THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, DELHI

• Commissioner of Police Shri Sanjay Arora
• Special Commissioners, senior officers
• DCPs in charge of Districts.  

1. I am happy to be addressing you on this occasion.  DCPs in charge of Districts are at the cutting edge of tasks that ensure public order and rule of law.  You are the very face of the Indian State in its law enforcement majesty.
2. Being at the forefront of the implementational aspect of one of the largest metropolitan police forces in the world, you all are meant to watch out and guard for about 2.5 crores residents of Delhi.  Maintaining law & order in your jurisdiction, curbing crime, dealing with drug peddlers, regulating traffic, providing security to the vulnerable and engaging with society at large, are roles cut out for you.  However, there is far beyond what has been cut out and defined.
3. Asour demography grows and develops socio-economically and technology eases and enriches life, there is also another aspect, wherein technology also provides a new dimension to crime.  Thus, the society’s and government’s expectations of law enforcement have increased exponentially.  Police departments around the world are facing greater demands to adapt to the emergent socio-economic milieu and adopt new ways of operating to bolster their effectiveness. Police organisations must rapidly innovate and implement new strategies to keep citizens safe and remain a step ahead of ever-evolving criminal behavior.
4. Dear officers, while to my mind, ingenuity and innovativeness should be your guiding mantra, the most effective bulwark against crime is visible policing.  You are to be visible and present on the roads and the streets on a 24x7x365 basis.  While this helps prevent crime by deterring criminals on one hand, it also helps generating confidence amongst people and ensures their proactive participation in law enforcement.  I must say, that any laxity in this regard proves to be catastrophic, as the recent unfortunate incident in Kanjhawala showed, and will not be tolerated. 
5. Indeed, data and technology are changing the very nature of police work. The quantity and variety of data, as well as how it is used in almost all everyday situations, have seen explosive growth. This change should not be seen as a threat. With tech-savvy staff, police forces can take advantage of the digital traces left behind by criminals.
6. Gender sensitive policing is another aspect that I would like to flag.  This involves enhanced surveillance, strengthening of civic amenities through the use of infrastructure, technology and behavioural changes in the society at large.  Apart from these, specific measures like panic buttons on public transport and “she toilets” (dedicated restrooms for women) and a “women’s desk” in all police stations, are the way forward.
7. At the same time, responsiveness and agility in terms of attending to a citizen who approaches the Thana, the Chowki or the Beat, should be one of your prime concerns.  A complainant already under duress and strain, deserves to be handled with sensitivity.  High handedness, that is often complained about as far as police is concerned, has to go.     
8. I must underline that complaints like, “investigation हो नहीं रही है, पुलिस के लोग दूसरी पार्टी से मिले हुए हैं, मौका-ए वारदात पर पुलिस पहुंची नहीं है, जो कहा गया वो बयान में नहीं लिखा गया, थाने में मिलने का समय नहीं दिया गया, थाने में उचित कार्रवाई नहीं की गई etc. are not always unfound and they need to go.
9. The NCRB data shows that Delhi stands at 3rd place in terms of cases of violent crime per lakh population. It is second across the country in terms of crime against women, despite the fact that we have police strength of about 81,000 available in Delhi.
10. The recent incident of a girl being murdered and chopped into multiple pieces and thrown across Delhi that came to light months after commission of the crime.  That of a girl being hit and then dragged by a car, on New Year’s eve, when police patrolling & check points are supposed to be strengthened multifold.  Death of ASI Shri Shambhu Dayal Meena, while preventing an incident of chain snatching and open firing at a traffic intersection during evening rush hours resulting in death of 2 innocent persons, among others, somehow exhibit glaring lacuna in policing at the field level and the DCPs need to look into it with the aim of rectifying the same with immediate effect.
11. I would also advise due diligence and abundant caution on part of DCPs in interacting with the media in light of grave incidents.  The sensitivities of the victim, their families and the collective conscience of the society at large should always be kept at the forefront, whenever interacting with the media.  At the same time, my advice would also be for the DCPs to proactively engage with media about the positive works being undertaken by them.  
12. Investigation is another aspect that I would like to draw your attention towards. Loopholes that lead to undue acquittals, charge sheets that are insufficient and lack merit and investigations that stretch for years together are a cause of great concern.  They not only weaken public confidence in the police but also pose a challenge to the very dictum of “rule of law”. 
13. A plethora of applications I see where even for cognizable offences, FIR is delayed or not registered in many cases. This practice must end and DCPs have a major role to play in bringing about this change. 
14. It is heartening to see that Policing is moving ahead with several Tech-savvy initiatives like e-FIR, smart arm licenses, Police Clearance Certificate, app for women and senior citizen, etc.  I have often stressed upon the need of reducing human interface to the minimum in all licensing requirements.  If we were to achieve this, we will be able to concentrate on core policing that ensures safety for all in Delhi, in a much comprehensive manner.
15. I would like to draw your attention towards the multiplicity of agencies in Delhi, including the institution of DCPs that often work in silos. Seamless coordination with other Line Departments at the cutting edge level of SHOs-SDMs, DCP-DMs/DCs should have been the norm, rather than escalating issues like water-logging, dysfunctional signals, invisible road markings, dark spots and blind spots in various areas to the highest offices. These are issues that can be sorted effectively by departments and officers, who are deputed for the same in field.
16. Rampant encroachments in the city, beggars, hawkers and vagabonds and their relocation, is not the responsibility of just one agency.  It should be handled in a more effective and coordinated manner by DCPs by taking up these issues for discussions on a common platform with Revenue Department, MCD, PWD and DUSIB on regular basis.
17. I am aware of the shortage of manpower required for policing and would like to underline, that till such time sufficient recruitments are made, you should strategically deploy the available personnel, so as to ensure optimal utilization.  At the same time, the available women personnel in the Districts, have to be made far more visible in the task of policing, so as to ensure their active on-field participation and augmenting confidence of women in the society, in police. 
18. Apart from visible policing, another aspect that I would like to highlight is the need for Humane Policing.  Police representing the coercive arm of the state, is a thought of the yore.  We are living in an age where consent, consensus and cooperation have become the guiding principles of state craft.  In view of this, the role of police has shifted from being just a coercive enforcer to that of an enabler.  Sensitivity towards the deprived and weaker sections, vulnerable segments and rehabilitation of criminals involuntarily caught in cycles of crime has almost become a task equally important as maintaining law & order.  To this end, Humane Policing is the talisman that all DCPs should ensure in their areas. 
    • मैं आपसे कहना चाहूँगा की जरूरतमंदों के साथ ऐसा व्यवहार रखें की यदि उनकी तकलीफ तुरंत दूर न भी हो सके तो कम से कम उन्हें एक उम्मीद दी जा सके।
    • सिर्फ अच्छे व्यवहार से ही आप उनकी खुशियों को वापस लाने में मदद कर सकते हैं।
    • “प्रसन्नता वो चंदन है, जो दूसरों के मस्तक पर लगाने से,
    • आपकी उँगलियाँ खुद महक उठती हैं।“
19. I would reiterate that, merely adding CCTV cameras, bringing in state-of-art technology and dependency on e-solutions will not help in improving the law and order situation and ensuring safety. One cannot stay away from the traditional policing. I would like to see DCPs and SHOsvisibly patrolling their areas, interacting with RWAs, MTAs, senior citizens, youth and other vulnerable segments.
20. Towards the end, I would like to draw your attention towards the forthcoming G-20 Summit and related events in the city, where Delhi Police will have a significant role to play.  You will have to ensure proactive pre-emptive measures to ensure safety and security at all levels.

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