Have you ever thought of a police station where the police offer you a chilled glass of water and guide you to the desk where you can file your complaint. Where the cops inform you the time it will take to resolve your problem and everything goes online by the time you leave the police station. There are friendly faces all around. Does everything sound unrealistic?
To everyone’s surprise, the Ahmedabad police has turned this into reality by becoming the first police force in India to have ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001: 2015 and ISO 45001: 2017 certifications. The development was shared by the Ahmedabad police on its Twitter handle.
The tweet says, “We are now first ever comprehensive ISO certified police force (114 units) in India. Received ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 from URS Certification Limited. We are committed to serve the citizens of Ahmedabad.” It will put them on par with the best police forces in the world.
These ISO standards are developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and provide internationally accepted processes and systems. It will boost the image and performance of the Ahmedabad police and will change the way the police force functions. The transformation will take three months and budget allocation for the same has already been done. It will enhance the interaction between the police force and citizens.
What will transform?
Around 87 units of Ahmedabad police – the office of the commissioner of police, joint commissioners of police, control room, traffic branches, special commissioner, and additional commissioner of police, DCP crime, 52 police stations, and police lines – will be ISO certified. “The whole idea is to bring in quality control and consistency in our service. Policing being such an eclectic mix of responsibility and a citizen-centric service, if we do not have a consistent experience and quality for citizens, we will be doing a disservice.
Through the certifications, we aim to achieve consistency and standardisation in our operations,” Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police, A K Singh said. “Every time the city police chief is transferred, his plans and campaigns become the biggest casualty. The new commissioner comes in with his own vision and the legacy initiatives get pushed under the carpet. The certification will ensure compliance with the highest standards of policing in the world. Every plan and vision will have its imprint and continuity. A new commissioner can of course have his own plans but will not deviate altogether from core focus,” said the Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration) Vipul Aggarwal.
Improving the living standard of cops
Further, the Joint Commissioner of Police emphasized that this cannot be possible without transforming police lines or housing colonies. “If the police dwellings are not in proper shape, if their problems at home are not taken care of and if the police personnel are stressed, it will be difficult to achieve our objective. The transformation will ensure the living conditions and health aspects of the force meet world standards.”
Time-bound dispersal of complaints
Overall the standards aim to improve the police force in 183 aspects, and it will standardize: Improving the way citizens are greeted over the phone to relieving them of mental stress and assuring that the police is there for them. Time-bound dispersal and redressal of complaints, computerization of the filing process and movement of digitized files will all be standardized to benefit people. Currently, complaints are taken manually and then filed online. Post Standardization, only computerized complaints will be taken.
Weekly offs for cops under consideration
“In plain terms, both internal and external environment in the police force will undergo a change as a cop spends 50 per cent of his life at the police station. Basic things like clean drinking water, clean toilets, garbage disposal and repair work at police stations will become a regular thing. In all, 183 parameters will be implemented, right from the commissioner’s office to police stations. It will make the police force citizen-centric, systematic and efficient.” said Amit Dutta, the consultant hired by the police for the ISO standardization.
Further, he said, “A weekly off for cops has been implemented in Madhya Pradesh and an eight-hour shift is also on the cards there. The same measures are also under active consideration by Ahmedabad police.”
How will citizens benefit and policing change?
1. Enhances patrolling after detecting hotspots in every police station
2. Uses technology to check the presence of all cops, twice a day
3. Improves communication from constable to CP using technology
4. Provides for only computerized complaints under the new system, to track them easily
5. Advanced infrastructure and regular maintenance in police stations and police housing like clean washrooms, garbage disposal, clean drinking water and repair work.
6. Eight hours duty shift and weekly offs for all cops under consideration
original source – https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/ahmedabad-police-to-become-first-in-country-to-follow-iso-standards/articleshow/68353559.cms
