The young team behind plans to beef up Delhi Police's Insta presence to connect with citizens

New Delhi: From making memes out of Bollywood movies clips and holding 'AMA' sessions on Twitter to beefing up its presence on Instagram and tapping into Reels — the Delhi Police Special Branch's under-35 Social Media Centre is now focusing on creating citizen-centric content in a bid to deepen its connect with residents in the Capital and spread awareness about cyber and financial crimes.

Top officials said that the Special Branch Unit's Social Media Centre, which is spearheading these efforts, is composed entirely of people under 35 years of age, who come from creative and technical backgrounds.

The team keeps track of social media trends, watches the latest Bollywood movies and follows the news to be able to create engaging content. It also analyses the public feedback to its work, they said. The idea, the officials said, is to connect better with the public so that they do not hesitate to approach the police for help and convey things in a language they will easily understand.

But while Delhi Police's Twitter handle has 6,83,000 followers, its Instagram handle has only 4,011 followers — with the Social Media Centre working to beef up its presence on the visual social media platform.

Officials said that there are now plans to create more content specifically suited for Instagram, including making Reels, a popular short-video content, which is increasingly becoming one of the most used features on the platform now.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch) Suman Nalwa said, "We invite people to come forward and use it (social media) to know more about us and the services provided by us. We encourage people to participate and make full use of this opportunity through our AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions, infographics and messages."

"Social media is not only the future but the present of information flow. For us, it is a way to take policing to the last mile and give citizens 24x7 accessibility to us," Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana told.

In the coming months, the focus will be on generating awareness about cybercrimes and the safety of women and children, among other important issues of public interest, the Delhi Police said, adding that another key feature of the social media team has now become to check rumour-mongering and the spread of fake news.

To tackle fake news, another officer said, the first step is to identify it, issue a rebuttal, share the correct information and appeal to the public to prevent anti-social elements from disturbing peace and harmony.

Information related to important events and sensitive crimes is now promptly posted on its Twitter handle with district officers sharing updates to prevent rumours or fake news from spreading.

"In the new age, it would be a missed opportunity if we do not adapt to social media. The Delhi Police has a modern, forward-looking and progressive approach and it also has more responsibilities being responsible for the national capital and handling different challenges on a daily basis," a senior police officer said.