ABSTRACT
A movement in community policing called Friends of Police (FOP) was started in 1993 in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, India, and within a few months of its inception nearly 1,000 members of the public from all walks of life volunteered to become FOPs in Ramanathapuram district. Taking note of its value, the FOP movement was extended to the entire state in September 1994 by a government order following a cost-bene‹t analysis presented at a state-level conference in the presence of the entire cabinet, top bureaucracy, and police leadership. rough the years, the movement has been well received by the wider public, voluntary associations, and the police force. Currently, there are well nigh 300,000 FOP volunteers all over the state of Tamil Nadu. is is one of the largest community policing initiatives anywhere in the world, and it has helped establish better relations and cooperation between the police and the community. is chapter describes the movement in Tamil Nadu and analyzes its genesis as a community policing model.
