Mangaluru East Police Holds Beat System Members meet in City
Mangaluru: The Mangaluru East Police Station held the Beat members meet at the St Sebastian Hall, Bendur here on July 31.
Mangaluru East Police Station Constable Prashanth welcomed the gathering. Police Inspector Maruti G Nayak briefed on the beat system and said, “People get nervous to come to the police station. People are hesitant to be friendly with the police and avoid going to the police stations, they also ignore when there is any crime thinking that they will get into trouble with the police. Through the improvised Beat system, we are reaching out to the people. We have identified the areas and appointed a constable to each area. Under the Jurisdiction of Mangaluru East police station, there are 65 units and 65 police to operate the Beat System. The constable operating the Beat will have the same power and authority of a police inspector in the station. Every Beat will consist of 50 members.”
ACP Uday Nayak speaking on the occasion said, “Whenever there is a crime people are hesitant to go to the police station since there is still a fear in the minds of people about the police. To remove the fear through friendly policing we have started the Beat System. Sometimes when there is an issue that can be settled only in the police station, people come to us with influential persons or political leaders. If anyone is called to the MCC, Panchayat or DC office they go there without any hesitation. Today we request the public to make use of the Beat system if there are any crimes in their locality. All of you here are part of the police station. Whenever there is any incident like seeing a suspicious person, a suspicious vehicle moving around with tinted glass or any other issues that are not normal, kindly inform the Beat officer so that he can handle it. Even for any other issues in your area the Police are always at your service. Let us all join hands for living peacefully in the society.”
Some of the members expressed their opinion. Neville Rodrigues from Yeyyadi shared his experience and said, “Whenever any person comes with Khaki we are afraid, most people feel nervous to talk. But if anything goes wrong we always blame the police. We always find fault with the police and the administration. Today the Police department has come forward with such an initiative for which we should be glad. The responsibility also lies on our shoulders to make the Beat system successful in Mangaluru.”
Social activist Gerald Towers said, “If there is a chain snatching case we do not have proper names for the roads to identify which road the crime took place. It is better to have sign boards in every lane. In Mangaluru there is a shortage of the police. For the success of the Beat System we need more police. The government should think of filling the vacant posts in the police department”.
Another Beat Member Vasanth said, “When anyone goes to the police station with their problems, the police behave very rudely and treat them like an accused which should stop. Whoever goes to the police station to file cases should be treated with respect.
Social Activist Arun said that all those who come to the police station should be respected equally. He also said that some buses are skipping their routes and using shortcuts which we have informed several times to the concerned authorities but no action has been taken. To discuss the road issue we had requested the organizers to invite the corporators of the respective wards but the corporator of the particular ward is missing.”
Addressing the gathering DCP Crime and Traffic Hanumantharaya said, “The improvised Beat System will promote effective policing in the city. The improvised Police Beat System is part of community policing, where powers are decentralized. The personnel deputed to the beat covering area interacts with the people and responds to their queries. The system will promote effective policing. We have made some changes in the Beat system to make the Policing easy. The Kadri Police station has 65 Beat units. We have issued ID cards for the purpose of identification. We have the citizens committee which works according to the government rules. In our case, today we are posted in Mangaluru, after some time we will be transferred to other districts but you will remain in Mangaluru. Those who are the members of the Beat System will assist the Constable in their area. The Beat Members do not have any special privilege in the police station nor are they allowed to misuse their ID cards. Those who have social concern and intend to work can join the Beat System.”
Hanumantharaya further said,”The appointed police Beat team will involve themselves in solving the problems of their area such as investigation of applications, passport verification, identification of rowdies, communal Goons, issuing summons from the court, crimes, criminals, collecting information of illegal activities and the crimes registered in their area. The collected information will be handed over to the respected police stations and the police inspectors will collect all the information on a daily basis from the Beat head. Nowadays the drug menace is rampant. If the members have any information about such menace just inform the police. In Mangaluru students who do not have the driving license ride two wheelers without Helmets. Parents should inform their wards not to take their friends on their two wheelers without wearing the helmet.”
Hanumantharya also said, “In Mangaluru students come from outside and many of them are addicted to drugs. We have borders with other states making it difficult to control drug peddling into our district. Arresting the end users will not solve the problem. There are a number of students who come to Mangaluru from other parts of the state and country who are easy prey for drug peddlers. If you come across such students please inform the police so that through them we can arrest the kingpins. Installing CCTV cameras will also help to curb the crime. There is also the misuse of social media and WhatsApp. Parents should make their wards understand the tragic results of using the Mobile phone while walking, riding or driving.”
Parish Priest of St Sebastian Church Bendur Fr Antony Serrao, Corporator Asha D’Silva, Traffic Inspector from Kadri Station Suresh, Beat heads and others were also present.