Twitter Seva is a service offered by Twitter, exclusively to government ministries or departments that are interested in building a direct grievance mechanism for the public. This service has been adopted successfully and efficiently by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police Department for grievance redressal as well as to build a positive image of the UP Police. The software has been specially customised by Twitter for the UP Police with the capability to generate analytics and monitor the performance of various districts.
As part of the initiative, the DGP Headquarters — along with the district, range, zones in the states — have all been assigned specific Twitter handles — a total of 122 — which work seamlessly, in an automated manner, with direct links with the DGP Headquarters that monitors Twitter Seva 24×7. When a grievance is received by the UP Police via Twitter, those managing the Twitter Seva in the department can redirect the tweet to the relevant handle internally and initiate faster action on the complaint. The initiative has led to an increased sense of safety and security in the state and the image of the UP Police as a force ready to act on complaints. The ease of access to the police has also led to increased communication between the police and the public. The police’s presence on Twitter has also led to more accountability, transparency and efficiency in the department.