Journalism of Courage
TO MAKE the Station House Officers (SHOs), incharges of police posts along with sub-divisional police officers (SDPOs) punctual and regular to their offices, SSP (UT) Kanwardeep Kaur has started daily video meeting with all these police personnel at 8 am sharp.
These officers have been instructed to join the video conference in full police uniform and from their offices situated at the police stations and police posts. SP (city) Shruti Arora remains present in the meeting.
The meeting schedule started on Tuesday. The last two meetings took around half an hour while the first one lasted around 35 minutes. A common group has been made and the link of the video conference has been shared by the UT police control room.
“We have to reach the police station before 8 am and in full uniform. We update SSP ma’am, turn by turn, about the happenings of the last 24 hours in our respective areas. SSP ma’am guides us about how to deal with various issues, including crime, law and order, naka strategy; and how to reach the residents’ welfare associations in the areas. Now our day starts early,” said an SHO requesting anonymity.
Another SHO said the timing of the video conference between 9.30 am and 9.45 am would be more fruitful.
A police post incharge said, “Earlier, we used to speak to the SSP every morning over the phone about the last 24-hour happenings in our respective areas. Sometimes, we conveyed to our area SDPO or SP (city), who further informed SSP. But now we are in direct communication with the SSP ma’am.”
SSP (UT) Kanwardeep Kaur said, “First of all, there was feedback that many of the SHOs, incharges of police posts reached police stations and posts late. I told them to join the video conference only after reaching their offices. Secondly, talking to every SHO, police post incharge and SDPO over the phone individually takes a lot of time. Now they reach their offices early and take roll calls of the police personnel posted under them at police stations and police posts, and assign them their everyday duties. The best part of this practice is that we all meet on a common platform and everybody can share his/her inputs with everyone.”
There are 16 police stations, 12 police posts and five SDPOs in Chandigarh Police. Sources said that if someone is busy in police work, including search operation or is deputed at police nakas, that person can mark his/her attendance in the meeting and then leave.
