Cops share stories of their good deeds on social media

Mumbai: The Mumbai police has kicked off an image-building exercise via social media. Also, all police stations in the city have been told to maintain a ‘good work diary’. Data from these diaries will be collated every day and used for social media campaigns.

Experts have pointed out that, while this is a good initiative, the police should train itself to behave politely with complainants and while patrolling to get rid of its image of bribe takers and improve detection rates. They added that an overhaul is required in how the police deals with the public, instead of a single initiative.

Officers from every police station have started sharing incidents where they had helped people. For example, the police got a call informing about gas leakage in Dindoshi on May 25, so officials went to the spot and sorted out the matter. In another incident later that day, the Marine driver police received a call about an injured man lying near the Churchgate station area, after which the police went there and admitted him in the GT hospital of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

Mumbai police, DCP (operation), Rashmi Karandikar said, “Police officers are working hard for the people everyday. If we inform the people about the good things we do, they would trust us and approach us if they have any problem.”  

A former judge of Bombay high court B.G. Kolse Patil said, “I have been working with the police for the past 45 years. Every common person avoids going in the police station because of the bad behaviour of the police... The people need justice and if a police officer does it in every small or big case, he or she will be a God for the people. I know everything is not in their hands but they can do so many things. I have seen many cases in which poor complainants have died visiting a police station just to register a complaint.”