Gurgaon Police banks on IT

  • Barnali Dutta / FG
  • India
  • Nov 14, 2014

 

 

 

Ever since the Gurgaon Police system was upgraded to a Commissionerate, and especially in the tenure of the just-transferred Police Commissioner Alok Mittal, the citizens have witnessed several progressive steps that have been taken for the tackling of crime and allied issues relating to law and order. Although crime in the form of snatchings and vehicle thefts has yet to be effectively controlled, people by and large have welcomed the initiatives of the Police and believe that we are better off than most in the NCR. Over three years ago, in collaboration with Nokia, Denave and the Millennium City Welfare Society, the Gurgaon Police had launched a mobile-based Traffic Management System, aptly named the Third Eye. The Gurgaon Police was also one of the first organisations in this Administration that opened its account on Facebook and Twitter. Going a step further, as part of the Citizen Connect initiative, the top brass of the police have recently launched the WhatsApp messenger service. Commissioner Alok Mittal believes that this facility will help his personnel better connect with the citizens and reinforce their confidence on the Police. It would also lead to a more transparent and effective police-public interaction. The Police would like the public to save the number +918586976050 on their smartphones and, through WhatsApp, start sending messages and uploading pictures and videos of any incidence of harassment or crime or illegality that they witness - like molestation, traffic violation, acts of corruption (including misbehaviour by drivers or staff of public transport). They can even report on suspicious characters. Contending that users of WhatsApp are more than the number of people on Facebook or Twitter, the Police claim that this is a novel mode to help make the Millennium City crime free. An individual can initially lodge a formal complaint through WhatsApp, although a visit to the police station or an outpost (chowki) may be necessary to register an FIR (First Information Report) - for both cognizable and non-cognizable offences.

Today WhatsApp is available on almost every mobile. However, not everyone is comfortable with its usage. Rajhouri, a senior citizen from ‘old’ Gurgaon, says, “I am not aware that such a facility has been provided by Gurgaon Police. Yes, I know about the Helpline number. Fortunately I do carry a smartphone and WhatsApp is installed in my phone. So in future I will try to connect with Gurgaon Police through WhatsApp. I hope they will react properly to our complaints.”

 Seema Arora, a college student, opines, “I am very happy to see Gurgaon Police on WhatsApp, I hope our city will become crime free. I have tried this link and it is working; so I am very optimistic about this initiative. Today almost everybody is tech savvy, at least for operating such applications. If this app is being used for such good work (beyond chatting) then it is commendable. Moreover this is one of the easiest ways whereby the public can help the police. After hearing this news (of Gurgaon Police using WhatsApp), my mom has also installed WhatsApp in her phone.” The Police authorities, on their part, have decided to publicise this facility through hoardings and public notices – displaying them at prominent public places like schools, colleges, hospitals, HUDA City Centre, Metro stations, malls, bus terminals and community halls of different sectors. “We are happy to see the overwhelming response from the public. In fact, as soon as we launched this facility of WhatsApp on our network, we received 400 messages appreciating our initiative. Traffic chaos is one of the major issues of Gurgaon. Now the public can easily click a photo or take a video and forward it to us so we can take quick and proper action,” says the PRO of Gurgaon Police, Subhash Bhokan. Expressing his views on this measure, Jagdeep Rana from Nathupur hopes that the Police doesn’t become complacent and cuts down on patrolling, monitoring public movements or managing traffic. He notes, “WhatsApp is merely a medium to convey the information and cannot be compared to decisive action. The Police must maintain their conventional regular beats in various colonies and visits to the residences of senior citizens, apart from their surveillance tasks, to help prevent mischiefs, misdeeds and crime. In fact I wonder how effective this service will be, since it is basically restricted to owners of smartphones.”

While launching this service, Commissioner Mittal had said that a complainant can convey relevant details of a case (like place, date and time) along with a photograph or short video clip. The Police Chief also mentioned that the complainant’s identity, such as name, address and contact number, would remain confidential. A special cell has been set up to study and assess all incoming messages, and ensure prompt action. However, it would be a herculean task for the personnel managing this special cell to document the complaints and allot priorities, since the messages are received at a single point.

Gurgaon Police remains optimistic and believes that this new initiative will reinforce its result-oriented interaction with the public; WhatsApp will also positively supplement the Police’s existing links on Facebook and Twitter.

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