Indian police officers hit the beat in South Yorkshire

Thirty officers from the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh made the long journey to see how things are done in the UK.

They spent five days visiting various departments within South Yorkshire Police, from the cyber-crime unit and mounted division to neighbourhood policing teams, and met the force’s chief constable Stephen Watson and deputy chief constable Mark Roberts.

The visit was organised by Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice, which has previously collaborated with four Indian state police forces to improve access to justice for female victims of violence.

That project led to a commitment by Madhya Pradesh Police to open 51 one-stop crisis centres for women and children across the state, and the force has continued to work with the centre to improve policing.

Sheffield Hallam said it hoped the latest visit would help both forces learn from one another.

Dr Sunita Toor, of the Helena Kennedy Centre, said: "It has been a fantastic few days for our visitors and also South Yorkshire Police officers. Both have thoroughly participated and engaged with the visit.

"It's exciting that we are helping to foster a meaningful international partnership between Madhya Pradesh Police and South Yorkshire Police - we're looking forward to doing many more visits like this in the future. I’m excited to see where we can take this collaboration - helping to build stronger communities both at home and across the world.”

Mr Roberts said: “As well as being a good opportunity to share our good practice with colleagues from India, it’s enabled us to see what we can learn from them.

“These officers police over 70 million people, across an area the size of England and Wales combined. It’s been eye-opening to hear about the challenges they face and the incredible ways they are able to utilise technology to enable them to meet their demand.”