“Next generation of policing” – CHRI to launch Virtual Police Station

Many of us have stories of harrowing experiences at police stations, from being intimidated by brusque police officers who are insensitive towards victims, to being taking for a ride for not knowing the procedure..In a bid to make things easier for the public, as well as to help create a more modern police force, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) is planning to launch the Virtual Police Station (VPS)..The VPS is a training tool that allows a user to go into every room of a police station to explore it in 360 degrees. The interface also allows for interactions with people at the police station. There is also an interactive module on a number of legal procedures such as arrest, registration of complaint, filing an FIR etc..In this interview, CHRI’s Vivek Trivedi provides an insight into the novel project, and the work his organization has been doing in the field of police reforms..Aditya AK: How did VPS come about? .Vivek Trivedi: The idea behind VPS was to create a modern training tool for a modern police. We want to reduce the amount of “chalk and talk” that happens at training academies. We thought that actually taking a cadet inside a police station to get a feel of what it looks like, and experience scenarios like an arrest sequence or registering an FIR, with all the visual and audio cues, would create better memory retention. Nothing can substitute the actual training at academies; this is going to supplement the training..We also wanted to create something the public could use. Too often, people are afraid of going to a police station and dealing with what might be inside. So, we allow citizens to do that on a virtual level, to know their rights and know that they can demand them..AK: How receptive have the police forces been to this initiative? .VT: The States that we have shown the VPS to have been very excited; it’s not something you see every day. It is a ground breaking tool; nothing like this has been done before. Apart from being eye-catching, we deal with key aspects of training that the police need to know. The response has been extremely positive; we are hoping that all the states will take it on..We want this programme to be level one; and with the interaction and expertise of the state police and civil society, we want to understand what they think should be added and how it should be done for the next generation..AK: Tell us about the work CHRI has been doing in the area of police reforms..VT: CHRI has been working on issues of police reforms for nearly two decades..Our work is most developed in India where we intervened in the Supreme Court case of Prakash Singh & Ors. v. Union of India and Ors in 2006 and served as member of the Soli Sorabjee Committee that drafted the Model Police Act, 2006 as well as the MHA’s committee, chaired by Kamal Kumar (retired IPS), set up to revise the Soli Sorabjee Committee’s Model Police Act, 2006..Since 2008, we’ve expanded our work in South Asia where we have been involved in research and advocacy on issuesrelated to better policing..We’ve recently come out with an in-depth analysis on State Security Commission in India entitled State Security Commissions – Bringing Little to the Table. .Along with the VPS, we’ve created other public education tools resources such as the wildly popular 101 Things You Wanted to Know About the Police but Were Too Afraid to Ask. This publication has been serialized and made for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tanzania, and others..AK: Do you think there is scope for improvement of procedural laws in India?.VT: Criminal procedures keeps evolving and that’s a good thing. Changes have come recently in the 2013 amendments to criminal law with reference to sexual violence and making the reporting and taking up statements for victims easier..While the amendments were diluted from the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee, which were heavily influenced by CHRI submissions, a major problem is the actual implementation of the law on the books by the police. This remains an ongoing challenge.