Mumbai Police

INITIATIVES TAKEN BY MUMBAI POLICE IN THE YEAR 2004

"VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKING:

Mumbai Police have setup its own Virtual Private Network. All Police Stations, ACsP, DCsP, Addl. CsP, Jt.CsP and CP offices are connected with the remote database and application server
E-mail, internet facilities available.
The browser based Crime Criminal Information System Software for recording and investigating the cognizable cases has been develop to facilitate the investigating officers.
Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and other reports are being sent online.
In the next phase, we plan to have facility of collection and analysis of finger-prints online.

"MUMBAI POLICE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

ZOPADPATTI POLICE PANCHAYAT

Mumbai city has a large slum population comprising of almost 60% of the total population.
Slums have their own peculiar problems of policing; including crime, criminals, public order and security related issues. Because of the nature of the unplanned growth of the slum areas, they cannot be easily patrolled by police vehicles and thus many areas are quite inaccessible.
Conscious about the fact that it is not possible to allocate proportionate police resources in terms of manpower, financial and non-financial, it has been decided to involve the slum dwellers in policing in their own areas.
Mumbai Police have started a highly innovative scheme of policing through community partnership in the slums of Mumbai.
Zopadpatti Police Panchayat has been carefully conceived to strengthen and streamline policing in the slum areas of Mumbai. This is implemented in the true spirit of community policing.

POLICE PANCHAYAT

A team of one officer and some men are selected for each identified slum area as their Beat.
For each slum area, a committee of 10 representatives of the slum dwellers, comprising of 7 women and 3 men is constituted.
This committee of representatives of slum dwellers and selected police team are jointly responsible for policing in a particular slum.
The committee holds meeting at least once in a week to discuss and solve local policing related problems of the slums with a view to prevent small incidents ending in cognizable crime.
Representatives of slum dwellers are designated as “Zopadpatti Police Sahayak” & they assist the police in keeping a watch in their respective areas.
It has been consciously decided to have 7 women amongst 10 members of the Panchayat, in recognition of the fact that women are disproportionately higher as victims of crime and even face the problems of domestic violence.
The members of the ‘Panchayat’ are given Photo Identity Card by the Police.
The community makes one room available in each slum which serves as the office of 'Police Panchayat’.

THE CONCEPT

The ‘Slum Police Panchayat’ works on the principle of dispute resolution at the local level.
These crimes can be prevented and greater harmony can be established by these ‘Panchayats’ through dispute revolution.
The slum inhabitants can bring dispute to ‘Police Panchayat’ which is open every day and under the auspices of the local police.
They help to prevent disputes escalating into violence.
This saves police time and allows them to concentrate on other important things, since large part of police time is spent responding to minor disputes and quarrels and preparing official documents about these.

FEATURES

The volunteers are clear that they do not have police powers and that their dispute resolution is done as a committee, with details of all cases discussed and carefully recorded.
In some slums, the police volunteers have brought pressure on local people, who are illegally brewing and selling alcohol to close down. It has reduced drunkenness and subsequent violence.
The local ‘Mahila Milan’ have also supported the people who previously made illegal alcohol to develop new livelihoods.
One of the key characteristics of these ‘Police Panchayats’ is that they can be implemented on a very large scale without requiring additional resources from the government.
They first started because the Police Commissioner promoted the idea, but they are sustained in each locality because they meet the needs of the police as they get free helpers, a safe location within each slum from which they work and a system that resolves many small disputes.

The scheme was launched in Mumbai on 11th June 2004 with 15 slums by the Chief Minister and Home Minister of the State.

The scheme is being run in Mumbai in close partnership with NGOs like National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan

The scheme now covers 115 slums.
The panchayats is focusing on Law and Order related issues with the inclusion of some young persons in the existing committee.

Zopadpatti Police Panchayat

The slum inhabitants can bring dispute to ‘Police Panchayat’ which is open every day and under the auspices of the local police.

MINORITIES