Student Police Cadet Project

The Student Police Cadet (SPC) Project is a school-based initiative by Kerala Police, implemented jointly by the Departments of Home and Education, and supported by Departments of Transport, Forest, Excise and Local Self-Government. The project trains high school students to respect the law, practice discipline and civic sense, and develop empathy for vulnerable sections of society. It also strengthens commitment towards family, community, and the environment, enabling them to resist negative tendencies such as substance abuse, deviant behavior, intolerance, and other social evils.

The Project was launched on August 2, 2010 in 127 high schools/higher secondary schools across Kerala,^[1] with 11176 students, both boys and girls, enrolled as Cadets and 254 teachers trained as school-level Community Police Officers (CPOs).^[2] In 2012, the project was expanded to cover a total of 249 high schools across Kerala,^[3] with a combined strength of nearly 16,000 SPCs and 500 CPOs.

Genesis

The program has its roots in Janakeeyam, a community-level initiative by Kochi City police, in 2006. During the event, more than 400 high school students from 30 local schools interacted with police officers, engaging in wide-ranging discussions on community issues and visiting police stations. During these discussions, the students expressed a desire to have a permanent arrangement for ongoing communication with the police. Accordingly, a pilot Student-Police project was launched on an experimental basis in a few selected schools .^[4]

Subsequently, at Kozhikode in January 2010, a squad of specially trained high school students was entrusted with the responsibility of crowd management at Kerala School Youth Festival, Asia’s largest youth-focused cultural festival involving more than 10,000 participants. Following the successful execution of this task by the cadets, and in light of the success stories from project-implemented schools, a detailed proposal for a statewide school-based training programme was prepared under the guidance of Sri Jacob Punnoose IPS (DGP-Kerala) and submitted to the Government of Kerala. On the basis of this report, Government of Kerala issued GO (P)121/2010/Home dated 29-05-2010, with the stated objective of moulding a generation of law-abiding, socially committed and service-oriented youth. A state-level Advisory Committee was constituted with Sri. Jacob Punnoose IPS (DGP-Kerala) as Chairman, senior Government officials as members, and Sri P Vijayan IPS as State Nodal Officer for the SPC Project.

Features

• The SPC Project is an association between the educational and law enforcement authorities in a community.
• The project comprises a structured two-year training programme to develop students as responsible citizens who manifest respect for the law, civic sense, empathy for vulnerable sections of society, and resistance to social evils as lifelong personal habits.
• The project creates youth willing to react against social evils by ensuring safe and healthy academic environments, drug-and narcotic-free premises and reinforcement of positive values among students in schools.
• The project stimulates parents and community leaders to work in cooperation with law enforcement authorities to create safe and healthy communities
• The project catalyses community-level activities to promote better use of natural resources, by encouraging habits that are minimally harmful to the environment.
• The project makes use of existing law enforcement infrastructure to promote the physical, psychological and educational development of youth.

The SPC project seeks to deepen the social democratic fabric of communities by evolving young minds into enlightened citizens who obey laws not by enforcement but rather as a natural and rational act. The Student Police Cadet Project does not create more policemen, rather it seeks to grow the policeman within each young member of their communities. The SPC project can be expected to generate significant long term benefits such as greater internal security, healthier and safer communities, and responsible future citizens of a stable democracy.

Vision

A humane and just society where citizens respect and follow laws willingly, practice responsible behavior towards others, demonstrate empathy for weaker sections of society, participate in tackling community issues and resist threats to the natural environment.

Mission

To unlock the potential of youth by systematic training and make them capable of becoming social leaders with global vision guided by humanitarian values.

Objectives

• To mould a generation of youth who willingly respect and abide by Law, and who practice civic sense, democratic behavior and selfless service to society as the natural way of life.

• To facilitate development of good health, physical and mental fitness, self-control and discipline in youth, thereby enhancing their capacity for hard work and personal achievement.

• To enable youth to work with police and other enforcement authorities including Forest, Transport, and Excise in preventing crime, maintaining law and order, promoting road safety, and improving internal security and disaster management.

• To develop social commitment in youth and empower them against deviant behavior in themselves and others, thereby preventing growth of social evils such as drug and alcohol abuse, intolerance, vandalism, separatism, and terrorism in society.

• To enable youth to explore and develop their inner potential in achieving success, by inculcating in them leadership, teamwork skills, innovative thinking and problem solving ability.

• To increase knowledge and understanding of effective use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) among youth, preventing its negative influence and enabling them to benefit from the vast potential of ICT.

• To motivate youth to develop secular outlook, respect for other’s fundamental rights and willingness to carry out their fundamental duties as enshrined in the Constitution of India by developing in them qualities of Patriotism, Open-mindedness, Large-heartedness, Inclusiveness, Capability and Effectiveness (POLICE)

The objectives of the Student Police Cadet project are synchronous with the goals of the National Youth Policy of India which seeks to involve youth in the noble work of nation-building.

