After Kiran advice, UP cops to strengthen ‘beat’ policing system
lettersdesk@htlive.com
Following advice from the first woman IPS officer and current Puducherry lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi, the Uttar Pradesh Police have decided to lay special emphasis on the ‘beat’ system
in their policing plan.
Bedi had given the ‘beat’ policing tip to UP Police while addressing the 47th All India Police Science Congress in Lucknow on Thursday.
UP director general of police (DGP) OP Singh on Sunday issued a circular to all district police chiefs and other senior field officers to lay stress on the ‘beat’ system.
Talking over phone, the DGP said although the ‘beat’ system existed in the state “but now it would be strengthened and increased manifold for better and effective policing.”
Singh said the district police chiefs have been asked to review the existing ‘beat’ system in their districts and strengthen it by increasing the number of ‘beats’ at police stations level. He said each police personnel -- from constable to sub-inspector rank -- should be allotted a ‘beat’ for better public interaction and manual intelligence network.
He added that the ‘beat’ in-charges would be known as Beat Police Officers (BPO) and official mobile numbers would be allotted to them.
Making an immediate start, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Lucknow, Kalanidhi Naithani and SSP, Ayodhya, Ashish Tewari have already chalked out their plans to improve the ‘beat’ system.
Naithani has decided to increase the ‘beats’ in the state capital 10-fold. “At present, as many as 290 ‘beats’ are allotted to different police personnel and now it would be increased by 3,000 ‘beats’. There were only four ‘beats’ under Aliganj police station but now 40 ‘beats’ have been listed for them,” he said.
Naithani said every ‘beat’ in-charge would be asked to prepare a ‘beat’ register in which each and every incident of his respective ‘beat’ will be mentioned.
“Details of schools, colleges, market places, jewellery shops, liquor shops and anti-social elements of the area will be mentioned in the ‘beat’ register. Additional SPs and circle officers have been directed to cross-check ‘beat’ registers and monitor details of different ‘beats’,” the SSP stated.
In Ayodhya, SSP Ashish Tewari initiated the process of improving the ‘beat’ system on Thursday itself after Kiran Bedi’s advice. He said all police station in-charges have been asked to review ‘beats’ in their jurisdiction and prepared a new list.
At the Police Science Congress, Bedi had stated that the ‘beat’ system “put the constable at the centre of policing activities.” She had further said that it decentralised the police work, thus making it more accountable and flexible.
BEAT POLICING
‘Beat’ is the territory and time that a police personnel is allotted to cover each aspect related to traditional policing, like maintaining close relationship with community members to strengthen police effectiveness and encourage cooperative efforts to make a safer community. ‘Beat’ policing is also meant for better manual intelligence network to help in taking precautionary measures in case of any trouble in a particular police personnel’s beat area.