New Delhi: The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) summoned police officers up to the inspector rank for a meeting at 5.30 pm last month. The meeting was attended by nearly 30 officers of inspector and sub-inspector ranks. But, it was not to forge a team for some operation or revamp tactics, which, usually, is the case when officers in charge of a unit call officers en-masse for such a meeting.
The meeting, in fact, was the starting point for what IGIA DCP Usha Rangnani referred to as “comprehensive and examples-driven sessions” to improve the “soft skills” of police officers who deal with passengers at the airport daily.
For the initiative, DCP Rangnani has roped in airline company IndiGo, which has deployed two of its executives, who deal with operations and share passenger-related responsibilities with security personnel at different terminals of the Delhi airport.
“When told to assemble in such huge numbers in this manner, it is mostly for briefing on special operations or after some failure, but this time, it was about upgrading our communication skills,” an inspector-level officer told ThePrint.
ThePrint attended the inaugural session of the two-day programme on 21 February. Nearly 30 police officers attended the interactive session with the two IndiGo executives, who briefed them on “interpersonal communication” and “perception management”.
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‘Job goes way beyond just law enforcement’
The session began with what “public service” and “public confidence” mean to police officers. After a brief pause, a sub-inspector responded that service mainly revolved around finding solutions to the problems that people approached them with.
That, in turn, builds confidence among the public that the police officers are there for their help, according to the sub-inspector.
The trainer from IndiGo said cops could do better with “positive body language” towards people who approach them.
The trainer added that the process of helping people also involves reassuring them that there will be solutions to their concerns. People also need an explanation if it takes more time than expected to come up with the solutions, he said.
In conclusion, he said that methodically following all the steps would help the cops achieve their ultimate objective — serving the people.
“At airports, our job goes way beyond just law enforcement. The safety and security of the people and airport ecosystem is paramount, but handling nearly 40 million passengers every year requires excellent interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with people, who, at all times, would need guidance and resolutions,” DCP Rangnani told ThePrint.
“The objective of conducting this training is to further ingrain the discipline of communication into officers on the ground to help them go beyond their operational expertise and technical competence,” she added.
‘Good behavior will always be reciprocated’
A police officer, who attended the session, said cops already knew much of what the trainer said. However, the challenges on the ground arose from many situations not related to policing, he said.
“A lot of the time, we have to deal with issues that did not happen due to the law enforcement agencies, especially police, and we cannot help — for instance, the loss of baggage or long queues at the airport. We face a tough time dealing with the aggrieved passengers. The direct intervention of police officers cannot help them,” the officer told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
In what appeared to be a counter to this sentiment, the trainer briefed the cops to maintain good behaviour with the public at all times and situations and better communicate with them on problems for which there is no instant solution.
“Sometimes, people will approach you with problems that can’t be solved properly. That could be a trend, as well. But, what will make policing easier and better in the public interest is good behavior. Over a long period, good behavior will always be reciprocated by good behavior by the public, who would understand that due process is required to reach a solution,” the trainer said.
DCP Rangnani said people know a lot of things, most times, but do not act upon it, which necessitated the session on public communication.
She said the idea of the session on interpersonal communication first came up during the Republic Day celebrations this year when cops were put on high alert, like every year.
“We first envisaged this session around Republic Day earlier this year, but it could not quite take place due to the necessity of security arrangements at the time,” said DCP Rangnani.
“Our target is to complete communication training for the 400-strong police force working at the ground level within two months. We are planning to have the sessions over the weekend. The sessions, over a period, would go through evaluations, followed by updates based on the learners’ feedback,” DCP Rangnani told ThePrint.
“With this training, we want our on-ground officers to make Delhi Police a service centre instead of a perceived power centre.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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