Delhi Police has found a unique way to showcase its efforts and initiatives: through flash mobs. What kicked off as an experiment during the recently concluded Police Week has now led the department to plan such “surprise gatherings” at regular intervals to raise awareness among people about their initiatives, apps and projects. During the police week, top officials took up this idea to educate people and encourage them to use their 12-odd applications, such as the senior citizen app, traffic sentinel, etc
A special team, comprising children and wives of policemen, was chosen to conduct these flash gatherings at various places in the city. The initiative was the brainchild of Suchana Patnaik, wife of police commissioner Amulya Patnaik. She also heads the police families’ welfare society. After the idea was conceptualised, several teams were provided extensive training to showcase police initiatives. “I feel there is a dire need to understand and appreciate the initiatives and technology that our police forces use for the safety and security of the society .Ten welfare centres in as many districts contributed to the projects,” Patnaik said. Apart from promoting apps, initiatives like self-defence programmes for young girls, too, would be enacted on streets to attract women from all age groups to enrol for the training sessions conducted by Delhi Police.
“The idea is to engage more and more women and children to take up the initiatives that we are offering,” said special commissioner Dependra Pathak, spokesperson of Delhi Police. Flash mobs and skits on women’s safety were conducted at markets in Dwarka, Janakpuri, Rohini and Malviya Nagar throughout February . According to the police brass, such programmes would be conducted on priority over the next one year. Apart from community programmes, policemen and their families would also interact with the public at market places or at gatherings to break stereotypes. “While field formations of Delhi Police will keep conducting their usual programmes to raise awareness, families of police officers have taken initiatives to educate Delhiites on measures to ensure safety of children and teenagers. This is a paradigm shift in the history of policing,” said Pathak.
