Date:19/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/19/stories/2006101913510400.htm

Other States - Punjab

India joins global move for police reforms

Staff Correspondent

Chandigarh-based IDC to coordinate Police Station Visitors' Week

WORLD-CLASS?: Punjab Police personnel on duty.

CHANDIGARH: A global movement is being launched this month-end by organising a `Police Station Visitors' Week' aimed at bringing police stations into the public domain through active involvement of the community and ensuring transparency in the justice delivery system.

Under the aegis of Altus Global Justice Alliance (AGJA) based in The Hague, The Netherlands, visits to police stations through direct involvement of civil society are being organised in around 20 countries of the world.

In India, the programme is being coordinated by the Chandigarh-based research organisation, Institute for Development and Communication (IDC).

AGJA Chairman Chris Stone has described the programme as an opportunity for the public to assess and become acquainted with the service delivery in police stations.

In turn, the police would benefit from these visits as they seek ways to improve their services as well as learn from the results of this exercise.

According to IDC Director Pramod Kumar, the countries participating in the programme include India, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Ghana, Hungary, Latvia, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and the United States.

From India, police stations in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Meghalya would be visited by a group of local residents.

These police stations will be graded on the basis of quality of services, community access, detention conditions, services provided to women, Dalits, minorities and other vulnerable sections.

According to Dr. Kumar, 65 police stations will be visited in Punjab and 10 in Chandigarh during this week. The best police stations would be recognised for their good practices that would in turn be replicated in other police stations. The representatives from the police stations adjudged best would be presented with certificates at the country, South-East Asian regional and subsequently global levels.

"This is a crucial step forward towards police reforms," said Dr. Kumar, adding that the 21st Century had recognised the police reforms as vital for democratic and participatory governance.

The trend is global as most countries have undertaken up an exercise to analyse their respective criminal justice systems to impart speedy and non-discriminatory justice to citizens.