More than 70 personnel have featured in posters of various awareness campaigns run by the Delhi Police as a reward for their good work, investigations and humanitarian acts, officials said.
One can easily spot these posters at metro stations like IIT, Sarojini Nagar, Ashram, INA, GK, ITO and Panchsheel among others in which the featured personnel can be seen alerting the masses on cyber or other types of fraud.
According to officials, it was Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora's idea to make these policemen and women the face of the force's awareness campaign as a reward for their outstanding work. One such poster is aimed at encouraging senior citizens to register themselves with Delhi Police's portal for the team to visit them and carry out the security audits of the societies they are living in.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (PRO) Suman Nalwa said police personnel are being featured as models for awareness campaigns in the print media as well. There is a 360-degree campaign going on for this whole drive. "It is one of our unique initiatives through which we are not only taking our message to Delhiites but at the same time boosting the morale of our own men and women in uniform," she said. "Their (featured personnel) feedback has been amazing in the sense that they feel like a celebrity. Their families feel proud and children show them in their schools. This has given them a recognition at a larger platform since we showcase their work on social media as well," Nalwa said.
"Many among them have also received international acclaim as well. So overall, the impact has been very positive and very motivating," she added. This initiative was kick-started early this month with its focus on cautioning the masses against cyber scams.
The Delhi Police will continue this style of communication in the near future as well, an officer said. According to a senior police officer, Delhi Police's PRO department is fully equipped with its own studio where they carry out recordings and photo shoots. Head Constable Gurpreet Gaur who has been featured in one such billboard at Pancsheel metro station said ever since her poster has come up, she feels like a celebrity.
"It feels good when your work is rewarded. When my children saw an advertisement in the print media featuring me they were very happy and excited. They even shared this news with their teachers and friends in school," she said.
"They told me how proud they feel. We are known by our work but now even senior officers of my district know me well. I feel motivated and encouraged to do even more," she said. Gaur, who has been posted in the south district of the force, has been rewarded for tracing 92 missing children in the span of six months.
