MBA students of TAPMI worked on eleven different summer projects with the Karnataka Police over an 8-week period during April – June 2013. These Management In Practice (MIP) projects were a part of their MBA curriculum.
The projects explored different aspects of police functions such as existing processes for citizen services including the SAKALA services and complaints resolution, application of Information Technology, resource generation and manpower management.
After the first year of Study, MBA students take up a project offered by corporate concerns and spend around two months accomplishing the goals set by the host organisations. This is termed as Management In Practice (MIP).
TAPMI believes in integration of education through a balance mix of Classroom and off-classroom activities. An active collaboration between the Institute and Industry is established through the Summer Interns. As a part of this off classroom activity students undergo experiential learning of MIP.
The projects were initiated jointly by Shri. Pratap Reddy, IGP (Western Range) and faculty members in TAPMI. The projects were also ably guided by Dr. M. B. Boralingaiah, SP of Udupi. The police department supported the projects throughout by providing students, access to key police personnel, important data and other infrastructure.
Students and sometimes, TAPMI faculty members as well, interviewed police personnel at length, watched police operations from close quarters during events such as the elections, travelled in police vehicles for gathering data and searched through police databases for relevant information.
Some important findings from the projects were:
•The Karnataka Police is currently moving towards greater citizen-friendliness. There is a conscious effort across the department to improve the quality of interactions between the police and citizens and enable citizens to gain greater value from police related services. The police is also taking conscious steps towards increasing its transparency and accountability to citizens.
•The Karnataka Police have a strong learning orientation. Everywhere, it was found that the police personnel are open and willing to share their experiences and discuss possible ways to improve their functioning.
•In most locations, the police are understaffed and overworked. A typical policeman works longer hours in a day, and sometimes this stretches to 16 hours during events such as elections, VIP visits, major accidents and other emergencies. Often police personnel work for several weeks at a stretch without a break or a vacation. In many of the police stations that the students visited, the police felt that they had only 50-60% of the actual manpower they needed to perform at their best.
•The police perceive that citizens sometimes have unreasonable and high expectations from them. Example, the police are grossly blamed if a crime happens somewhere, even when the occurrence of the crime is outside the police’s control. However, they feel that the appreciation conferred to them, when they solve a crime is not commensurate with the efforts they exert and the personal sacrifices they make.
•The policing system in the state can be strengthened by providing more manpower and financial resources to the department, and improving the understanding, empathy and active cooperation of citizens in the police processes.
“At TAPMI, we deeply appreciate the quick action of the Manipal and Udupi police in arresting the suspects of the recent gang-rape case, and wish them success”, says Prof. Ajith Kumar, Associate Dean- Research, who took keen interest in the special project this year.
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