Delhi Police will soon separate law and order, and investigation duties in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) among members of the force, according to a senior police officer.
Personnel posted on the streets on law and order duties will be advised not to visit the police stations and those at the stations won’t have to step out into the field, the officer said. The two groups will interchange their work after completing their shifts. At least 110 police officers of the rank of constable to a Deputy Commissioner of Police(DCP) have tested positive for the disease. A 32-year-old constable died last week. More than 1,000 police personnel are in home quarantine.
From securing containment zones to maintaining social distancing on the roads, at liquor vends, markets and shelters for the homeless, to feeding the hungry, and maintaining law and order, police have been at the forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Once, the division in work happens, this will be like our own work-from-home culture. The field duty officers can directly go home or to the facilities set up by the department for them. Keeping the police station premises sanitised is important. It is the place from where we maintain the law and order of the area and ensure all citizens are safe. This will be the first time that such a division of duties will happen,” the police officer said.
Another officer said the police were adopting different measures to ensure that the virus does not seriously affect their work. To ensure that barracks inside stations and homes of the police personnel are safe, the department has arranged accommodation for at least 12,000 police officials on field duty in hostels, colleges, guest houses, hotels and community halls.
