Kolkata, 27 August (H.S.): To prevent confusion among junior personnel about their roles and responsibilities during emergency and law-and-order duties, senior officers of Kolkata Police will now issue short video instructions before deploying subordinate staff for such assignments.

An instruction to this effect has already been issued from the office of Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay K. Nanda. Officers of the ranks of Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner have been advised to send video briefings to inspectors, sub-inspectors, assistant sub-inspectors, sergeants and other subordinate personnel before assigning them to emergency or law-and-order-related duties.

According to a senior police official, the video instructions will be shared through the respective WhatsApp groups and must not exceed two minutes in duration. The time limit has been fixed to ensure that the briefings remain clear and focused, as lengthy instructions could potentially create further confusion among personnel.

Senior officers have therefore been asked to structure the videos in a concise manner and ensure that the instructions are completed within the stipulated time.

“Before law-and-order events such as processions, major gatherings or protest marches, senior officers brief subordinate officers and staff about what they should and should not do. However, sometimes these instructions do not properly reach junior personnel, particularly sub-inspectors, sergeants and other subordinate staff,” a city police officer said.

As a result, some personnel may remain unclear about their specific responsibilities and roles while maintaining law and order during an emergency. The new system of short video briefings has been introduced to address this communication gap, the officer added.

Under the new arrangement, Deputy Commissioner- and Assistant Commissioner-level officers will not only be required to share the video instructions in the designated WhatsApp groups but will also have to ensure that the junior personnel have accessed and understood the instructions.

The move is expected to help police personnel clearly understand their specific duties during emergencies and law-and-order assignments and enable them to remain better prepared for different situations, the officer said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey