Police Station Feedback System: How QR Code Citizen Feedback Works in India

For a Superintendent of Police, Deputy Commissioner or Commissioner, a police station feedback system shows what happens at the front desk of every station, every day, without waiting for complaints to arrive in writing. Delhi Police, Bengaluru City Police, Srinagar Police and Rohtak Police have all publicly launched QR-based feedback at their stations. The hard parts are particular to policing: keeping the feedback out of the hands of the station being rated, making clear that a feedback form is not a way to report a crime, and checking serious allegations before anyone acts on them.

What a police station feedback system is, and what it is not

A station feedback system collects the experience of visitors after they have dealt with the police: complainants, people collecting documents or verifications, victims and their families, and members of the public who came for help. Besides a QR code, some forces also accept feedback through a WhatsApp number or a link sent by SMS.

It is not a channel for reporting a crime, and it must never be presented as one. Under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, information about a cognizable offence can be given orally or by electronic communication to the officer in charge of a police station, irrespective of where the offence was committed, and a copy of the information as recorded must be given free of cost to the informant or the victim. If the officer in charge refuses to record it, the person can send the substance in writing by post to the Superintendent of Police. A feedback form can tell you that a refusal happened. It does not replace those legal routes, so the form should point people to them.

It is also different from the online services police already offer. The Digital Police Portal, run by the National Crime Records Bureau (which also implements the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems, or CCTNS), lets citizens file complaints online, seek tenant and domestic help verification, and search for missing persons. Those portals handle transactions; a feedback system measures the in-person experience.

Why it matters for police in India

Most people judge the police by one visit to one station, and senior officers rarely see that visit. Written complaints arrive late and only from the most determined. Station feedback fills that gap with a steady flow of first-hand reports.

It also fits the national direction on policing. Addressing the conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police in Guwahati in 2014, the Prime Minister called for a "SMART" police force: strict yet sensitive, modern and mobile, alert and accountable, reliable and responsive, techno-savvy and trained. Feedback from visitors is one of the few practical ways to check "sensitive", "accountable" and "responsive" at station level.

Several forces have already put QR feedback in place:

In Bengaluru, the DCP who started the pilot told Deccan Herald it received 25,000 submissions in eight months, and said the aim was to tackle problems such as reluctance to register FIRs or accept complaints.

What to measure at a police station

Keep the form short. Rohtak's form, for example, has 11 rating questions and one open question, rated from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent), and asks whether the issue was resolved satisfactorily. Choose parameters a station in charge can actually improve.

Alongside the ratings, track how the system itself performs: responses per station per week (very low numbers often mean the QR code is hidden or visitors are discouraged), the share of low ratings, time taken by the feedback cell to call back, and the share of flagged cases closed. Add a visit-type field (complaint, verification, lost article, other) so a station is not judged on averages that mix very different visits: a station handling many disputes will score lower than one mostly issuing verifications, so compare like with like and watch the trend.

How to set up QR code feedback at police stations

1. Decide who owns it

Set up the feedback cell at district or zone level and name a nodal officer. Station staff should not be the ones reading feedback about their own station first. In Bengaluru, Srinagar and Rohtak, responses go to the DCP, SSP or SP office.

2. Settle the anonymity question

Forces have chosen differently. Srinagar's system is anonymous. Rohtak's asks for name, mobile number and date, and officers call to verify. A practical middle path is to make contact details optional, explain that they are needed only for a call back, and allow anonymous feedback on conduct. Our guide to confidentiality and security in feedback systems covers access controls and data handling.

3. Design a short form in local languages

Five to eight questions, in English, Hindi and the local language; long forms get abandoned on older phones and weak networks. The QR code should identify the station automatically, so visitors do not have to pick it from a list.

4. Place the codes where visitors finish

Put the QR code at the help desk, the waiting area and the exit, at eye level, with a line such as "Tell the SP's office about your visit". The poster should also say that the form is not for reporting offences, and give the station phone number and the national emergency number 112. Add codes at outposts, women's help desks and facilitation counters. Bengaluru issues a unique ID at the station so only real visitors can submit, which is worth considering where fake responses are a concern.

5. Set alerts and escalation rules

Decide in advance which responses need immediate attention: any report of a refusal to register, demands for money, misbehaviour with women, or the lowest rating on behaviour. These should alert the nodal officer at once and escalate to a senior officer if not acted on within a fixed time.

6. Pilot, then scale

Bengaluru started with 14 stations in one division before going city-wide. Pilot for a few weeks, fix confusing questions, then roll out district-wide.

Acting on feedback: the feedback cell and senior reviews

Feedback that nobody acts on teaches the public not to bother. Build a routine:

• Daily: the feedback cell reads every low rating and comment, calls back where contact details exist, and forwards specific issues to the station in charge with a deadline. Serious allegations are verified by a call back before anyone acts, as Rohtak does.
• Weekly: the SP or DCP reviews station-wise scores and open cases in the crime meeting, alongside other station indicators.
• Monthly: compare stations and shifts, and look for patterns, such as one desk that draws repeated complaints about waiting times.

Recognise good work as well. Srinagar Police said its cell would ensure prompt action on grievances and recognition of commendable conduct by police personnel. Where you can, tell the public what changed, for example a new token system or extra staff at the front desk. Our guide to turning negative feedback into a positive experience covers how to respond to unhappy respondents.

How LazyMonkey handles police station feedback

LazyMonkey's QR code feedback system for police stations gives every station, chowki, outpost, women's station, railway police (GRP) post and facilitation centre its own code and its own results. Visitors answer in their preferred Indian language with no app or login, and can stay anonymous for sensitive input. Responses are routed by department and severity, critical feedback escalates through a set hierarchy with SMS alerts and time limits, and senior officers see complaints, satisfaction scores and trends on a live dashboard. It runs on printed QR codes, so there are no kiosks to maintain.

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