B. Maheshkumar, 50, from Gandhipuram was surprised when he recently received a service feedback call. The call came from the control room of the Coimbatore City Police which asked him to rate the handling of a complaint he lodged at the Kattoor police station.
“The caller asked me to rate the service at the station and I gave the feedback 'very good'. The service, in fact, was very good as I was received at the station and asked to be seated. A sub-inspector handled my complaint in a very decent manner,” Mr. Maheshkumar recalled.
Mr. Maheshkumar was among the first residents of the city who got feedback calls from the police, a new initiative launched by City Police Commissioner Deepak M. Damor.
The caller also asked Mr. Maheshkumar whether the police behaved with him politely and whether anyone asked for a bribe.
“The initiative is basically to improve the quality of the service of the police. Collecting feedback is important in delivering any service. The arrangement will help us in improving the service and take corrective measures if required,” said Mr. Damor to The Hindu.
For the feedback system, the front desk at all the police stations in the city have been asked to collect names and phone numbers of persons who come to lodge complaints. The list will be shared to the police control room twice a day – one at noon and another in the evening. The personnel on duty at the control room will call the complainants and ask for feedback.
A Station House Officer (SHO) of a city police station with whom The Hindu spoke to said that the feedback system was widely welcomed by the police force in the city.
“SHOs may not be present at the station all the time. The feedback will ensure that all the personnel attached to a station will behave politely even in the absence of the SHO”, the officer said.