SPC training programme

SPC training comprises a two-year programme with a focus on developing health and physical fitness, instilling social values, exploring inner capability and inculcating community living skills within students. There are five components of the programme, viz. Physical (Outdoor) Training, Indoor Training (Study Classes), Field Visits, Practical Training Projects, and Camps.

Community Projects

Leadership capabilities of SPCs are strengthened through awareness classes and self-development workshops, and through community activities targeting issues such as road safety,^[5][6] drug and substance abuse, environmental protection,^[7] and aspects of law and crime. ^[8]

Executive Hierarchy

SPC Project implementation machinery comprises a three-tier structure of specially designated officials at State, District and School-levels. The highest ranking executive official of the project is the State Nodal Officer - SPC Project. Sri P Vijayan IPS, a senior police officer of the 1999 Kerala cadre, is the first (and current) State Nodal Officer of the SPC Project.

In each District, a police officer of suitable rank appointed as District Nodal Officer. Wherever there are SPC schools, the local Police Inspector with jurisdiction is designated as Police Student Liaison Officer (PSLO), with field-level responsibility of project implementation in the school(s) falling in that jurisdiction. PSLO reports to DNO on project implementation on a regular basis.

Project administration

Project administration is carried out by Committees at the State, District and School levels. The State-level Advisory Committee is the highest policy-making body in the SPC hierarchy, with authority to approve selection of schools, formulate guidelines for project implementation, issue directions to SPC programme officials, and ensure adherence to project guidelines by all stakeholders. The Committee comprises senior Government officials from the various associating Departments, and is chaired by the State Police Chief. There are also district-level Advisory Committees, and school-level Advisory Committee

Achievements & laurels

• Resolution passed in 41st All India Police Science Congress held at Dehradun 2011 recommended all states of India to adopt the SPC project
• Dr Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India interacted with a team of SPCs at Kochi in September 2012, and was impressed by their attitude and demeanour ^[9]
• Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA) selected the SPC Project to carry out a statewide road safety awareness project, and sanctioned an amount of Rs One Crore (Rupees Ten Million) for the purpose
• Kerala Legal Services Authority (KELSA), a statutory body of the Kerala High Court, designated SPCs as community-level ambassadors to promote legal awareness among community members ^[10]
• The public sector Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd partnered with the SPC network to promote energy conservation within communities
• The State Institute for Educational Management & Training, (SIEMAT), Kerala conducted a statewide assessment of the project and found strong correlations between the existence of SPC units in a school and positive changes experienced by the student community, their parents and other community members, as well as a decline in student-centric incidents of crime.^[11]

Expansion of project

The recommendation by the All India Police Science Congress (Dehra Dun, 2011) that all states implement the SPC project,^[12] led to a team of police officers from Rajasthan visiting Kerala to study the project.^[13] Subsequently, Government of Rajasthan decided to launch the project in selected schools as a pilot project.^[14] Several other states in India have also expressed interest in rolling out the scheme. It has also been reported that a nationwide rollout of the SPC project is being considered at the level of the Union Home Ministry.^[15]

^{[16] [17] [18] [19]}

References

1. Biju Govind "VS to launch Student Police Cadet Project" The Hindu 02-08-2010
2. "126 teachers to become Community Police Officers" , "The Hindu" 14-11-2010
3. "student-police-cadet-to-be-extended-to-100-more-schools" Official website of Chief Minister of Kerala
4. "State mulling Student Police Cadet", N J Nair, The Hindu, 07-12-2009
5. "Student police cadets nab traffic violators", Times of India 18-04-2012
6. The Hindu, 27-04-2012
7. "Student Police Cadets to be roped in to help boot out waste", Anand Haridas, "The Hindu", 08-09-2012
8. "Muneer asks Student Police Cadets to guard society from militant forces","The Hindu", 05-05-2012
9. "Student Police Cadets meet Manmohan" "The Hindu", 14-09-2012,
10. The Hindu, 18-03-2012
11. Aparna Unni, "On Donning Khaki", 28-09-2012
12. "Student Police scheme may find favour in other States", The Hindu, 16-06-2011,
13. "Rajasthan police team visits school to study SPC", The Hindu 30-06-2012
14. "'Student police cadet' programme to be launched in state", Times of India, 07-1-2012
15. Anand Haridas,,"Student Police Cadet project to go National" The Hindu 24-03-2012
16. "Student Police to be considered for police recruitment", Official website of Chief Minister of Kerala 25-08-2012,
17. "Slew of new schemes under ‘student police'",The Hindu 03-08-2011,
18. "SPCs to be considered for police recruitment: Kerala CM",Mathrubhumi, 27-08-2012
19. T Satisan, "Student Police Cadet, a success story", The Sunday Indian18-09-2012

External links

1. Official website of SPC
2. Kerala student police cadets in a colourful cultural rally