:: Thiruvananthapuram City Police ::

The Hon: Chief Minister of Kerala has inaugurated the "Janamaithri Suraksha Programme" on 26.03.2008 evening at Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. The Scheme is a prestigious community policing initiative of Government of Kerala, which aims to give opportunities for the general public to join hands with Police to fight crime as well as to improve the security of the neighborhood. The scheme is being implemented on an experimental basis in the three police station limits each in the Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram municipal corporation areas, and within the limits of one police station in 11 municipalities across the State.

The municipalities where the pilot project would be implemented are Kasaragod, Payyannur, Kalpetta, Perinthalmanna, Ottappalam, Irinjalakuda, Thodupuzha, Adoor, Cherthala, Paravur and Vaikom. The scheme had been finalised after protracted discussions at various levels and studying the effectiveness of similar initiatives within and outside the country. The project has the security of the community as its prime objective and the effort of the department would be to achieve this with people?s participation and closer liaison between the police and the general public. Specially trained beat officers would be posted in the police station areas coming under the scheme. Each beat officer would cover 500 houses or three square kilometre area, whichever is less, on a regular basis and establish contact with each home under his jurisdiction. The beat officer would lead night patrolling in the locality with people?s participation, coordinate with the private security guards in the area, identify and keep track of strangers visiting the locality, help prevent drug peddling and atrocities on women and offer protection to the elderly. Each beat officer would be given a motorbike and a mobile phone. The beat officers, who would mostly be officers in the rank of head constables, would serve summons and warrants to the people in the locality, do address verification and pass on complaints and petitions received from the people to higher authorities. Problems that cannot be solved at the level of the beat officer would be referred to the higher officers at the local police station or SHOs. Popular committees, with an approximate membership of 10, would be formed in each police station limits. The committees would play the role of facilitators and would not have any role in maintenance of law and order. The progress of the scheme would be reviewed every three months and the department expected it to take at least a year to stabilise.