News

Kiosk improves lines of communication for Indian police

July 16, 2014

In the Ahmedabad district of the Indian state Gujarat, the Sanand city police have installed a kiosk for residents to lodge complaints against local law enforcement, according to India Today. 

If residents try to register a complaint at the police station, but it is refused or no action is taken, they can use the kiosk to report the incident and record the name of the officer in question.

"Ever since we launched the kiosk, the stream of people who would come to my office with the plea that the cops at the police station were either not registering their complaints or just not doing anything about it has virtually stopped," District Superintendent of Police Gagandeep Gambhir said in the article. "They now go to the kiosk, and what they record there comes straight to my control room."

The kiosk looks similar to an ATM and includes a camera for capturing photos of the complaints to prevent fraud. It offers English and Gujarati language options and has a video recorder for those with limited literacy. 

If the kiosk proves effective, more will be installed across Gujarati, according to India Today. 

"This helps me get a direct overview of how my cops treat the people and, in turn, they ensure public grievances are promptly attended to," Gambhir said.