Police launch new beat system in Whitefield
Residents of the area have also taken to the idea and established a good working connection with law enforcement.
Bengaluru: The city police (Whitefield division) launched a new ‘beat system’ on Saturday in order to effectively implement ‘community policing’. Whitefield, Kadugodi and Mahadevpura will be part of the new system. According to the DCP (Whitefield) Abdul Ahad, each ‘beat’ under the new system will have WhatsApp groups with residents of the areas’ as its members. The groups will be managed by either a Sub-inspector or an Assistant Sub Inspector and include citizen representatives making it easier for the residents to discuss their issues right from their houses.
“Earlier, each police station was divided into 8-9 units or beats. But now, each station will be further divided into 15-16 sub-units and each unit will have about 20-40 committee members,” Ahad said. “This is being done to establish ‘community policing’ where the citizens play an active role in law and order. This system is more effective and systematic. There is already a neighbourhood-watch group called ‘Whitefield Rising’ and we are now working with them,” he added. Residents of the area have also taken to the idea and established a good working connection with law enforcement. “I think the point here is to build a bridge between the police and people and fight the perception that the police are our enemies. We work together for the common goal of a safer neighbourhood,” said a Whitefield Rising representative.