Low on staff, but fighting anyway

Low on staff, but fighting anyway

Though the Cubbon Park police control key areas of the city, they are sorelylacking in resources

Shwetha S. Bangalore
Cubbon Park, officially known as Sri Chamarajendra Park, is a historic park located in the heart of the city. Equally historic is its police station, which dates back over 100 years and is responsible for protecting the area's floating population of 35,000 people.
The Cubbon Park police station covers most of the commercial parts of Bangalore, including Cunningham Road, Cubbon Park, Stadium Road, MG Road, Brigade Road, and St Mark's Road. And in spite of being responsible for some of the most posh areas in the city, it has 20 vacancies waiting to be filled.
At present, the police station accommodates one inspector, four sub-inspectors, 11 assistant sub-inspectors, 26 head constables, 11 women constables and 67 constables. On the vehicle front, the police officers have been provided with a jeep, a Hoysala, two cheetahs, and seven two-wheelers.
The most common crime reported in the Cubbon Park area is two-wheeler theft. A policeman said more police personnel would be needed to deal with this menace. But the other crimes have come down, he said confidently. "Three years ago, this place used to be infested by transsexuals, who used to indulge in prostitution and extortion. However, with increased police patrolling, all that has come to a standstill," the policeman said.
To aid them in fighting crime are 25 Lee Enfield rifles and two revolvers, which are used by the inspector and sub-inspector.
But what do the people have to say about them? Shiva Prasad, a textile shop owner, said, "I do see policemen moving around on bikes as late as 9:30 pm. But they really need to do something about the people who frequent pubs and make a nuisance of themselves. More cops should be deployed on weekends."