Reddy is to be replaced by Dinkar Gupta, who was previously the Senior Superintendent of Police of Ludhiana.

Sharing his experiences of nearly four-and-a-half years of policing here (the second longest term after R.K. Niyogi), Reddy told Newsline that the rate of detection has come down after the police stopped using third degree methods. "Also, there are no known criminals here. It's either migrants or youngsters who are behind crimes. Since we have no previous data on them, crime prevention is the best strategy," Reddy said.

Reddy agreed that policing Chandigarh is different than policing at any other place. Among other things, he pointed to the inevitable pressures arising from the fact that the UT is the seat of three governments with their bureaucrats and politicians. "Maybe it's good, as you have all the more reason to treat the issue on merit," the Punjab-cadre IPS officer said.

Reddy, who belongs to Andhra Pradesh, also pointed out that Chandigarh differs from other cities in main kinds of crime. "Unlike metropolitan cities and some other places, there is no organised crime here. Nor are there extortions or paid crime," he said. "You usually find property-related crime house burglaries and vehicle thefts, for instance. Fraud cases, too, have been on the rise."

The SSP felt that in the changing cultural scenario, particularly in a city like Chandigarh, the police need to make certain adjustments, for example, "while dealing with youngsters".

But the city police is not without problems. Reddy said the police faces a manpower shortage. "The traffic has multiplied, the agitations are never-ending, the demand for security guards remains as high as ever," he said.

Reddy hoped policing would improve once modernisation of the system took place. "It's already on," he said.

He said police involvement in crime is not a new phenomenon. "But, as we are taking legal course against erring policemen, people little hesitate approaching us with complaints against police officials," he said.

Police-public relations also need improvement. "For this we introduced several schemes here such as Community-Oriented Policing Scheme (COPS), a public window and Help the Aged Police Scheme (HAPS)," he asserted.

"Chandigarhians are well-educated and well-informed. Any minor aberration is immediately exposed ... And the media too keeps strict vigil over you," he smiled.