Telangana raises benchmark in policing

Hyderabad: The aspirations of a young State to shape itself as a safe and secure one for its citizens have turned into a reality, thanks to a pragmatic and pro-active approach adopted by the Telangana government led by the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao. In fact, the broad contours for the law and order policies […]

Hyderabad: The aspirations of a young State to shape itself as a safe and secure one for its citizens have turned into a reality, thanks to a pragmatic and pro-active approach adopted by the Telangana government led by the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao.

In fact, the broad contours for the law and order policies to be adopted by the police department were enunciated by the Chief Minister who in the early days of the State formation pointed out that the State would prosper if the law and order situation was under control.

As a result, Telangana Police in the last eight years shed its decades-old style of functioning to become more vibrant, visible, and predictive in its approach and also got equipped with necessary manpower, machinery, infrastructure and latest technology. Abdul Khayum Khan, former DGP (Fire Services) said the law and order in the State was much better than it was during any period of time and added, “A lot of transformation is seen in the police setup – constables now carry a digital Tablet as against the traditional lathis.” Adopting technology, the police has 9.50 lakh surveillance cameras installed across the State and with the help of CCTV feed, so far detected around 23,000 cases. “Technology and surveillance footage helps in better detection of cases. Moreover, no innocent is troubled and only wrongdoer is punished based on the video evidence,” said Rachakonda Police Commissioner, Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat. The State government provided around 3,500 vehicles in one-go and the beat patrol system improved considerably. “Other initiatives like allocation of funds to police stations for maintenance helped improve the image of the police to a great extent,” he pointed out.

The iconic Command and Control Centre at Banjara Hills Road No 12 is nearing completion with a cost of Rs 585 crore. Using advanced technology, one could store, view and run analytics check of footage from 1 lakh surveillance cameras at once.

Also, across all the cities, towns and mandals, the police stations are getting a facelift. “Now the police stations look similar to any corporate office. New buildings are constructed for stations and more facilities provided to the police personnel. The initiatives help in better policing and providing a safe atmosphere to the citizens,” said Karimnagar Police Commissioner, V Satyanararyana. She Teams and Bharosa Centre redefined the concept of safety of women. “Women can approach the police through online and offline modes. Privacy and prompt action is assured and we are ensuring the culprits are punished by the courts,” said DIG Women Safety, Sumathi Badugula.

Hyd free of communal riots: AK Khan

Abdul Khayum Khan, former DGP (Anti-Corruption Bureau) and Advisor to Government Minority Affairs, said there were no communal riots in the State in recent years and it was a progress to applaud. “Hyderabad is totally free of communal riots. Unlike previous times when we used to witness riots every year,” he said.

The police were provided right infrastructure and the strength of the police was enhanced. Recruitment of more personnel is being done. “So much was not done earlier. Naturally these initiatives are helping in bringing down the crime rate and ensuring safety of the citizens,” he said.

Formation of new police commissionerates have also empowered strongly. “We have a chain of commissionerates across the State. With such initiative, the police get power of law as officials get magisterial powers and can easily control criminals. The morale of the police is high,” he added.

CYBER-SAFETY

• Cyber Warriors – An initiative for capacity building at police station level to fight cybercrimes. • Citizen Financial Cyberfrauds Reporting and Management Systems (CFCFRMS) – An initiative to combat and overcome cyber-related crimes.
• She Cyber Lab – The lab is equipped with advanced tools to carryout data analytics and cyber- forensics to reduce crimes against women.
• CybHer- Training programmes for making cyberspace safe for women and children.
• Cyber Ambassadors – Training imparted to selected students in government schools empowering them to spread cyber-safety awareness.

WOMEN SAFETY

• She Teams: She Teams at all districts and commissionerates • Women Help Desks – 650 Women Help Desks established
• QR Code Application – A user-friendly technology to report public place women harassment by just scanning the QR Code
• DV Counseling Redressal Forum – Call received through Dial 100 about domestic violence is attended and followed up by the Women Safety Wing Coordinators.

SMART POLICING INITIATIVES

• State-of-the-art Command and Control Centres at six urban commissionerates • Provision of CCTV cameras at all police stations
• Patrol Route Management System to improve visibility of policing