'Humane' side of police came to fore during Covid-19 pandemic: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged women police personnel to engage women in Jammu and Kashmir to prevent youth from taking to terrorism at an early stage itself

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged women police personnel to engage women in Jammu and Kashmir to prevent youth from taking to terrorism at an early stage itself.

Virtually addressing IPS probationers at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy here, Modi also said the 'humane' side of the police force in the country has come to fore during the coronavirus pandemic.

Responding to a woman probationer, Modi heaped praises on the people of the union territory, saying they were "lovely" people.

"I am very connected to these people. They treat you with so much love...we have to stop those who take the wrong path. Women can do that. Our women personnel can use mothers (in J&K). If we do that in the initial stages itself, it will be very useful," he said.

He also noted that yoga and pranayama were great ways to beat the stress.
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.