Telangana police, cut above the rest
Last six years has been a transformational phase for department; adds several new wings, goes hi-tech
Hyderabad: If a State has been incident-free for over six years, with its capital city, once known for communal riots, remaining peaceful for that long, that means the government and the police have gone beyond normal governance and policing.
The political stability in Telangana ever since the formation of the government and several initiatives aimed at strengthening its police force so that law and order could be maintained effectively have seen Hyderabad’s social fabric remaining intact. Today, the city is among the most-safest metros in the country.
The setting up of SHE Teams, new cybercrime police stations and strengthening of the Blue Colts patrol teams with new and more bikes were among steps initiated by the Police Department since 2014 as part of its modernisation.
Replacing old vehicles with a new fleet and establishing more police commissionerates apart from recruiting personnel on a large scale and establishing Bharosa Centres to help women and children were some of the steps taken to strengthen the department on all fronts.
The SHE Teams initiative is perhaps one that has had the most success, with what began as a separate wing of the Hyderabad Police in 2014 for the safety and security of women being expanded across the State and also becoming a role model for many States in just six years.
The innovative approach by SHE Teams, working under the Telangana Women Safety Wing, has taken matters to a stage where even suspects involved in harassment incidents have started repenting and expressing their desire to join as volunteers to assist the police to prevent harassment of women.
This began after SHE Teams launched counselling sessions for suspects with the help of psychologists. It is yielding results and bringing an attitudinal change among suspects who, apart from promising not to repeat the offence, are also assisting the police in nabbing/deterring other offenders.
Since the inception of SHE Teams, some 30,852 complaints pertaining to harassment over phone, stalking, teasing and misbehaving, passing lewd comments and touching inappropriately were recorded.
On the other hand, to crack the whip on cyber crooks, the department established cybercrime police stations in Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda police commissionerates in addition to cyber cells in all districts.
An MoU was signed a few days ago between the Telangana Police and the State Department of IT and IT Enabled Services to train the police force in cybersecurity and to set up an army of cyber warriors to tackle cybercrime.
On the street, the Blue Colts patrol teams were given new motorcycles equipped with first-aid kits and wireless communication equipment to reach crime scene quickly. Bharosa Centre, started in May 2016 for the protection of women and children with logistic help, funding and support from the Department of Women and Child Development, has been another success story all the way.
To increase manpower, the State government has taken up recruitment of Sub-Inspectors and police constables through the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board.
Steps taken to contain cybercrime
- Cybercrime stations in Hyderabad, Cyberabad, Rachakonda
- Cyber cells established in all districts
- State-level cybercrimes wing for CID
- MoU signed with IT & ITES Dept to train cyber-warriors
Bharosa Centre
Main purpose is to provide integrated support to women and children who have been subjected to severe abuse, be it physical, sexual, financial or emotional
Police recruitment
Over 18,000 police personnel recruited and are undergoing training
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