India’s first woman IPS officer, Kiran Bedi, tells DNA that police reforms can transform cop-citizen relations. Excerpts from an insightful conversation:
How can Bangalore’s police improve relations with the public?
The police commissioner must reach out to the public through TV, radio and other means of communication. He must have a healthy dialogue with the public to get a feel of the situation at the ground level.
But it’s not enough to only understand what the public thinks of policemen. The cause of the perception must also be surveyed. Police and public must jointly start addressing those causes immediately.
How can the public contribute to a handshake with the police?
We must make the survey complete by looking at root causes. We must address what people can do, and find out what their expectations from the police are.Solutions should be holistic, handshakes must be meaningful. So, dialogue is very important.
What is the best example of a good police-public relationship?
I endorse the Gandhian model of policing. It is important to work with people, through people. I believe in the beat constable system. It works best since it covers every inch of the city. The beat officer should be connected with people to find out what is happening at the ground level. Feedback from beat officers used to reach me directly. We were connecting with people at the grassroots.
Also, the beat system was sacrosanct. It was not disturbed for anything, be it a VIP visit or a traffic mess. The beat officer would be on the beat and nowhere else. I used to go to the beats myself with the beat officers.This way, the top cop can have a finger on the pulse. That, to answer your question, is good policing.
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