THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Getting a leave granted to celebrate the most cherished personal occasions is a luxury for police personnel owing to their workload. However, this situation is likely to change for the cops working in the four northern districts of the state as the Kannur range DIG has directed the DySPs and station house officers of Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts to grant leave for the cops on their birthday, marriage anniversary and birthdays of their spouses and kids.
The instruction was issued by DIG Rahul R Nair on Wednesday to all district police chiefs reminding them to stick to the”optimum human resource management” principles so as to provide off time for the cops so that they can spend time with their families. The official note issued by the DIG said the cops should be allowed to take leave on occasions of their birthday, marriage anniversary and birthdays of their spouses and children. The leave should be granted if there is no mobilisation of the force and the law and order issues remain under control.
To make sure that the cops get their fair share of leave and the provision is not misused, the DySPs have been asked to collect the information about the birthdays of the personnel, their spouses and kids as well as their marriage anniversaries. These details will be maintained in a register for verification, the note said.
The note said the police department works efficiently when the cops are allowed to function without any stress. The note also reminded that the cops working at the grassroots should be appreciated duly for their good work. The letter of appreciation, good service entry and rewards should be given to them without delay to keep their spirit up.
One of the DySPs in the Kannur range said the move is appreciable as it has tried to address a pertinent issue. “Most of the cops in the police stations are over-worked. Giving them proper cooling-off period will serve the department better. However, it’s to be seen how the directive is implemented at the grassroots,” the officer said.