THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Acknowledging that some of the police officers were going out of the way in self-promotion, the department has warned its members to desist from such practices saying it could tarnish the image of the police and the government.
In a circular issued to all inspectors on Tuesday, State Police Chief Loknath Behera said that, in a bid for self-aggrandizing, some of the cops were giving advertisements in newspapers depicting their projects and routine functions. Noting that this was mostly done by seeking sponsorships from private entities and persons, the Police Chief said suitable action will be taken against those who indulge in such exercises.
The order was issued after it came to the attention of the Police Headquarters (PHQ) that a section of officers were bringing out newspaper supplements carrying their pictures under the pretext of highlighting the activities of their police stations.
PHQ sources said there were allegations of firms and businessmen being arm-twisted to sponsor these supplements. “The businessmen are being approached saying that a full-page supplement is being brought out to highlight the police activities. The businessmen or private firms are prompted to chip in with monetary support or advertisements. On several occasions it was noticed that the police activities were just a pretext for bringing out the supplement pages of the newspapers and the real intention was to generate advertisements,” said PHQ sources.
During Covid lockdown and thereafter, the trend of bringing out pullouts became a trend and is now posing a threat to the image of the department.Behera in his circular said the practice of bringing out self-promotion materials at the cost of outsiders would be detrimental to the police’s interest. “It may lead to the possibility of imitation by other police stations, which may invite criticism from the public against the government or department,” it stated.
The PHQ had issued a similar circular during the initial stage of Covid lockdown warning the officers of unauthorised production of short videos sensitising the public about the pandemic. The circular had to be issued after PHQ received complaints from some of the prominent TV and movie artists, who said some officers had put pressure on them to act in the videos.