Hyderabad police take to social network to curb crime

Hyderabad police take to social network to curb crime

What do you do when somebody steals your mobile or runs away with your purse?Rush to the nearest police station? Well, now you can report the crime instantly on the official Facebook page of a police station.Taking a cue from the official page of Hyderabad Traffic Police, the commissionerate has asked all the police stations in the city to create a separate Facebook page where folks can lodge complaints and even exchange ideas. The pages will be launched in the second week of October.

Cops undergoing training

A team of three cops, headed by the Station House Officer, will handle the page in each police station. A senior official of Hyderabad Police Commissionerate informs, "Police officials are being trained to handle the pages. It comprises handling IDs, managing feedback, collating data and blocking spam. It will be a round-the-clock operation.The central IT team of police at Basheerbagh will manage technical operations and fix bugs, if any."

Increased transparency

Officials at the commissionerate feel that this will not only create transparency but also bring police and people closer. Murali Krishna, SHO at Banjara Hills says, "People can not only lodge complaints, but also help curb other crimes like eve-teasing and child labour. Suggestions and feedback are also welcome." What's more, after lodging a complaint, one can dial 100 and register an FIR as well if the case demands so.

Easy access

The Facebook pages of the 60 police stations in the city will be like any other page where one can like it and write on the wall. "If someone wants to hide hisher identity while reporting something sensitive, she can message directly and there will be an immediate response. The responses won't be pushed to any specific call centre number. However, 100 is always there for people," adds another senior police official.

Among the citizens, there is an air of optimism about the new initiative. Sai Ramakrishna, pursuing his post-graduation from Hyderabad Central University says, "I can see many SHOs on my WhatsApp. Now since they are going to be there on Facebook, it will help in quick redressal of grievances. And when people share it on another's wall, it will surely make them feel responsible. It's good we will have direct accesses to a police page."

However, his classmate Ravi M has doubts about inflammatory comments, "Some people, just to get noticed, create unnecessary trouble on social media. I wonder how the officials are going to handle it."

Police officials say that if sensitive or offensive content is posted, action will be taken as per the rules of the IT law. He adds, "We don't want to scare people off. We want a healthy interaction and invite them to share their views and also draw attention to what we may have missed or may have gone unreported."