Chennai: What is common between Strikers, Eagles, Beta, Bravo and Tango? Well, when it comes to policing the city, these are the words the top brass of CheÂnnai police use frequently in the corridors of the high-tech office of the city police chief while facing an emergency situation.
These teams are, of course, not part of the vehicle patrol units with blinking red and blue beacons seen almost in every corner of the city roads. "Special teams like Strikers and Eagles were formed based on instructions from commissioner of police S. George and linked to the office of four joint commissioners of police in the city, allowing the officers to handle any kind of emergency law and order problems on their own during day and night without depending on the armed reserve strength," added the official.
All the special units are given men and vehicles directly under the control of joint commissioners. Each joint commissioner is given at least 200 men for creating the special teams and required vehicles. Usually, a unit of a special team consists of a vehicle with a sub-inspector and seven constables. "If needed, additional strength is sent from the commissioner's special teams like Beta, Bravo and Tango," explained the official.
If Chennaiites had been noticing more patrol vehicles at night, it is because they have become visible with the flashing beacons. "We decided to keep the LED beacons on so that people will see and feel the presence of police in the neighbourhood which will infuse confidence in them," a top official noted.
All the 200-plus patrol vehicles will be parked visibly on arterial roads with their LED lights on at night. These vehicles will move only on instructions from the local deputy commissioner or city control room. Policemen in the vehicles are not allowed to go around in the area on their own, the official said.
Of course, checks by the traffic police for drunken driving are conducted separately. The decentralisation and effective deployment of patrol vehicles and these special forces are the key factors which make the city police confident of making the city streets safe for the residents, said an officer, stressing the point that they had managed to bring down the number of property offences.
"The city commissioner, with a view to handle over a dozen protests and marches on a daily basis and to maintain law and order in the city of 785 sq km, where over 80 lakh people live, had decided to decentralise and allot special police forces at the level of joint commissioners of police," said a senior police official.
