Nilgiris Police adopts ‘Police Akka’ initiative to enhance safety of college students

To enhance safety of college students across the district and handle harassment cases more strictly, the Nilgiris District Police in Tamil Nadu inaugurated the ‘Police Akka’ project on Wednesday. The initiative was launched N.S. Nisha, who took charge as the District Superintendent of Police in August, this year. The initiative was launched by Coimbatore Police in 2022, which is likely to be adopted across the state.

Under this initiative, a senior police woman has been nominated for all 16 colleges in the district as a single point of contact for the students. Contact details of the officer have been shared with the college authorities which will be put on display in every college. The purpose is to help students to contact her in case they need any help and complain directly to her if they are facing any kind of harassment.

The police will also host sensitization programmes on issues like crime against women, cyber crime and drug abuse. The police will also visit the colleges from time to time and conduct self-defence classes for the students.

கல்லூரி மாணவிகளுக்காக துவங்கப்பட்ட போலீஸ் அக்கா திட்டம்

உங்களது கல்லூரிக்கான போலீஸ் அக்கா பெண் காவலர் பற்றிய விபரங்களை தெரிந்து கொள்ள கீழே உள்ள Link-ன் வழியாக Download செய்து தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம்.https://t.co/G06jMaiI9A pic.twitter.com/u6sIyNwH7Y

— Nilgiris Police (@NilgirisPolice) October 16, 2024

What is ‘Police Akka’ initiative?

In October 2022, Coimbatore Police launched a project called ‘Police Akka’ (Police sister) to prevent young girls, especially college students from falling prey to cybercrime. As part of the initiative, female cops pay a visit to colleges once every week or fortnight and interact with girl students spreading awareness and warning them about different kinds of cyber crimes which they can fall prey to. Contact numbers of these female cops are shared with the students so that they can reach out in case of any query and seek assistance.

‘Kaaval Uthavi’ app

The Nilgiris District Police is also raising awareness through an app called the ‘Kaaval Uthavi’ app. The purpose is to trigger and send emergency alerts to the police control room from someone in distress directly through their mobile phone.

In an attempt to curb drug abuse, the police is also conducting vehicle checks and surprise checks on people who had been previously arrested for trafficking in narcotics.

Panch Shakti initiative by Pune Police

Recently, Pune Police launched ‘Panch Shakti’ which is a five-pronged initiative to ensure the safety of women, children and people in Baramati of Pune district. The initiative was announced by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The initiative focuses on enhancing the safety measures in Baramati with special attention to children and women.

A ‘Shakti Box’ or a complaint box will be kept at various locations such as schools, colleges, commercial establishments, banks, government offices, ST stands and coaching classes. The purpose is to help women and girls to report incidents of harassment like eve-teasing and stalking.

As part of this initiative, the police will also conduct awareness programmes for the youth to promote safety and security.