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The local policeman will soon come to your street to inquire about your well-being with the city police re-introducing beat patrolling in the last few days.

At least one officer will handle each ward, and he will interact closely with people and even help resolve civic issues. For example, if someone complains that streetlights are not working, the beat policeman will take up the matter.

“The idea is to establish a better rapport between the people and the police,” said police commissioner J K Tripathy, for whom beat policing is a pet project.

Once the city police get more personnel, the system will become more effective as more officers will be on duty. Until now, one patrol vehicle covered an entire neighbourhood. “The presence of beat officers on the streets will prevent drunken brawls and harassment. Familiarity with the local officer improves trust and instills a sense of security in the community,” Tripathy said. “The beat system is contrary to the traditional system that requires different sets of police personnel to patrol an area,” he said.

Police assistance centres are being identified and permanent structures will be set up soon. The beat officers visit each household and collect basic information on the occupants. The details are updated periodically and maintained in registers. They will be fed to a central computerised database being created at the police control room, the officer said.

Apart from creating goodwill for the police, helping residents handle civic issues will aid crime prevention, Tripathy said. “Dark streets, for instance, facilitate movement of criminals. Robbers often masquerade as electricians or mechanics and enter houses of senior citizens. Beat policemen can prevent all this,” said Tripathy. “It does not take much effort for the beat officers to create a pool of such service providers in each locality so that the community gets safe and satisfactory service,” he said. Beat officers will also verify the antecedents of domestic help.

He said that the local community will also be involved in policing. “Continued presence of grassroots intelligence and public support will help police nab criminals. This will go a long way in extending the severely strained police resources,” Tripathy added.

The strategy was formulated in consultation with other police personnel. “Since we incorporated their suggestions, they were quick to accept the strategy,” Tripathy said. The system will also fix responsibility. “When the officers are put fully in charge of their beat area, they cannot plead ignorance about any crime or criminal,” he said. Complaint boxes, in which people can drop complaints and suggestions, will be placed across the city. The letters will be collected daily and acted upon quickly.

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