In view of the upcoming election in the State, the Uttar Pradesh police’s move to hashtag complaints of poll violation is remarkable and will set a healthy trend
Even as the chill in the air in the northern part of India is yet to subside, the heat generated by political action is palpable. Buzz ahead of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur is getting louder and so is the activities of political parties. Political actors are intensely busy formulating strategies to reach out to voters and social media is one tool that every politician is trying to embrace. On the other hand, law enforcement agencies, which are encountered by a herculean task of managing the elections, are bracing to meet the challenges.
What stands out amidst this is the unprecedented preparations by the Uttar Pradesh police to ensure effective use of social media in election management in the State which shall see seven-phase polls starting February 11, across 403 Assembly segments, involving over 140 million electorates.
On Monday, tech-savvy Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh police, Javeed Ahmad, announced the results of a unique crowd-sourcing initiative on seeking ideas for a single hashtag for Twitter that shall be popularised among people, which can be used for lodging election-related complaints with the police. “Twitter users can alert us about violations or issues by adding #UPPOl17 while tagging @UPPolice. local police will be asked to check the complaint,” said Ahmad while announcing the selected key words along with Twitter India CEO Raheel Khursheed. The DGP informed that the hashtag will be popularised through social media and other media platforms, including radio and newspapers.
Rahul Srivastava, additional Superintendent of Police and head of Uttar Pradesh police social media unit feels that the law enforcement agencies have to keep pace with the changing realities, and embracing social media tools is critical to ensure effective policing. The selection of a single hashtag, and that too using possibly first-of-its-kind crowd-sourcing method by a police force, will ensure transparency in public discourse and effective redressal of grievances, he feels. In addition to this, the unit is actively working with Facebook to launch about 100 pages, including district-wise page and pages for 18 Deputy Inspector Generals and nine Inspector generals. Numerous WhatsApp groups are also being formed for effective and seamless internal communications among officers and smooth management of poll related preparedness and conduct of the elections.
In recent times, we have seen a new wave of transformation in the police force across the country in embracing social media. Almost all metropolitan city police force in India have very active Twitter handles and Facebook pages. Many Traffic police departments too have their Twitter handles and Facebook pages. Many cities have very active social media presence as well, and all this has dramatically redefined police-citizen interaction. Uttar Pradesh police alone has 122 verified Twitter handles including those of the districts and its various arms.
“Increasing use of social media by police has brought about a paradigm shift about the way people perceive police,” says Srivastava, adding that it has also made policing more effective and transparent. Social media has added tremendous convenience to the way people approach police — and the fact that their grievances are being heard in real-time and addressed diligently, have enhanced the confidence of citizens in police, a critical pre-requisite of a vibrant democracy like ours.
However, the perils of it are equally glaring. As discussed in this column itself, in wake of the food gripe video of a Border Security Force jawan and the cacophony it created on social media, the challenges posed by social media can be monstrous for police. It requires them to be constantly on the vigil, especially against mischief mongers. Uttar Pradesh police and few others have active units who are monitoring the conversations responding to issues raised in real time.
The upcoming elections and use of this dynamic tool by police for addressing election-related grievances will be a remarkable case study, and the Uttar Pradesh police can potentially become a trend setter in this. The Election Commission of India will surely be watching keenly.
(The writer is a strategic communications professional)