Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked the police force to safeguard and build on the humanitarian image they developed during Covid-19 pandemic.

Virtually addressing the probationers of Indian Police Service (IPS) passing out of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVP NPA), Hyderabad, he said the new image built by the force during the crisis had become its biggest asset and there was need to preserve it.

Modi said the country saw the human face of 'khaki' during the pandemic as the police personnel were seen singing songs, providing food and water to those living on footpath and risking their lives to carry patients to hospitals.

"In the eyes of a common man, by and large the image of police was of a baton, argument and repression. It does not mean that they were not doing any humanitarian work earlier but during Coronavirus for the first time the society felt its collective impact," he said.

During an hour-long interaction with probationers from various parts of the country, the Prime Minister shared his thoughts on various issues.

He underlined the need for the police to make use of the power of the society which always comes forward to render humanitarian assistance during crises.

Modi called for use of technology for intelligence and effective policing. He said while the system of intelligence gathering at the level of constables remained crucial, the police should also make use of technology available.

He said big data, artificial intelligence and social media were the new weapons of the police and stressed the need for their effective deployment.

Stating that the IPS batch has many people in the batch with technology background, he advised them to form teams to use technology.

He pointed out that technology helps in detecting crime through CCTV footage or mobile phone tracking. He also had a word of caution for the police officers. "Technology is also becoming a reason for suspension of policemen. Sometimes they lose their cool and do something and somebody from a distance records this on camera and it goes viral. Pressure builds on the system to suspend the policemen and it become a blot on their career," he said A total of 131 probationers of Indian Police Service (IPS) of 2018 batch passed out on successful completion of their training at the academy. The batch includes 28 women probationers.