solved. Many sought police help to provide employment. Eve-teasing, which figured prominently in the initial meetings, slowly eared from the agenda. Crime statistics started showing a declining trend, although, admittedly, the difference was not all too perceptible. Training in Palliative Care as Palliative volunteers, in turn, helped the Beat Officers effectively to provide solace to the terminally their beat areas. A grand 'Kudumba Sangamam' in the Station compound, consisting of staff, their families, and all the residents of the area, was probably the highlight of the s far as Chemmangad was concerned.

In Payyannur, Kannur District, the Janamaithri experiment was more a community celebration than a policing venture. Payyanur Muncipality embraced Janamaithri as if it were its programme. The Muncipal Chairman, Shri G D Nair, took on, with admirable zeal, the successfully navigating this fledgling project through rough and tumble. Today Janamaithri nonym for police in Payyannur. Standards of accessibility, courtesy, competence and professionalism began to be expected in Payyannur from the police. Besides regular beats ard level Meetings, general/local issues are now tackled under the ambit of Janamaithri. evolved solutions for long-standing boundary disputes, opened up water channels, or, as cent example, opened up a brand new Bus Bay which was a crying need for years. What ous is that a general feeling of safety permeates across the Janamaithri wards in Payyanur. portantly, people have developed confidence in the friendly neighbourhood Beat Officer, m they have trust as one to whom they could rush in times of crisis.

The ruling party of Irinjalakkuda Municipality is United Democratic Front, whereas in almanna Municipality it is Left Democratic Front. But both Municipal Chairmen are ardent ates and supporters of the project and the project is highly successful in both the places.

In Cherthala, the project has taken the shape of a people's movement. When Janamc Suraksha Project Convener Mr. Varghese, Circle Inspector of Police got transferred out people requested for a cancellation of that transfer, because he had already become part parcel of the local community through successful implementation of the project.

Kochi City bagged an international recognition on implementing the project by win an award of the 'International Chiefs of Policing Association' (IACP).

In the South Asian Regional Conference of 'Commonwealth Human Rights Initial held in Delhi on 30^th October to 1 st November 2009, the Kerala Model of Community Pol became the focal point of discussion.

Impact Study

The independent Impact Assessment Study conducted by Sociology students of Feroke College, Calicut, surveyed a random sample of 11 01 people in Chemmangad and Panniyar Police Stations. Of the sample surveyed, 85.8%, knew about the project, of which 80% through direct contact. For a Government programme, on every count, this is a laudable achievement. Majority of the people perceived police as courteous. Significantly, they gave a rating of over 4/7 to the police on performance. Keeping in mind the general negative mindset that people had of the police, such a good rating was clearly an indicator of the stride project has made.

Undoubtedly, the Janamaithri experiment has clearly taken wings in the eighteen months of its existence. Its primary success has been that it has transformed people's perception of what the police ought to be. By setting out standards of performance that the police wan achieve to rise up to people's expectations policemen's own level of responsibility surprised those expectations and rose up instantaneously.

Capacity building of Beat Officers

Within the organisation, the project has been a revelation. Policemen and Head Constables, when designated as 'Beat Officers', and assigned the task of proper policing in their beats, instantly rose up to the task. Besides turning into self motivated individuals, Beat Officers went about their tasks with a remarkable degree of self confidence that had so far been alien to them. Indeed, at every ward meeting, it was sheer joy to watch these Beat Officers hold forth eloquently on the successes and issues in their beat area.

In fact many of the beat officers are more popular in the locality than the local leaders. This naturally paves the way for the exit of corruption.

Conclusion

In spite of constrains due to deficiency of manpower, reports on programme implementation from all over the state indicate that there has been unprecedented support community members to this initiative of the Kerala Police. On the one hand, police personnel reported an increased level of job satisfaction while carrying out their duties as part of the project, while on the other, community members have been quite forthcoming in responding positively to these efforts by the local police personnel.

The project envisages strengthening the Police by achieving the support of the local unity. It is not a project aimed at bettering the image of the Police. It is also not a project in police duties are performed by the citizens. Rather it is a project to professionally then Police and increase its accessibility to the needy public through close interaction and better understanding of the public. Through the Beat Officers, every citizen living in the area will be known to the Police and every citizen will be acquainted with the Beat Officers.

The project centres around Beat Officers who are Police Constables/Head Constables/ sub Inspectors, specially selected and trained.