TRICHY POLICE

(Community Policing Model)

A CASE STUDY

Submitted by:
Manish Sadarangani (85)
Priyank Sawant (92)
Siddesh Toraskar (111)
 Problem

The beginning:
• In 1999, a community leader had been killed and the city
was tense
• Explosives placed in police stations and cops themselves
lived in fear
• Communal tensions further rose after Coimbatore bomb
blasts
• Trichy is an unusual mix of communities – 1/3rd Hindus,
1/3rd Muslims and 1/3rd Christians had a high crime rate.
 Solution

At macro level:
• Beat Officers’ System
• Complaint/Suggestion Box System
• Wide Area Network

At micro level:
• Helpline for Women
• Slum Adoption Programe
 Story Behind the Idea

The goal:
• Overall peace in the city when the then PM – Atal B.
Vajpayee and Home Minister – L. K Advani planned a visit
to Trichy.
• A matter of PM’s security – little information available
• The visit was 1 month away
• Couldn't rely on the existing ways of getting the information

New arrival and responsibility:

• J. K. Tripathy, an IPS officer of 1985 batch
 Story Behind the Idea

Current Scene
• 260 constables but requires about 5000 – 7000 cops in
terms of population (24 Lakh)
• No Intelligence – human or non-human
• Non-human Intelligence: wire tapping, phone tapping,
electronic eavesdropping, etc.
• Human Intelligence: police informer-based and
spontaneous community intelligence where information is
shared easily
• Fear, the only weapon of the police, had failed
 Story Behind the Idea

The Idea
 Choosing fifty of his most reliable men, constables who had a
'good' record –honesty, no bribery, no bad habits, polite
 They were asked to stay in their localities for a week and their
only job was to listen to what was happening
 Feedback information related to security threats to Tripathy-
no need to report to the office
 Story Behind the Idea

Result
 Quality of information that Tripathy received enabled him to
take preventive actions
 Constables rapport with their neighbors was increasing and they
were able to renew old contacts

Tripathy then extended this system to gather information

about crimes and modelled the ‘Community Policing
Model’.
 Implementation

Initial Stage

• Stay at home and provide information

• Resistance from the Station House Officers (SHOs)

• The constables informed him and he informed the SHO.

• Crimes dropped dramatically in localities

This is when Tripathy decided to scale up a modified version of

this experiment across Trichy.
 Implementation

Process

Step I: Selection of the candidates - hand-picked 260

constables out of randomly picked 2600

a) Selection criterion:
 Internal police CID files
 These files were rigorously screened by Tripathy
 Meeting and shortlisting of candidates

b) Fitting of the person:

 Mapping of the person to appropriate area
 Gentler would adapt well in posh areas and tougher would fit
into say, a slum environment.
 Implementation

Step II: Creating Awareness

 Environment was a major breeding ground for anti-social and

criminal activities.

 Severely deprived localities force them to take to crime as it is the

easiest way to earn a living

 Improving the environment would limit anti-social activity

 Implementation

Step III: Building Ownership

Factor 1:
 Constables were not given starting lectures on community policing

 These officers began without knowing the principle

 On the job learning happended and information started flowing

 This is similar, but ours is unique because we have developed it

rather than the bosses
 Implementation

Factor 2:
 Involvement of constables in decision making

 Beneficial information on government polices and schemes given

 Due to above ideas started flowing and beats felt more involved

 Complete ownership of beat was given to the constables

 ''You do your job; I will come wherever you are.”

 Strategy to overcome prospective challenges

Challenge 1: Shirking
Solution:

 Regular interactions

 Introduction of Walkie-Talkie

 Mobile number of Tripathy made public

 Use of complaint boxes

 Feedback sessions
 Strategy to overcome prospective challenges

Challenge 2: Corruption
Solution:

 Suspension of corrupt officers

 Information of wrong doings through feedback

 Ruthless behavior with those who broke the law

 Empowering the beat officers

 Motivating the constables

 Allowing beat officers to interact with media

 Redirection of complaints to constables instead of

inspectors

 Weekly Saturday meetings of the constables with the

community
 Creating Trust within People

 Municipal council did not do its civic duties

 National Service Scheme (NSS) group of volunteers began to lay

roads

 Application for water, sewage and telephone connections were

given to police

 Municipal Commissioner taken to visit localities to drive holistic

community concept
 References

 http://www.maricoinnovationfoundation.org/awards/ii_awards_2
006/pdfs/winners_trichypolice.pdf

 http://darpg.gov.in/darpgwebsite_cms/Document/file/PMAwards
_21042008.pdf

 http://www.tnpolice.gov.in/pdfs/cmp08.pdf
Thank You!