BHUBANESWAR: With the rise in organised and complex crimes posing a big challenge to policing, the State government has firmed up plans for restructuring the Commissionerate police system to bring it on par with the metros and other state capitals.
As part of the restructuring, the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police has proposed a slew of measures including formation of a special crime unit, introduction of beat patrolling, new-age surveillance system and a cyber crime police station. It has also pressed the need for bifurcation of Bhubaneswar urban police district (UPD).
The restructuring would be done in two phases. In the first phase, a special unit to investigate crimes like drug peddling, white-collar and cyber crimes and beat patrolling for prevention of organised crimes has been proposed. It also involves internal redistribution such as transfer of the Bhubaneswar cyber crime police station from Crime Branch to the Commissionerate, creation of an Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) office, and division of Bhubaneswar UPD into North and South.
Plans for the second phase include, strengthening of PCR system through a unified modern command and control system, employment of regular policemen for PCR vans in place of retired personnel, bringing an Indian Reserve Battalion under Commissionerate and deployment of armed police in beat patrolling and PCR vans. “A complete restructure would lead to a quantum jump in quality of policing in the Commissionerate system and enhance citizen satisfaction in the Twin City,” said a senior police official.
Commissionerate police set for revamp, special crime unit in offing
A key proposal, however, is establishment of a dedicated crime investigation unit on the lines of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The unit will help investigate and prosecute complex crimes and criminal networks. “Changes in functioning of senior of ficials are also planned. Though the roles of an SP and a DCP are different, in many respects, DCPs continue to function like SPs,” sources pointed out. The Commissionerate system, introduced in 2008, has been successful in improving management of public order and several other objectives but full realization of the urban policing system has not been achieved.
With growth of population and rise in commercial activities, there has been no commensurate improvement in policing. The city police continues to face challenges in improving emergency response and better prevention and detection of street crimes. While the population in Bhubaneswar UPD grew from 10 lakh in 2001 to 17 lakh in 2020, the number of vehicles has increased from 39,873 in 2008 to 1,14,038 in 2019 and crimes from 4,566 to 8,229 during the period.
Apart from improving visibility of police on the street and in residential areas, the need for improving quality of supervision of crime investigation, reducing case pendency and focused attention on organised crimes like drugs, theft and cyber-crimes is being increasingly felt.