Bhubaneswar: The Odisha govt has decided to set up 31 new tourist police cells (TPCs) at 29 major destinations across the state to strengthen security and provide dedicated assistance to visitors.The new cells will function under the administrative control of the Odisha police, while the tourism department will bear the salary expenses of personnel deployed under the initiative.“As per the tourism department’s plan, 400 personnel of different ranks will be posted at the proposed 31 tourist police cells,” a senior police officer said.The TPCs will operate in two shifts, with at least one woman police officer deployed in each shift to handle complaints and assist women tourists.“As the recruitment process for the proposed 400 regular posts is likely to take time, we plan to engage 300 retired police and defence personnel as special police officers (SPOs) as an interim arrangement. SPs will be asked to initiate the selection process for SPOs,” the officer said.The tourism department will arrange specialised training and capacity-building programmes for the SPOs and other police personnel deployed at the cells through the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM), Bhubaneswar.Odisha currently has eight tourist police cells, which have been functioning since 2015. Three are located in Bhubaneswar at Lingaraj, Dhauli and Nandankanan police stations, while three operate in Puri at Sea Beach, Konark and Brahmagiri police stations. Besides, one cell each is functioning at Gopalpur and Chandipur police stations.However, the existing TPCs have been struggling with staff shortages and inadequate infrastructure. Though each cell has a sanctioned strength of at least one sub-inspector, one assistant sub-inspector and six constables, they are functioning with only around half of the authorised manpower, police sources said.At present, the tourist police units primarily deal with complaints involving theft, snatching and robbery of tourists’ belongings, besides instances of harassment, particularly in Puri and Bhubaneswar.The Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) had prepared a ‘Tourist Police Scheme’ report in 2022, advising states to develop standard operating procedures, implement training for ‘tourist cops’, and establish uniform guidelines.Despite the growing tourist footfall, police said tourist-related crime in Odisha remains relatively low. “The molestation of a Swedish woman near Lingaraj Temple in 2024 was the only crime against a foreign tourist reported in the state in the last four years. The accused was convicted within three weeks. Cases of theft and snatching involving domestic tourists are also minimal,” the officer said.