Apparently aware of the bad press the Jharkand Police has received owing to the misdemeanour of some personnel, the state police headquarters is now conscious about the need to improve its image.
The Jharkand Police proposes to put select personnel on a soft skills programme to improve their quality of interaction with visitors to the mega sports event. This would include the art of polite conversation and correct etiquette with visitors. The selected policemen would comprise personnel from the armed constabulary, who form the cutting edge of the force trained to tackle riots and open fire on unruly mobs. The supervisory rank officers like Assistant Sub Inspectors and Inspectors would also undergo the soft skills training.
Jharkhand Director General of Police (DGP) B D Ram said a slew of measures have been chalked out to set an example for other states to emulate and also enable the organisers to make the event a grand success.
“Apart from providing security, we have arranged a special training programme for the constabulary to inculcate in them refined behaviour and etiquette in order to interact with the visitors in a friendly manner. As the visitors would be from different parts of the country and abroad, the trainers will ensure that the constabulary on duty is able to use popular English words and phrases like hi, hello, thanks, welcome, please come, same to you, may I help you etc.,” the DGP told Deccan Herald.
“We propose to deploy 8,000 personnel. The training will start in a week or so and continue till the commencement of the Games on November 21,” he said. Indian Tourism Development Corporation would send its trainers, said S M Pradhan, police spokesperson.
Sartorial etiquette
Dress smart or face a dressing down seems to be another mantra for the cops. “No tousled hair or vermilion tilak, or high neck inners and the ungainly muffler to cope with the cold. They will have to dress smart,” said a senior police officer, refusing to be identified.
Known for their rough behaviour, how these “dos and don’ts” and other nuances of “politeness and etiquette” grow on the police personnel would be interesting to watch.