Bengaluru policemen take classes in ‘propah’ English, etiquette

The first of the classes was held recently, in which the control room staff was given an easy-to-follow guide on conversing with the public.
Bengaluru policemen take classes in ‘propah’ English, etiquette

BENGALURU: Have you ever had trouble communicating with the Bengaluru City Police's control room? BCP has decided to resolve this by giving spoken English classes to its 120 personnel.

The first of the classes was held recently, in which the control room staff was given an easy-to-follow guide on conversing with the public who dial 100. Though the policemen are graduates many of them had trouble communicating in English.

Around 80% of the calls received by the control room are from non-Kannadigas and therefore the department thought this training was necessary. The first class was conducted by Prakruthi Banavasi, who runs a spoken English academy.

The first sessions had started on December 6, 2016, and came to a close last Saturday. The daily classes were for an hour each, and they were held after the police personnel's regular shift timings.

The classes were to improve their communication skills and behavioural etiquette. “Most people who dial 100 are panicking,” says Prakruthi Banavasi, “therefore the police have to know how to speak considerately to them and console them. Though most of the policemen have adequate education, many are not comfortable with speaking in English. We took classes in basic language skills.”

The trainer had identified 77 types of emergencies/instances that the policemen encounter regularly.

Keeping this in mind, the trainer drafted questionnaires that should be asked to the victim or the caller. Among these emergencies are petty arguments, family conflicts, traffic troubles and chain snatching.

The police department took up this initiative to provide better services to the heterogeneous crowd of the city. “Being part of a cosmopolitan city, we need to address the issues concerning various classes of people. That is why we decided to give training to our policemen. We have given them training on how to communicate effectively in English,” says DCP (Command Control) MG Nagendra Kumar.

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