Thiruvananthapuram City police have embarked on a novel complainant contact programme that will enable complainants and victims to receive regular updates of cases.
Aimed at enhancing police legitimacy, the endeavour is also aimed at gathering public feedback on the quality of police service.
District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram City) C.H. Nagaraju has issued directions to all investigating officers attached to the city police to contact two complainants each of ‘Under Investigation’ and undertrial cases and two petitioners from each police station every day.
“Henceforth, the police officers of Thiruvananthapuram City police will call up and update FIR (first information report) complainants, victims or petitioners about the status of cases and petitions. The mechanism will ensure every complainant gets an update of the respective case at least once in a month,” Mr. Nagaraju said.
Station house officers (SHOs) will maintain a register for the complainant contact programme to ensure the quality of updates. They have been instructed to ensure the updates are meaningful and help both the prosecution and the victims in the long run. Besides, supervisory officers have also been directed to randomly choose some complainants and collect feedback on the quality of updates that have been provided by the investigating officers.
Mr. Nagaraju expressed optimism that the initiative, aimed at enhancing police credibility, addresses the oft-repeated complaint regarding the lack of updates on actions taken by the police for the prime stakeholder.
“It is a commonly felt problem. We often discuss the issue, but hardly take any concrete action to resolve the lacunae. Such instances would reduce the level of satisfaction and trust among the public towards police action and decision-making in the long run,” he pointed out.
All police officers were briefed about the modalities of the project during a crime conference held recently, he added.
