Kolkata, June 18 (IANS) Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) and West Bengal Police have formalised a collaboration aimed at strengthening professional training, capacity building and operational preparedness in the field of internal security.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Kolkata in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, RRU Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof (Dr) Kalpesh Wandra, and Dr Jasbirkaur Thadhani, Dean (Academics), RRU and Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal, Siddh Nath Gupta.

Senior officials from the police force and representatives of the university also attended the event.

The agreement is intended to support the systematic upskilling and reskilling of police personnel through specialised training programmes, academic resources and institutional support in line with contemporary security challenges.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said continuous professional development and institutional collaboration were essential for strengthening policing systems.

“The changing nature of internal security threats required a structured and forward-looking approach to capacity building,” he emphasised.

He said the partnership would provide police personnel with access to advanced academic resources, specialised training modules and institutional infrastructure, while also promoting the integration of technology-driven practices into policing to improve efficiency, responsiveness and accountability.

Prof Wandra outlined RRU’s role as an ‘Institution of National Importance’ focussed on policing, internal security and criminal justice.

“The university had established collaborative links with police forces across 27 states and Union Territories and had been involved in capacity-building initiatives at multiple levels,” he emphasised.

He highlighted the university’s TREE+CI framework (Training, Research, Education, Extension, Consultation and Innovation), which underpins its academic and professional outreach programmes.

“RRU operates through 11 specialised schools and eight campuses across India and offers more than 60 academic programmes ranging from diploma and undergraduate courses to postgraduate and doctoral degrees. These programmes are designed to meet the multidisciplinary requirements of modern policing through a combination of academic study and practical field-based training,” he noted.

He said the collaboration reflected a shared commitment to advancing the principles of SMART (Strict, Modern, Accountable, Responsive and Tech-savvy) policing, while supporting national initiatives such as ‘Mission Karmayogi’ and the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047’.

Under the agreement, RRU and West Bengal Police will jointly design and deliver capacity-building programmes aligned with operational requirements.

The collaboration will focus on integrating newly-enacted criminal laws into policing practices, developing specialised training modules and strengthening expertise in critical areas.

Training programmes are expected to cover counter-terrorism, cyber-enabled threats, disaster management, investigation procedures and maintenance of public order.

The partnership will also facilitate knowledge exchange, joint research projects and policy-oriented studies intended to support evidence-based policing and the adoption of best practices in law enforcement.

Officials said the initiative is aimed at strengthening institutional capabilities and promoting continuous professional development within the police force, while enhancing preparedness to respond to emerging and increasingly complex security challenges.

–IANS

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