NEW DELHI: Delhi Police’s intelligent traffic system is supposed to be Internet protocol based, and all the 800 traffic intersections will be monitored by various cameras. It will consist of traffic-detecting sensors, closed-circuit television cameras and speed-detection radars. All the 800 intersections will be connected via Internet. The system will not only ease traffic management but also automatically detect traffic violators and challan them. The system will also calculate the number of cars at the intersections and accordingly change signals to clear traffic.
“It will have automated online-based traffic management system which will automatically decide the traffic flow at junctions and change the lights. It will also have parking management system wherein a commuter can get information beforehand about the nearest parking lot,” Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander told The Sunday Standard. He also added that the system will automatically ticket people violating traffic norms without any manual involvement.
Shortage of Vehicles: There is acute lack of vehicles with the department. The force needs 2,000 more vehicles worth Rs 120 crore and for that it has sent a proposal, which has almost got a green signal from the ministry, sources said. Each police station has two jeeps, which is around 360, and half of it is in condemned condition. For effective patrolling, the force needs around 2,000 more vehicles. The PCR has just 859 vehicles and the department needs around 1,000 more vehicles so that they can attend serious crime calls.
PCR Modernisation a Priority: The Delhi Police’s idea of reducing the response time of Police Control Room vehicles by equipping them with the latest technology needs upgradation of the Control Room. The Delhi Police’s Operations Department had made a proposal of procuring a notebook-like device called toughbook that can act as the first responder to any call besides acting as an intelligence unit for the department. “Apart from receiving text messages on screen, the toughbook also receives and transmits audio and video messages. It is a GPS and GPRS-enabled system used for transferring all types of commands,” said a senior police officer.
A toughbook is a GPS-enabled device which can be connected to the central control room. As soon as a call is made on the number 100, the same message will be flashed on the screen of the toughbook and the PCR van which is nearest the crime spot will be able to attend to the call.
For that the police force has to set up a new control room first as the existing control room needs to be updated.
The force has been seeking additional grants from the Centre for the last three years but various proposals have been gathering dust. Due to lack of funds, the Delhi Police had been unable to install close circuit cameras, buy new weapons, vehicles and upgrade technology and build new police stations. While the force’s work satisfaction level is just 18.62 per cent, the ministry is not taking any serious steps to increase it. For the entire police force, there are just 15,748 houses and proposal to construct 6,486 new quarters at Dheerpur under private-public partnership is still stuck.
Increase in Crime Rate a Set Back: The crime rate increased by 100 per cent last year compared to 2013—1,55,654 cases were registered in 2014 against 80,184 cases the previous year. In the last two months, 28,056 cases have been registered including rape, murder and robbery. Shockingly, 16 robberies, 25 snatchings, 70 carjackings and 35 burglaries are happening every day.
Police are tasked to secure an area of 1,483 square km and safeguard lives of 1.86 crore population with a strength of 77,894 personnel but more than half of them are deployed for VVIP security. With only 30,891 personnel available for law and order duty, police are expected to also secure 1,642 unauthorised colonies, around 2,000 slums, and 33,198 km roads. Not only that, the traffic police is responsible to monitor 85 lakh registered vehicles.
Ill-equipped Force: Considered to be one of the elite police forces in the country, its bomb disposal squads are in a shambles. There are 13 bomb detection and four bomb disposal teams under on papers and but strangely, because of lack of bomb detection equipment, the personnel have been diverted to other departments. The squad lacks adequate manpower and infrastructure, and personnel with specialised skills. Though the city has witnessed 15 terror bomb blasts, the bomb disposal squad was never strengthened nor were gadgets purchased due to lack of funds. The sanctioned strength of a bomb disposal squad is three inspector-level officers, seven sub-inspectors, eleven head constables, seven constables, three drivers and a bomb detection team. But it is making do with two inspectors, four sub-inspectors, four head constables, four constables and two drivers. These factors make it lag far behind India’s best bomb disposal squads belonging to the army and the NSG. Since the police bomb squad does not have technical hands like engineers, it has to depend on the NSG and army most of the time.
Similarly, the 11 crime teams, which are back bone of any force, do not have equipment to lift forensic evidences and click pictures. They are dependent on private people to take the pictures and videograph the crime spots. Due to lack of basic infrastructure, most of the crucial evidences get lost making tough for investigators to crack the cases. There is lack of vehicles; it is often seen that the constabulary unit takes the arrested accused to the courts on their personal bikes.
Many community policing schemes like Parivartan, Yuva, Aapka Update have been abandoned also due to lack of funds.
Realising the crisis within the force, sources said, the home ministry has taken a decision to grant additional budget for Delhi Police’s Safe City Project, Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) and procurement of 2,000 new vehicles but the entire process already delayed will take another three years and will be completed in four phases. The Safe City Project is worth Rs 1,258 crore and the ITMS is worth Rs 441 crore. For capacity building, Rs 12 crore and for purchasing 2,000 vehicles Rs 120 crore and for other initiatives Rs 30 crore are required. The ministry has also approved Rs 600 crore for upgrading PCR department and training facilities, sources said. The proposal to add 20,000 manpower is almost considered by the ministry.
“These state-of-the-art technologies will be an invaluable aid to force,” said a senior police officer.
Safe City Project Woes: The Rs 1,258-crore project will put the entire criminal database in the hands of the police on duty through the latest IT tools and monitor public places through a wide network of CCTVs.
The plan covers everything from video analytics to facial scanning and when it is implemented, the system will enable personnel to run a background check on any suspicious person or vehicle anywhere in the city. Other components of the system will help in detecting explosives, alerting about perimeter intrusion, reading biometrics and even analysing prisoner movement and digital crime mapping.
The most important part of the Safe City Project is Integrated Intelligent Surveillance Systems. As per the system, all officers on the road will use hand-held personal digital assistant (PDA) devices that are no less than a computer. The PDAs will have online access, enabling an officer to check whether the car he has hailed for inspection is stolen or the driver has a crime record.