PM Modi urges police to adopt ‘SMART policing mantra’ at 59th All-India DGPs conference

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upon the police forces of the country to adopt the ‘SMART policing mantra’, with the ‘SMART’ acronym expanded to “strategic, meticulous, adaptable, reliable and transparent”.
Addressing the valedictory session of the 59th All-India Conference of Director Generals of Police/Inspector Generals of Police (DGPs/IGPs) at Bhubaneswar — which he attended through Saturday and Sunday — Modi expressed concern at the threats generated on account of digital frauds, cyber crimes and Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly the potential of deep fakes to disrupt social and familial relations, and asked the police leadership to convert the AI challenge into an opportunity by harnessing India’s double AI power of Artificial Intelligence and ‘Aspirational India’.
The Prime Minister noted that wide-ranging discussions were held during the conference on national and international dimensions of security challenges and expressed satisfaction on the counter-strategies that had emerged from the discussions.
During his address, Modi appreciated the initiatives taken in urban policing. He suggested that each of the initiatives be collated and implemented entirely in 100 cities of the country. He called for the use of technology to reduce the workload of the constabulary and suggested that the police station be made the focal point for resource allocation.
Discussing the success of hackathons in solving some key problems, the Prime Minister suggested deliberating on holding a National Police Hackathon as well. He highlighted the need for expanding the focus on port security and preparing a future plan of action in this regard.
Recalling the contribution of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, first home minister of Independent India, to the ministry of home affairs, Modi exhorted the entire security establishment from MHA to the police station level, to pay homage to him on his 150th birth anniversary next year, by resolving to set and achieve a goal on any aspect that stands to improve the police‘s image, professionalism and capabilities. He urged the police forces to modernise and realign themselves with the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’.
During the three-day conference that concluded on Sunday, in-depth discussions were held on existing and emerging challenges to national security, including counter terrorism, Left-wing extremism, cyber crime, economic security, immigration, coastal security and narco-trafficking. Deliberations were also held on emerging security concerns along the border with Bangladesh and Myanmar, trends in urban policing and strategies for countering malicious narratives. Further, a review was undertaken of implementation of newly-enacted major criminal laws, initiatives and best practices in policing as also the security situation in the neighborhood.
PM offered valuable insights during the proceedings and laid a roadmap for the future.
Among those who were part of the conference were home minister Amit Shah, principal secretary to PM, national security adviser, junior home ministers, MHA brass, and DGPs/IGPs of all states and Union territories, and heads of Central police organisations and para-military forces. The meet was held in a hybrid format, with over 750 officers of various ranks joining it virtually from their respective states or UTs.