The police top-brass say that the move is not only paying dividends in Mysore and Mangalore, but also has the potential to show desired result in other cities too.
A shift in management approach adopted by top officers has helped the police keep the crime rate in check. The police top-brass say that the move is not only paying dividends in Mysore and Mangalore, but also has the potential to show desired result in other cities too.
Shedding the blue-eyed boy syndrome, in which only certain individuals got credit for busting crime, and law and order situation, the police force now works as a unit.
“We are not here to become super cops at an individual level, but to collectively do the police work. This is one work in which no individual can accomplish without the help of team-mates. So why give credit to a single officer?” asked Seemanth Kumar Singh, police commissioner, Mangalore.
Singh said that crediting a single officer with success has a demoralising effect on other policemen. “They might not put their best effort in the next case. So, we are trying to dismantle that blue-eyed boy treatment. For the past one year, this experiment I carried out has shown good result. The entire Mangalore commissionerate is made a harmonious unit which has not just improved productivity, but also effectiveness. Since there is no preferential treatment, even policemen at the lowest level cooperate to the fullest,” said Singh, adding that the move resulted in bringing down the crime rate, better law and order situation, and effective traffic management.
Mysore police commissioner Sunil Agarwal, too, gained by putting the skill into action. “In 2009, Mysore saw one of the worst communal riots, only seven days after I took charge. That was the time I had to put together the force in one framework of action. That meant that I had to reach out to the lowest stratum in the force, including the constables and drivers. Luckily, I already had very understanding second and third line officials who were highly motivated. The riot was quelled in a few hours. It began at 9 am and we could put that out by 1 pm,” said Agarwal.
The gesture of reaching out to the “last man” has been such a morale-booster that every constable puts best effort to make Mysore a peaceful city. “Even at press conferences, I make it a point to give credit to the entire team. However, appreciating the team leader in private is another HR (human resources) move,” said Agarwal.
The spirit has been spreading to the district level police force too. The superintendents of police, their deputies also work this strategy out, minimising the ego rides between the Indian Police Service and Karnataka Police Service ranks.
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