Corporate workshop teaches cops a lesson

December 17: At the Saint Stanislaus High School, the gymnasium is full of students. They are all over 30 years of age and are wearing po...

December 17: At the Saint Stanislaus High School, the gymnasium is full of students. They are all over 30 years of age and are wearing police uniforms 8211; the real ones. A workshop on Time Management for senior police officers from Zone VII is on full swing. And everyone is listening in rapt attention to the conductor, Avinash Gulrajani.

The idea of holding such a workshop was so far reserved for the white-collared sections of society 8211; people in the fields of management, banking and top-level executives.

It was after meeting Deputy Commissioner of Police DCP K L Prasad, of Zone VII, that Gulrajani, of Success Institute, figured out that police officers need the same kind of guidance as well.

quot;It was just a suggestion to DCP Prasad, and he was very receptive to the idea,quot; he says. The programme is split into four parts 8211; Communication Skills, Attitude Training, Time Management and Leadership Qualities. quot;Police officers need the training to make them better at their job, and happier within it,quot; saysGulrajani, who holds these workshops for multinational companies and corporate houses. So he offered his services to the police force. quot;The workshop covers simple things that aid officers along the way. For instance, how to deal with intricate, yet important aspects such as mob-handling, interrogation and response to public complaints,quot; he explains.

quot;The communication gap between the police and public is so great, that people often tend to believe the worst of the police force. This aspect needs to be worked on the most,quot; feels DCP Prasad.

Stress is the biggest enemy of police officers, at least 90 per cent of whom, says Gulrajani, face stress-related illness. quot;There are factors like working for 48 hours straight, being on your feet all the time, no fixed duty hours and such things that lead to low tolerance level, and there are times when these people don8217;t know exactly how to handle situations. That is an area where even minimum guidance can help; for the simple reason that there hasn8217;t been any in thepast,quot; he says.

Adopting measures to bring down stress levels is a major part of the programme. Coaching officers on public interaction is at a minimum while they are training, which makes them come out of institutes and apply what they have learnt, not keeping the public in mind. The idea behind the workshop is to increase and make better, interaction between the police and the public.

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DCP Prasad agrees. quot;The sub-culture we exist in is far different from anything a layperson can imagine.quot;

The feedback from the officers has been tremendous. quot;Someone is interested in the problems we face, and it is better that people at upper levels be trained first, so that the culture can slowly trickle down,quot; says one officer who attended the course. Another felt that introducing it at training level would be a good idea. One officer even brought his son along to attend. quot;This is something everyone can use,quot; he felt.

Zone VII has plans to invite public feedback, whereby they will call in complainants and witnessesand ask them if they have felt the difference in the way the police has been communicating with them, says DCP Prasad. quot;This is also a way of telling us how far this process is working,quot; he says.

A better idea would be to introduce the programme to the entire force, but that will take some time.