Secret of why cops are so effective in corona crisis
   Date :04-Apr-2020

Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay_1&
 
 
By Vijay Phashikar :
 
“In a crisis of this scale, mere discipline does not work. What makes the real difference is the human bonding between the front-line people and the leadership. Once that is achieved, everything else falls in place.” These words sound most appropriate when they are said by a man named Dr Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, Commissioner of Police in Nagpur. As the city grapples successfully with the coronavirus crisis, what meets the eye first is the manner in which the city’s police force is conducting itself -- in the most responsible manner, accommodating all the socio-emotional needs of a city that has never seen any crisis of such a scale.

police team_1   
 
 
At deserted intersections they stand in red hot summer, monitoring the thin traffic, accosting people in a polite manner, asking questions without insulting them, and letting them go if the cause of coming out of homes appears justifiable. And this has been happening for days, without any let up, without any mistake, no matter the few occasions when the cops may have become tough on wilful violators.
 
On most occasions, the cops’ collective conduct has been exemplary, bringing in praise from people. “That is so because most front-line officers and constables know that they are out there in the open for a good cause, and that they may expect their senior-most officers appear before them anytime, to join them in the management of detail. I have made it a point to spend at least two hours every day with my front-line force at any spot in the vast city,” Dr Upadhyay says in a matter-of-fact manner, without any ado, without any self-back-slapping. He is a seasoned cop and knows the basics of leadership. “When weather is hostile, when there is a massive crisis on hand, when people’s emotions are fragile, when popular mood is of terrible discomfort, policing becomes a special challenge. But we tell our men and women repeatedly that their greatest strength is their polite approach to handling people. They must not be rude, they cannot afford to be snappy.
 
So, we tell them to be patient and to listen to what people have to say when they opt out of their homes. Yes, we do send back wilful violators, but on most occasions, we try our best to understand why the people come out braving discomfort,” Dr Upadhyay adds. “Yes, there are a few problem areas. But my experience is healthy, in the sense people from some otherwise difficult sections of the society do give us a patient cooperation. We take them into confidence. We expect their full cooperation. We request them to communicate with their followers so that there is no misunderstanding between the people and the cops. In this manner, things do get sorted out well.
 
“There also are a few problem localities where the density of population is high and a lot of people are bound to be out on the streets because of the limitations of the living spaces in their homes. We cannot be rough with them. So, we understand their problems and handle them accordingly. We do come across a tough moment or two occasionally, but we follow only one dictum -- we do not lose patience. For, we realise that in a crisis of such a scale, emotions are going to fragile and people are bound to be edgy. So, patience and politeness are the keys,” Dr. Upadhyay asserts. He is an intellectual of top order and a Sanskrit scholar. His scholarship peeps out of even his simple words. Remind him of his training days as an officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), and his eyes show a glint.
 
Ask him how even an elite training brings out officers with such a connect with common people, and he rejects the idea in an unoffending manner. “Look, 60-70% of the candidates in the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy belong to rural, semi-rural or semi-urban background. They come from very down-to-earth strata of the society. So, they understand the people very well. Then the training is also designed to create a people-orientation. “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is the icon of the Academy. His ideas and ideals often guide the course of training.
 
The concept of ‘policing for common man’ is often drilled into our heads. The entire orientation is like this. That produces officers with people-connect,” Dr Upadhyay says. The top cop also agrees that communication is the key to good leadership. “But there is also a practical angle to this. If the leaders are willing to give up their comfort zones and make themselves available to the force 24x7, then the front-liners are all the time amenable to good ideas. That is the actual secret of the good performance of our force in Nagpur -- a great connect between the leaders and the front-liners,” Dr Upadhyay concludes. He is also all praise for Divisional Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar for his very mature handling of the administrative side of the crisis.