City Police Commissioner launches the new initiative

Continuing a spree of new initiatives by enhancing people’s participation in policing, Hyderabad police have started a special unit to take feedback from public on the services they rendered.

The ‘Citizen Satisfaction Feedback Services Wing’, which had started collecting opinions for the past few weeks from individuals who had approached police stations for different works, was formally inaugurated by Hyderabad Police Commissioner M. Mahender Reddy on Monday. The idea to begin the special wing was based on securing feedback on the style of police functioning and on how to improve it further.

Professionals with adequate experience in customer relation services were recruited for the job.

The executives will randomly telephone the people who have availed the services of the police and ask them a few questions to get their opinions. “We will then analyse the data and brief the police official concerned about their weaknesses and ways to improve them.” Mr. Reddy said.

Dispelling fears of harassment at the hands of the police officials for negative feedback, the Commissioner promised that the identity and feedback of the respondents will be kept confidential.

He said that the department has already started the concept by calling people who have been interacted with the police at reception desk, submitted petitions, lodging First Information Reports (FIRs) and during passport verification and clearance. “Feedback would also be collected on other services also in the future,” he said.

Police top brass feel the new initiative would mount pressure on field-level police officers to respond to people properly. Based on the feedback, each police station would be rated. If a police station consistently gets poor rating, the house officer concerned would be asked to set things right.