Kerala to launch community policing today

Thiruvananthapuram: Alarmed by an increase in housebreaks and thefts, police in the southern state of Kerala will launch a community policing scheme today.

The trial runs of the scheme wll be held within the limits of three police stations each in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode city corporations and within the limits of one police station each in 11 municipalities across the state.

The municipalities identified for the project are Kasaragod, Payyannur, Kalpetta, Perinthalmanna, Ottappalam, Irinjalakuda, Cherthala, Paravur, Vaikom, Thodupuzha, and Adoor.

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the community policing scheme had been finalised after several rounds of discussions and after studying similar initiatives within and outside the country.

Balakrishnan said the scheme was novel in that it was the first time that any state in India was undertaking a community policing scheme in such an extensive scale.

At the heart of the scheme is better security for local communities, which is to be achieved with people's participation and a closer co-operation between the police and the general public.

In all the police station areas that come under the scheme, specially trained beat officers will be posted, who will each cover 500 houses over an area of roughly 3sqkm. The night patrolling in the localities would be carried out with participation of the local residents, with the beat police official leading the team.

The authorities hope the scheme would not only bring down night-time robberies, but also help curtail anti-social activities like trafficking in women, chain snatching at night, and drug peddling.