Thiruvananthapuram: With an objective to foster healthy relationship between men in uniform and civilians, the Police Department would conduct crash courses in public relations for its staff.
The move came in the wake of a slew of complaints regarding police misconduct from various quarters despite the department issuing a number of circulars, instructing staff to treat the public as well as complainants with respect.
Professional trainers from reputed institutes in Kerala and other states will be roped in to conduct the classes. The force will be split into different groups and sent to the Police Training College in Thiruvananthapuram and the Kerala Police Academy in Thrissur for training.
The authorities decided to launch the project at the earliest following the controversial police action against mediapersons in Kozhikode the other day. The classes will begin this month, officials said.
The training program will be modeled on the one initiated by the Rajasthan Police in 2013, which proved highly effective, DGP Loknath Behera told Onmanorama.
The final proposal would be prepared after holding another round of consultation with top officials, he said.
“Even in extreme situations, good behavior and calmness may come in handy for police to maintain law and order. Staying calm and composed will help bring down the stress level,” he said.
The course will lay emphasis on the importance of tolerance and mutual respect in the life of a police officer. The need for developing diverse skills to adapt to different situations will also be highlighted.
Every batch of police recruits trained at various academies are given special coaching to improve their professional behavior when they are inducted into the force. However, a majority of them forget to put to practice the theoretical knowledge gained at the academy, said a senior official.
Taking strong exception to hostile and exploitative behavior of officers, former state police chief T.P. Sen Kumar had issued a well-intentioned circular a few months ago. Not only did it fail to make an impact, it also triggered resentments within the force against such circulars.
The former DGP had sent three police officers to the Police Academy after they allegedly failed to prevent the attack on the then State Higher Education Council vice-chairman T.P. Sreenivasan by students’ activists.