“How many of you aspire to join the public service?” asks City Police Commissioner V Balakrishnan IPS to a packed audience that consists of an eager bunch of students from the Government Higher Secondary School in Vellalore and Chettipalayam. Many hands go up with much excitement. “All of you want to join the public service, but no one wants to become a politician?” he throws another question at them and explains how they can be changemakers in society.

“When a person enters politics, he is empowered to do public service. You can serve a number of people in a short time,” he says adding how the Chief Minister of a state wields power while making important decisions for the welfare of the public. “You have better chances of serving the public in an empowered political system,” he tells them and highlights topics like goal setting and aiming high. “Whatever field you are interested in, be it sports, art, culture, science, research, law, justice, or politics, have a long-term plan and work towards achieving your goal systematically,” he tells the students before giving away native saplings to them and posing for a group photo.

Coimbatore City Police Commissioner V Balakrishnan IPS | Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M

The students are on a day out with the city police, an initiative where children get acquainted with various departments of the police force. “It is important for the younger generation to know how an important arm of the government functions. The police being an important functionary in the government administrative setup, such exposure also helps in breaking myths associated with the department,” explains Balakrishnan.

This particular trip of the students, a batch of over 60, was sponsored by Coimbatore-based Walkaroo International. The day begins at 9am at Armed Reserve where they take a tour of the Armoury Workshop that repairs and maintains police arms and ammunitions. “The armed reserve police is pressed into service to meet any kind of contingency situations, like terrorist attack or law and order breakdown. When they learn these aspects, it builds their confidence in the police and they feel safe,” he adds.

The next stop is the traffic park where learn about traffic rules and road safety. Referring to the fact that due to road accidents, hundreds of people die and over 500 get injured every year, the commissioner points out that the children carry the message forward to every member in the family, and bring about change.

“Did you know that this traffic park was established by the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minsiter K Kamaraj in 1962?” asks L Kanakasubramaniam, the guide for the students. He is a former trainer at Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and is also a resource person of Uyir, an NGO that aims to make Coimbatore accident-free. Children spend time at the Race Course police station and enjoy a break with refreshments.

Swords on display at the police museum | Photo Credit: SIVA SARAVANAN S

Recalling the public-police relationship, the city police commissioner notes that there has been a drastic transformation in the last five decades. “With awareness, the gap is bridged to some extent. Such exposure eliminates the fear associated with police in children. At the control room, they learn how we use technology and GPS to monitor wireless communication, patrol vehicles movement etc. They can approach us by dialling 100. They also learn that we have installed 20,000 cameras in public places which gives them a sense of safety. Our priority areas are to fight crime against women and children.”

Students at the control room | Photo Credit: SIVA SARAVANAN S

As part of the tour, the students experience a brush with history at the Police Museum (the erstwhile Hamilton Club) near the Coimbatore railway station, constructed in 1918. B Nisha, head constable at the museum stands beside an exhibit of a 120-year-old rare long muzzle load gun and talks of the artefacts that trace the history of the police department including old police uniforms, rare photographs, and weapons seized from late forest brigand Veerappan, a submarine from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, to name a few. “The T55 Tanker used in Kargil War, mini aircraft used to train war pilots, marine boats, torpedo missiles from Indian Navy, and a sword presented by the late Chief Minster MG Ramachandran in 1980 are displayed here,” says Nisha adding that another prized possession are hand-written notes of Chief Ministers who ruled the State.

School students at the Race Course police station | Photo Credit: SIVA SARAVANAN S

Harshitha A R, a class IX student is beaming as she looks back on her outing. “We learnt about obeying traffic rules, guns and rifles used by the police, and also on how to approach police for help. Interaction with the city police commissioner motivated us. ” For D Dharaneesh, a class VII student, his favourite part of the day was the time he spent at the Detective Dog Squad and Dog Training Centre watching the dogs in action. “The children are full of questions and curious to know how the police department functions,” says Balakrishnan. He adds, “When they interact with me, they feel happy, and become aware. This motivates them to walk with their heads held high.”