Police stations in southeast division to have libraries

Library at Hulimavu, opened on Sunday, has a collection of 840 books that the police have collected from the residents of the area

In a big step towards community outreach by the city police, southeast division police have taken up an initiative to set up a library in every police station in the division. The first such library was opened for public use by renowned filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli at Hulimavu police station on Sunday.

“We are planning to set up libraries and reading kiosks at every police station and at the DCP, ACP office premises,” said C. K. Baba, DCP (South East), spearheading the programme.

“I always carry a book to read while travelling or during breaks from office work. This led to the idea of a library and a reading kiosk at every police station, so that people who walk into the station can read something while waiting to be attended to. This will also help build community outreach and make police stations more friendly,” he said.

Another senior officer said libraries at police stations will help the police also. “Reading books will be a good way to de-stress amidst hectic work. It will also help our personnel pick up a reading habit, give them exposure or even improve their vocabulary,” the officer said. “Increasingly, people are losing the habit of reading a book. They are drowned in their phones. In this bargain if someone picks up a habit of reading or finds an interesting book, we would be very happy,” Mr. Baba said.

The library initiative is also part of the “Hello Neighbour” campaign, that aims to help the beat police build a rapport with the residents, launched a few years ago. So the process of building these libraries at the police stations is also an important part of this outreach.

The library at Hulimavu police station, opened on Sunday, has a collection of 840 books that the police have collected from the residents of the area. Many residents including alumni of several educational institutions in the area have donated their books for the library. Other libraries will also be built through the support of local residents and institutions in their respective areas, helping the police reach out to the community.