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| Delhi police take first step to win over suspicious public | Delhi police take first step to win over suspicious public |
| (8 days later) | |
| They are 60,000 strong, watch over 17 million people in one of the biggest, most crowded cities in the world, and have long had a reputation for brutality and corruption. | They are 60,000 strong, watch over 17 million people in one of the biggest, most crowded cities in the world, and have long had a reputation for brutality and corruption. |
| Now, in an attempt to build a shared sense of purpose and community between Delhi's police force and the inhabitants of India's capital, the city's top police officer has embarked on a campaign to reach out to members of the public. | Now, in an attempt to build a shared sense of purpose and community between Delhi's police force and the inhabitants of India's capital, the city's top police officer has embarked on a campaign to reach out to members of the public. |
| A cornerstone of the effort are durbars – open audiences – which senior officers have been told to organise across the city. More than 40 have already taken place, advertised in local newspapers and each attended by hundreds of people. | A cornerstone of the effort are durbars – open audiences – which senior officers have been told to organise across the city. More than 40 have already taken place, advertised in local newspapers and each attended by hundreds of people. |
| One evening this week, Additional Commissioner Ajay Chaudhary, who runs much of south Delhi, could be seen behind a large bouquet of flowers on stage in a college lecture theatre in Jasola Vihar neighbourhood. Outside was a scene typical of Delhi's sprawling suburbs. A welter of dense traffic battling for space on a chaotic four-lane highway beside an industrial area, a new shopping mall and a crowd of pedalled rickshaws. | One evening this week, Additional Commissioner Ajay Chaudhary, who runs much of south Delhi, could be seen behind a large bouquet of flowers on stage in a college lecture theatre in Jasola Vihar neighbourhood. Outside was a scene typical of Delhi's sprawling suburbs. A welter of dense traffic battling for space on a chaotic four-lane highway beside an industrial area, a new shopping mall and a crowd of pedalled rickshaws. |
| Inside the theatre, a respectful crowd had gathered to voice typical Delhi complaints: unlicensed liquor shops, sexual harassment of schoolgirls, parking, congestion, unresolved break-ins. | Inside the theatre, a respectful crowd had gathered to voice typical Delhi complaints: unlicensed liquor shops, sexual harassment of schoolgirls, parking, congestion, unresolved break-ins. |
| Gulbaksh Singh, 67, had come from Jaitpur neighbourhood, where he said illegal gambling dens were a serious problem. "They get drunk and fight and abuse me. I've spoken to the local police officers but they do nothing. So I've come to speak to the chiefs," he said. | Gulbaksh Singh, 67, had come from Jaitpur neighbourhood, where he said illegal gambling dens were a serious problem. "They get drunk and fight and abuse me. I've spoken to the local police officers but they do nothing. So I've come to speak to the chiefs," he said. |
| The man behind the campaign is Delhi's new police commissioner, Neeraj Kumar. In his previous job as director of the city's prisons, Kumar introduced talent competitions in high-security jails, organised music tuition and concerts including hip-hop events, and set up creches for the prisoners' children. Other initiatives to bring Delhiwallahs closer to local police officers include book fairs in a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood, a police-run library in a university, involvement in kindergartens in the poorest areas and the setting-up of a Twitter account. | The man behind the campaign is Delhi's new police commissioner, Neeraj Kumar. In his previous job as director of the city's prisons, Kumar introduced talent competitions in high-security jails, organised music tuition and concerts including hip-hop events, and set up creches for the prisoners' children. Other initiatives to bring Delhiwallahs closer to local police officers include book fairs in a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood, a police-run library in a university, involvement in kindergartens in the poorest areas and the setting-up of a Twitter account. |
| Kumar said the strategy had been carefully tailored to Delhi's requirements. "You can't have a zero-tolerance or a British bobby-on-the-beat model here. You are dealing with a totally different breed of people, who live in slums, cheek by jowl, fighting over little things," he said. | Kumar said the strategy had been carefully tailored to Delhi's requirements. "You can't have a zero-tolerance or a British bobby-on-the-beat model here. You are dealing with a totally different breed of people, who live in slums, cheek by jowl, fighting over little things," he said. |
| Experts say the initiative may go some way to breaking down the psychological barrier between Delhi inhabitants and their police force. "The public fear and distrust the police, and senior officers tend to be inaccessible. It won't change policing overall and is not a substitute for day-to-day efficiency and responsiveness, but might make lower ranks behave a little better," said Ajai Sahni, a Delhi-based security expert. | Experts say the initiative may go some way to breaking down the psychological barrier between Delhi inhabitants and their police force. "The public fear and distrust the police, and senior officers tend to be inaccessible. It won't change policing overall and is not a substitute for day-to-day efficiency and responsiveness, but might make lower ranks behave a little better," said Ajai Sahni, a Delhi-based security expert. |
| Few deny there are problems, at least within the lower ranks. Corruption is endemic, with, for example, poorly paid police officers systematically dropping fines for traffic offences in return for small payments, or demanding cash even to register criminal complaints. | Few deny there are problems, at least within the lower ranks. Corruption is endemic, with, for example, poorly paid police officers systematically dropping fines for traffic offences in return for small payments, or demanding cash even to register criminal complaints. |
| Police brutality may be less prevalent than a decade or so ago, but it is still widespread throughout India with frequent reports of violent abuse and sexual assault in custody. | Police brutality may be less prevalent than a decade or so ago, but it is still widespread throughout India with frequent reports of violent abuse and sexual assault in custody. |
| Though Kumar said that no one had pulled their punches in the meetings, the Jasola Vihar forum was far from confrontational. Leaders of local residents' associations repeatedly praised local officers for their fine work. No one mentioned the petty bribes many are forced to pay on a weekly basis or suspicions that illegal local businesses such as the liquor stores are allowed to stay open thanks to money handed over to police. | Though Kumar said that no one had pulled their punches in the meetings, the Jasola Vihar forum was far from confrontational. Leaders of local residents' associations repeatedly praised local officers for their fine work. No one mentioned the petty bribes many are forced to pay on a weekly basis or suspicions that illegal local businesses such as the liquor stores are allowed to stay open thanks to money handed over to police. |
| "The idea of a durbar is about people petitioning higher authority. It's not about challenging or questioning. It's part of the ruler-ruled relationship," said Sahni. | "The idea of a durbar is about people petitioning higher authority. It's not about challenging or questioning. It's part of the ruler-ruled relationship," said Sahni. |
| The Indian policing system is a legacy of the British imperial administration and thus designed simply to maintain order in an often restive colony. | The Indian policing system is a legacy of the British imperial administration and thus designed simply to maintain order in an often restive colony. |
| "There is some distress among the general people as a legacy of the role of the police as an instrument of state oppression," said Chaudhary, the senior officer holding the Jasola meeting, as the theatre emptied. "But this kind of event brings people close to the police. They have expressed their grievances which we will now resolve. I am very satisfied." | "There is some distress among the general people as a legacy of the role of the police as an instrument of state oppression," said Chaudhary, the senior officer holding the Jasola meeting, as the theatre emptied. "But this kind of event brings people close to the police. They have expressed their grievances which we will now resolve. I am very satisfied." |
| Gulbaksh Singh, who had finally managed to get his complaint against his local illegal betting shop registered, was more circumspect: "I heard what the officer said and I am hopeful something will happen. But words are one thing, action is another." | Gulbaksh Singh, who had finally managed to get his complaint against his local illegal betting shop registered, was more circumspect: "I heard what the officer said and I am hopeful something will happen. But words are one thing, action is another." |
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