Recently, in a particularly progressive move, the new Commissioner of Coimbatore, Amaresh Pujari decided to bridge the gap between the people of Coimbatore and their law enforcement agency by opening the doors of his office to the public. To encourage more people to come forward, the Commissioner stated that people would not have to make any prior appointment but could just walk in between 11 am to 1:30 pm on all working days or call him on his mobile number which was made public - 94422-23277.
The newspaper report also stated that all Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and Inspectors will receive visitors and complaints in their chambers between these times.
This is not a new idea; since times immemorial, kings in ancient India (like Emperor Akbar) were known to have allocated specific days of the week where the public could come in to the palace and address their grievances to the ruler of the land face to face. Special halls (like the Diwan-e-Aam) would be built for this public audience. Interestingly, most rulers who adopted this policy were often seen as being people friendly and benevolent. Legend has it that King Krishnadevaraya, the ruler of Vijayanagara would even walk around the city incognito at night, to understand his subjects more deeply.
So how will this initiative help?
- Complaints can be heard and possible solutions discussed first hand. This would help people help themselves in simpler situations and let the police deal with problems that truly need their specific and professional attention.
- Knowing that their problem is being taken into consideration and personally understanding the rationale as to why some other projects might assume a higher priority over theirs gives them a sense of satisfaction. More often than not, people only need their problems to be heard.
- The City Police are the public face of our criminal justice system. They are the first access point for victims and are meant to provide the necessary responsiveness and comfort levels to give citizens a sense of wellbeing and security. When they are intimidating, the public gets defensive and sees not just the officer but the entire department or system as flawed. This new concept, will therefore work to build a positive image for the department and make them seem much more approachable.
Although this move has just been announced and has excited the general public, some others aren’t as optimistic. According to Advocacy Associate, Sudeep Surendra, “This is a great idea that many officers across India have tried to implement with varying degrees of success. In the article, the Commissioner has mentioned that they would only be available when their presence is not required elsewhere and that on such occasion’s alternative arrangements will need to be made for officers at the station level. We can only wait and watch how this arrangement will be implemented and sustained, while hoping for the best.”
Communications expert and a graduate of The London School of Economics, Sanjana Jana, says “This is a good initiative, provided the police really mean to help society and aren’t just doing this to build a better image for themselves. A similar initiative was undertaken in Britain called the
Safer Neighbourhood Teams. They are policemen who work on a one –to- one basis with communities, and it has been quite successful.”
- J.Mumtaz
The opinions expressed in this blog post are that of the author only and not of the organization.
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This looks like a pretty proactive move on the part of the authorities which if utilized and implemented in an organized manner, has the potential to bear positive results. However the BIG question is, after listening to public grievances, will the commissioner actually act upon those and look to address them ?
There has to be someone with Open Door Policy to hear the poor Police, who have lost their sense of role.