By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala will implement community policing in select centres across the state beginning March 26.
Speaking to reporters here, state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan announced Tuesday this was the first such programme to be implemented in the country to this extent.
“Initially, this would be implemented in 20 police stations across the state. Policemen have already been trained and detailed talks have been held with elected representatives to ensure its success,” said Balakrishnan.
Community policing is a strategy based on the idea that community interaction and support can help control crimes, with citizens helping the police identify suspects and bringing problems to the attention of the authorities.
One police official would be placed on duty in an area of three square kilometres or 500 households, said the minister.
The policeman on beat duty will be the first contact point for the people in the area. The police official will also visit each and every household in his area and interact with the public.
“They would also prepare a list of all those who stay in the household,” said Balakrishnan.
He added that the programme would be monitored and all problems would be sorted out before implementing it in all police stations in the state.
Right now, the biggest impediment is the shortage of police officials. “We are running short of more than 3,000 police officials. But we are working on that and are preparing a recruitment policy,” said Balakrishnan.