E-Paper
Chandigarh: SSP to keep an eye on working of beat cops
After listening to complaints about laxity being shown by beat constables in Chandigarh, the SSP said he will personally monitor their movement and ensure they do their job properly
After listening to complaints about laxity being shown by beat constables in Chandigarh, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal on Saturday said that he will personally monitor their movement and ensure they do their job properly, especially enquiring about the well-being of senior citizens.
Chahal along with SP (city) Ketan Bansal and other officials of the south and east subdivisions was speaking at a meeting of the Federation of Sector Welfare Associations Chandigarh (FOSWAC).
After FOSWAC chairman Baljinder Singh Bittu raised the issue, many senior citizens complained to the SSP that the beat cops cannot be seen on the field and have stopped visiting their houses.
When the e-beat system was launched, and especially during the initial days of the pandemic, the police department had said that beat cops will visit all senior citizens, especially those living alone, once a month to ensure their well-being.
The beat cops are also supposed to patrol the area under their jurisdiction regularly, but FOSWAC members claimed that they are seldom seen on the field. Some members said that they don’t even know who are their beat cops, while earlier they used to be on first-name basis with them.
SSP Chahal said: “We have an e-beat system and I will personally monitor the movement of beat staff through this. I will ask the station house officers and even the subdivision in-charges to send me regular weekly reports.”
The SSP also said that he will ask the station house officers to hold regular meetings with resident welfare associations.
The e-beat system was launched in 2019. There are around 111 beats in total, with each of the 16 police stations having four to nine beats under them as per the area of jurisdiction. The movement of the beat staff can be tracked through their GPS-enabled motorcycles and smartphones.
Often known as the best city to retire in, Chandigarh saw the second highest rate of thefts against senior citizens, with 29.8 incidents per one lakh, in 2019, according to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau released in October last year. Overall, Chandigarh had the third highest rate of crimes committed against seniors (74.5 incidents per lakh population).
