Schoolchildren at Behala police station

It was an opportunity to know the city’s lawkeepers better. Over 100 school students were taken to Behala police station and Lalbazar police headquarters last month to get them acquainted with the Calcutta police and help them understand the law and order system.

The initiative — Sampark (Student Assembly for Meaningful and Positive Approach regarding Kolkata) — was started by Calcutta police in association with FACES, a joint platform of the alumni associations of top schools, colleges and educational institutions in the city, to help bridge the gap between young citizens and the police.

“The project was started in 2009 to involve students in the activities of their local police stations. Children need to know that the police are their friends and always ready to help them. Interactions are regularly arranged between the cops of a particular police station and students,” said Imran Zaki, FACES president.

At Behala police station, mayor Sovan Chatterjee and actor Jeet addressed the children. The participating schools included St. James’ School, St. Stephen’s School, Bowbazar, Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society School, Behala Girls High School, Jagatpur Rukmini Vidyamandir for Girls and Jagatpur Rukmini Vidyamandir for Boys. The children were taken around the police station and explained the various aspects of policing.

The next stop was at Lalbazar. “The children were shown the traffic and cyber crime cells, the armoury and the central lock-up before being taken to the briefing room where the additional commissioner of police III, Debashish Roy, spoke to them,” said Jasjit Singh, the honorary secretary of FACES. An interactive session with top cops followed.

“The role of the police is often misrepresented in films. Through this project, we want to reach out to students. The young generation should know what our duties and responsibilities are and help us maintain law and order better. Besides, we encourage them to join the police force,” said Sovan Banerjee, the officer-in-charge of the community police wing.

Meehar Sultan, a Class VIII student at St. Stephen’s School, Bowbazar, said: “It was a memorable experience. I enjoyed the tour around the police headquarters and was excited to see the central lock-up as I had only seen a jail in films. The visit was a great learning experience,” she said.