Delhi Police Issues Guidelines for Its Tourist Wing in Run-up to G20 Summit

Personality development classes, training on curbing tourist-related malpractices and deployment of English-speaking staff are part of the guidelines issued by Delhi Police for the forces’ tourist police wing in the run-up to the G20 summit.

The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued on Tuesday for “Tourist Police Vans” stated that a task-oriented training program would be conducted for every member of the tourist police unit in association with Delhi Tourism Department and other stakeholders soon.

As part of the training, the staff attached to the tourist police wing will be taught soft skills, personality development, effective communication skills and ways to enhance etiquette, manners, attitude and behaviour towards tourists.

They will also be given the training to communicate in English and curb tourist-related malpractices like unauthorised taxi or bus reservations, cheating and activities of touts and unauthorised travel agents.

They will be acquainted with major markets, shopping places, hotels, restaurants, railway stations, bus terminals, eating places, foreign exchange bureaus, historical monuments and museums in the national capital.

In addition to this, they will be trained in handling the latest MPV gadgets, phablets and Google Maps applications and will have to keep note of important phone numbers of emergency services like that of fire, ambulance, major hospitals, airports, ticket reservation centres, embassies and hotels.

According to the SOP, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora has also ordered a monthly inspection of the vans taken remedial action based on the shortcomings and ensured that medicines in these vans are recouped before the expiry date.

A separate desk under the control of a tourist police inspector would also be created inside the PCR unit with a focus to improve the delivery and performance of Tourist Police.

When asked about the fresh SOP for the Tourist Police wing, a senior police officer said, “The SOP has been prepared ahead of the G20 summit to ensure that foreign tourists coming to Delhi are not inconvenienced and in case of some unforseen circumstances, if they interact with the police, they should not feel uncomfortable and this is also a step towards enhancing our visibility to ensure no untoward incident takes place.” The SOP is also issued visualising this specialised service as a ‘proactive’ face of PCR, instead of its general tasking of being ‘reactive’ to emergency response helpline number – 112, he added.

According to the official directive, the tourist van shall have the label “Tourist Police” and distinctive branding on it so that it can be recognised easily by the tourists.

They would also wear an arm badge displaying “Tourist Police” and wear distinctive jackets provided to them.

At least four police personnel, including a female, who are physically fit and have good English communication skills would be deployed on each tourist MPV per shift.

Apart from the standard PCR vans equipment, additional articles would also be made available with the vans, including Do’s and Don’ts for tourists, a map of Delhi and NCR (physical and digital on a tablet), the latest fare and distance chart for taxi, autorickshaw and cloud-based taxi services like Uber, Ola etc.

List of locations of important business centres, commercial and cultural places and malls. A directory on emergency services, Delhi Metro and DTC route chart of important tourist spots in the national capital along with drinking water and sanitiser etc will also be present in these vans.

For now, these vans will be placed at 20 locations in the national capital including New Delhi Railway Station, Paharganj Side, New Delhi Railway Station, America Gate Side, Humayum Tomb, Rajghat, Red Fort, Palika Bazar, Janpath, Connaught Place, India Gate, Qutub Minar, IGI Airport, Terminal-1, IGI Airport Terminal 2, IGI Airport Aero-City or Mahipalpur, IGI Paharganj, Lotus Temple, Akshardham temple, Delhi Haat, Jama Masjid, Delhi Zoo – Purana Qila and Hauz Khas village.

The staff posted with tourist police vans have been asked to ensure proactive patrolling and visibility at their respective locations and for this purpose, two staff members, preferably one male and one female shall coordinate with beat staff and carry out foot patrols in the area where the tourist police vans get stationed.

During patrolling, they will have to interact and communicate with tourists and keep watch on any unwarranted person or activity.

The SOP also states that the staff posted in tourist police vans should be adequately trained to assist tourists at railway stations, airports, bus terminals, important tourist places, malls etc in getting transport.

“They will have to sensitise tourists about the safety, security, precautions to be taken at the tourist destinations and should also ensure safety and security of tourists against cheats, touts and bag lifters.

“They have been asked to guide tourists on issues related to passport, visa, permits and currency exchange and also provide support to tourists in case of any criminal incident or medical emergency.

“They have been asked to guide and motivate tourists to download various Delhi Police Apps i.e. Tatpar and Himmat Plus during their stay in Delhi,” the SOP mentioned.

The staff attached to the tourist wing have been instructed to keep a stern watch over deviants and delinquents who may be frequently seen at particular tourist destinations.

“Ensure that all criminal offences committed against tourists are reported and registered. The tourists should be encouraged to give full information so that legal action can be taken against the offenders,” the SOP stated.

“They have been asked to check and deter the entry of beggars and unauthorised hawkers at the particular tourist destinations and provide immediate medical help by if required by tourists,” it added.