In an exercise considered unique exercise in the country and the first in urban Gujarat, police dosts (friends of the police) will be selected from among members of the public to link the people with the law-and-order authority and act as informers.

The decision -- a brainchild of Police Commissioner Kuldip Sharma -- aims at checking the rising crime graph of the city and building public confidence in the police, which has dipped drastically following a spurt in property-related offences.

Though preference will be given to young men above 18 years of age, with no police records, people up to 60 years of age can apply to be interviewed by a panel comprising the commissioner of police, additional commissioner of police and the two deputy commissioners.

Selected candidates will be issued laminated identity cards and required to swearto an oath saying they will function impartially and without discriminating people on the basis of caste, creed or religion.

Candidates will be expected to spare a few hours everyday to assist the police in various matters like directing traffic and solving peoples' grievances after receiving suitable training. They, however, will not be remunerated financially.

They will initially be recruited for a year; extensions will depend on their performance and commitment to the job. Under the scheme, each police station will have 50 `friends' from the area under its jurisdiction.

Asked if he did not anticipate misuse of the `clout' by the recruits, Sharma said,``If any instance of misuse of his position by a `police dost' is discovered, he will summarily be removed and his card confiscated''. An advertisement seeking applications is likely to be inserted in the local newspapers within a day or two. Such a scheme was first launched in Ramnad district of Tamil Nadu and went on to become a big success, with the crime rate coming down drastically.

A traffic warden scheme is also likely to be introduced in the city on the pattern of that already established by the New Delhi police.