Delhi to help change Mumbai police146;s image

Ask any Mumbaiite and his image of the Mumbai police is that of the traffic havaldar stalling trucks to demand his hafta. But now, the Mumbai police are looking to change that perception.

Ask any Mumbaiite and his image of the Mumbai police is that of the traffic havaldar stalling trucks to demand his hafta. But now, the Mumbai police are looking to change that perception. And to put the shine back on their dull public image, they have decided to rope in private experts who will give an image makeover to the constabulary and junior officers.

One of the prime advocates of this idea, city police commissioner D N Jadhav said: 8220;I have always said human resources development will be one of my priority areas. These training programmes with private companies will be of great benefit to our men.8221;

While the police have sought an allocation of Rs 1.5 crore from the Government to fund these tie-ups, they have already initiated pilot projects with several companies. One of the tie-ups is with New Delhi-based Grow Talent to create an appreciation for the positives in the Mumbai police, arrive at a common understanding of current reality, and to counter cynicism and instill positive energy amongst officers.

8220;We have entered into some pilot training projects with Grow Talent. It is for the overall personality development of the constabulary and will include modules on physical and mental health and communication skills,8221; said Joint Commissioner Administration Hemant Karkare. 8220;The details are yet to be worked out, but we are interested in the project.8221;

DCP headquarters-I A Dumbre added there were several other companies who have been paid for holding similar sessions on communication skills, spoken English and health workouts. 8220;A major part has to do with stress management so that a policeman can behave in a courteous manner despite the heavy work load.8221;

Other companies who have been roped in by the police are Astrum Sercon Private Ltd, Professional Consulting India and Art of Living. While the Art of Living will help policemen de-stress with breathing exercises, the thrust of the other partnerships is to hone communication skills and spruce up the overall personality of the policeman.

8220;Most of them are very enthusiastic when they join the force. But when the pressures of the job catch up with them, many get frustrated and bogged down,8221; explained Dhanrajan Ganeshan of Astrum Sercon. 8220;This gets reflected in their body language.8221;

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In fact, over the years the image of the Mumbai policeman has taken a severe beating 8212; depictions in Bollywood movies have only reinforced the stereotypical idea of a corrupt and inefficient policeman. So much so that at one point, former commissioner M N Singh had to write to filmmakers asking them to refrain from unfavourable depictions of the police.

Now, Jadhav and his men seem determined to change that. So far, training programmes have been conducted for 945 constables from all five regions of the city.