Delhi Police Diary: For cops struggling with alcoholism, a special class on Saturdays

Officials from all ranks and posts have been urged to join such sessions, where ‘motivational’ classes will be addressed by trained professionals from Alcoholics Anonymous. Representational File Photo

In a first of its kind step, Delhi Police have started organising deaddiction programmes across police districts, in association with Alcoholics Anonymous, to help personnel struggling with alcoholism. Officials from all ranks and posts have been urged to join such sessions, where ‘motivational’ classes will be addressed by trained professionals from Alcoholics Anonymous.

“At least six police districts have been covered in the programme. We will cover the other police districts and units in the coming months,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police and Principal at Police Training School (Dwarka) Suman Nalwa. The entire area under Delhi Police’s jurisdiction is divided into 11 districts. The police force has a strength of 85,000 personnel. The classes, held Saturday nights, will also help policemen deal better with cases involving alcoholics, said senior police officials.

“Our objective is not only to free our men of alcoholism… but to also work towards an alcohol-free society. In most areas in the capital, alcohol is the cause of many heinous crimes. Despite being aware of this, many police officers don’t know how to deal with alcoholics. These classes will help them learn techniques to deal with such cases and tell people about the evils of alcoholism,” said Nalwa.

She added that some of the trainers in the programme are recovering alcoholics themselves. “They are sharing their experiences with our police personnel to help them cope with the problem,” said Nalwa. While junior police officials and sub-inspectors have started attending the classes, senior officers have also been asked to attend them, said sources.