Accordingly, each police chowkie and police station will have an `FoP Chief' on the lines of in-charge of police outposts and police stations. The FoPs will report to their respective chiefs and seek guidelines in assisting the police. Sharma, who overlooks the response to the FoP scheme as a measure for better police-public relation, plans to extend the parallel `FoP' scheme to the level of police divisions soon.

Meanwhile, actual implementation of the FoP project, which was launched with distribution of FoP cards to 870 people on November 27, began on Sunday. Two sessions were held in the morning and evening to identify Friends of Polices interested in assisting the police in traffic management, investigation of cases, regulation of processions and night patrolling.

The Friends of Polices were also imparted training as to what they were expected to do during various policing activities, Sharma said.

Briefing the FoPs from each police station, the assistant commissioner of police of their respective division laid stress on night patrolling with a view to curb increasing instances of burglaries.

FoPs were told to enlist about five people of their area -- particularly retired and single persons -- for night patrolling so that everyone's turn came once a week only.

Regarding traffic problems, they were told to assist the traffic police at the nearest traffic point during peak hours and also educate people about road discipline. Teacher-FOPs were requested to organise lectures on traffic rules in collaboration with the traffic police.