CHENNAI: An initiative by the city police to enhance security and prevent crimes against senior citizens who live alone has received an enthusiastic response. Following a spurt in crimes targeting the elderly, City Police Commissioner J K Tripathy hammered out a special plan. Senior citizens who are 'home alone' were requested to register with the police so that the cops could enhance security measures. In the last four months, 850 senior citizens in Chennai have registered with the police, informing them that they live alone. Armed with the data, policemen on rounds and receptionists at police stations will keep a tab on the senior citizens by making regular calls and visiting their houses. The elderly persons themselves can call their respective police stations if they notice anything suspicious.Following the launch of the initiative, an assistant commissioner from the public relations office at the Chennai city police commissionerate has been collecting information on senior citizens since February. A ledger will be maintained and the information passed on to the concerned police station, helping them not just to maintain a record of senior citizens but also to keep a watchful eye on them. The police said that 70 per cent of the calls from the 850 senior citizens registered with them were made by men. “Some even call us saying they need help to tackle problems with their neighbours,” a police official said.The police observed that most senior citizens who made calls to them were living alone while their children lived abroad. Some said that their children were in the same city but they were living alone. The police also received calls from sons and daughters providing the address of parents living alone in the city limits. “We have received calls from people in Paris and the United States informing us that their parents were living alone here,” the official said. The police also received 119 emails from senior citizens and those will also be passed on to the concerned police stations.
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