THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first coastal police station in the State will come up at Neendakara in Kollam district.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate the station on February 9.
The Police Department has also introduced a new mechanism to prevent taking bribe by police personnel.
A system to stop collection of fines by police officials would be introduced soon, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the Minister said that steps to set up seven more costal police stations sanctioned by the Centre were progressing.
The State Government had also urged the Centre to allow one more coastal police station at Ponnani.
As many as 67 police stations in the coastal areas would be equipped with facilities to deal with threat from the sea.
The coastal police stations will have jurisdiction up to 12 nautical miles into the sea and a small area on the coastal belt.
Each coastal police station would have three boats, two 12-tonne boats and one five-tonne boat, and necessary manpower to operate the boats besides other facilities of an ordinary police station.
Owing to the delay in acquiring the boats, the Neendakara Coastal Police Station will start functioning with rented boats.
Personnel posted at the Coastal Police Station were imparted training at the Coast Guard Training Centre, Kochi, he said.
MECHANISM TO PREVENT BRIBERY IN POLICE
In order to prevent taking bribe by police officials, the Police Department has introduced a new system in which public can take pictures of police personnel collecting bribes using mobile phone cameras or digital cameras and send them to the e-mail address `citizenswatch@keralapolice.
gov.in’ A preliminary inquiry would be conducted and appropriate action, including suspension from service, would be initiated against the official.
An internal vigilance mechanism has also been constituted to curb corruption in the department, Kodiyeri said.
A proposal to stop collection of any sort of fine by the police is under the active consideration.
The police would only issue slips that mention the offence and amount of fine. The amount could be remitted at a bank. The Finance Department has approved the project in principle, he said.
Police officials who take bribe do not have the integrity of even beggars, Kodiyeri said.