Under the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) plan, citizens will be able to experience a day in the life of a traffic police officer.
If all goes as planned by the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP), citizens will get to experience a day in the life of a traffic police officer. The BTP plans to launch a “citizen policeman for a day” initiative to provide real-time experience in managing rush hour traffic and gather suggestions for improving traffic regulation.
The initiative has two main goals: to educate more people about traffic management – to encourage wider discussion and awareness and to gather new ideas to improve traffic management in the city.
As part of the program, citizens will be selected by the police after assessing the applications. The criteria have yet to be finalized. Selected individuals receive training from ground transportation personnel during peak hours of a day. After the day of training, the citizen will be deployed to manage rush hour traffic for the next day.
“We will accommodate as many requests as possible depending on factors like the number of junctions selected and the total number of requests. Selected citizens can choose the date and junction where they want to manage traffic after the initiative is formally launched,” a senior BTP police officer told The Hindu.
While the draft of the initiative has been prepared, details such as junctions, selection process, eligibility criteria and implementation schedule are yet to be finalised.
Overcoming stigma, tempting suggestions
A senior officer added that the initiative is crucial to bridging the existing gap between police officers and citizens and helps dispel the stigma of “toughness” often associated with the police.
“One of the reasons why the police are often malicious is that many people are not familiar with our work and the conditions under which we operate,” the officer said. “This initiative will give citizens a closer look at our profession, which is beneficial in two ways – by increasing confidence in following traffic laws and by helping to spread that awareness,” he added.
BTP also believes that when a citizen is deployed at an intersection, they can offer a new perspective on solving underlying problems that police officers may have overlooked because officers are often forced to view problems from a fixed angle.
“With new perspectives, we can re-examine the underlying problems and come up with practical solutions,” the officer said.
The initiative comes just days after the BTP announced plans to enlist students as “police marshals” to flag traffic violations around educational institutions. The move reflects a citizen-centric approach aimed at tackling traffic offenses and promoting traffic discipline.
Published – November 6, 2025 10:17 PM IST
