COMMUNITY POLICING

Introduction
Maithri is the name given to Community Policing in Andhra Pradesh. It is a Police-Public partnership programme. This programme orients the way the police should think and act. It broadens the police mandate beyond the narrow focus of fighting crime to include efforts to fight fear of crime and disorder as well. This philosophy provides an organizational strategy that motivates police officers to solve community problems in new and innovative ways. It envisages that the police must closely work with the people in the community by allowing average citizens a say in the police process, in exchange for their support and participation.

Maithri rests on the belief that contemporary community problems require a decentralized and personalized police approach which involves citizens in the process of policing themselves. It creates a positive shift in the role of the police from “working against the bad people” to “working with the good people” in the society. As a result, police no longer remain law enforcers but take the role of facilitators and mentors to the society.

The programme has become a great success, as people started appreciating police-public partnership in making the society safer. By August 2002 as much as 25% of the habitations were covered under Maithri, with as many as 6900 Maithri Committees with a membership of about 2.7 lakh citizens.

History

Realizing the need for better Police Community relations, the AP Police has initiated several measures for meeting the present day Policing needs . Maithri was launched in the year 2000 through out the State. The mission of Maithri being " To render curteous, compassionate and caring response and increase public confidence in plice with respect to maintenance of peace and order and feeling of safety from crime.