RBP to start Neighborhood Watch program

With the help of Friend of Police (FoP), RBP are coming up with a new program called Neighborhood Watch in Changjiji. This program is also a part of crime prevention measures whereby every household in one building will be keeping in touch and will be watching over the house if any of the neighbors is out of station for a long duration.

Chief of Police, Brigadier Kipchu Namgyel said that, no individual is concerned about his or her neighbor, they do not talk nor do they mingle. This is because they are not aware of crime. Those are the situations where the criminals are waiting to commit crime and moreover they study the situation very well.

He also said that, people today do not know who their neighbors are since they do not mingle with each other. In this program, one person from each building, they will select one Friend of Police (FoP) and make him the leader of the community.

The leader will be issued with one FoP jacket whereby the person will take responsibility in going around the building to see if everything is in place. The person (leader) should keep a note of where his or her neighbor is going and when they are returning.

They will appoint a “community neighborhood watch officer” and make a rotation within themselves. They will talk with each other, check everything and inform if any accident occurs. “If the community officer come across any suspicious person around their neighborhood, than he or she can inform other neighbor and take a picture of the suspicious picture and can talk to police officer”, he said.

He said if people take the initiative in doing so, there will be no need of police personnel. If there is protection with a better leader, than a criminal has no way to create any scene in any of the neighborhoods.

He said people tend to be victims of crime because they are not concerned. He said people can deposit ornaments and cash in the banks with more security and less charges. “But people don’t want to do that instead they take a risk to be the victim”, he said.

With this program, a person who travels far can lean onto neighbors who are at home. They can always contact and enquire about the status of the house.

He said, “FoP should be reporting any sort of crime happening. The Thimphu team will be starting to get all the details of residences in Changjiji with location. The team will be sharing the concept of neighborhood watch program and if people are ready to work with it, then the RBP will soon be implementing the program.”

If it goes well, they have a hope that, the residents from other area will also come forward to adopt the program, which will reduce the crime rate.

The Brigadier also shared the gratitude that he had for FoP. He said, “FoP where there when we needed the post giving their full heart and were the best help to police and we are looking forward to work with the FoP in every feild”.

However, he also said that, apart from such program, they are profiling a person with no job. They will collect the fingerprints of those who come to police station for future reference. Their fingerprint will be added in database whereby in future if the same person happens to come, they can easily figure it out.

The aim of Mobile Community Police (MCP) is to promote FoP throughout the country. MCP consists of five police official who will be going to remote areas.

RBP aims to make one third of the population as FoP in the future.