CorpComms Magazine

An Indian police force is using Facebook to encourage local residents to report cars parked on footpaths and cycle tracks.

The force based in Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra in Western India, is inviting people to post information and upload photographs of the offending vehicles.

The information will then be passed to traffic control patrol teams who will visit the location and issue fines to the vehicle's owners.

But deputy commissioner of police Manoj Patil has asked people to ensure that the information is current. 'We will be carrying out similar Facebook drives in the future. The drive aims at involving people in improving the city's traffic situation.'

He added that complaints about the police or traffic patrols should not be posted on the page.

Pune has the highest incidences of road accident fatalities in India, and has tried several initiatives to tame its errant drivers. Its traffic police now have Blackberry phones to record violations; three violations leads to an automatic licence suspension.

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