Delhi Police all set for 'tech-tonic' shift

Force will introduce more CCTV cameras and advanced finger and palm print systems to fight crime in the city

Force will introduce more CCTV cameras and advanced finger and palm print systems to fight crime in the city

The Delhi police will get all the more tech-savvyu00a0 in the coming year to curb the rising crime graph and enhance the efficiency of the functioning of the force.u00a0u00a0

His many moods: Delhi Police Commissioner Brijesh Kumar Gupta
addresses the department's annual press conference. Pic/rajeev Tyagi

Outlining the new projects that it intends to start, Police Commissioner BK Gupta said that the prime one was to install CCTV cameras at every corner of the capital.

"CCTV footage helped us crack several sensational cases like the Dhaula Kuan gangrape case last year. So we have planned to install more CCTV cameras across the capital. The cameras will be put up in 55 markets and 27 border post of the city" Gupta said while addressing the annual press conference. At present CCTV cameras are installed at 18 markets and 2 border check posts.

Talking sense
To enhance the communication and coordination between senior officers and SHOs"u00a0 video conferencing facilities will be provided at all police stations. The facility will also be used to enable any complainant interact with the top official right from the police station itself. "The video conferencing room will be connected with C4I room of police headquarter that was established during CWG to keep a close watch on major parts of the capital." said Gupta.

Touch and go
All the police stations will now be provided with latest finger and palm print systems. "Earlier" the accused had to be taken to area DCP'su00a0 officeu00a0 for fingerprint identification. Now this facility will be available at all police stations" the police chief said.
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Crimes go up

The number of crimes reported in the capital rose to 52"675 from the previous year's 50"972" with increase in cases of rape" molestation" robbery" snatching" motor vehicle theft and kidnapping.
This is for the first time since 2007 that the number of crimes showed a growing trend in the capital. In 2006" the number was 84"484" while the next year saw 74"111 cases. The year 2008 saw a drastic drop to 53"072.
However" Police Commissioner B K Gupta sought to downplay the rise in numbers saying crime per lakh population is the lowest in the past ten years. In 2001" the crime per lakh population was 392.66" the highest in ten years" while the figure for last year was 275.66. Twenty-six out of 155 police stations" mainly in Outer and south-west districts like Rohini" Mongolpuri and Dwarka" account for about 50 per cent of the crimes committed in the capital" he said.

Now cops in sedans

To address the problem of PCR vans not reacting appropriately when called by public, the Delhi Police will soon introduce a new squad on the road.
The squad will consist of a sub inspector and a head constable who besides being armed will also be well-trained to deal with various situations. And instead of usual Maruti Gypsys, the squad will use sedans like Hyundai Accent or Maruti Esteemu00a0 for more effective response
The police chief also admitted that because lot of cops were not able to converse in English, they were not able to react to the situation effectively. Giving an example, he said that during Dhaula Kuan gangrape incident, when one of the girls called up PCR, she was speaking in English but unfortunately the constable who attended the call was not conversant with the language. "The constable spent around ten minutes to understand what the girl was trying to say. These ten minutes delayed the police action by 20 minutes. So we are now taking some steps in removing such barriers too," said Gupta.

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It's all in the hand

The Fingerprint bureau of Delhi police has a fully computerised database of 1"97"682 criminals. During last year this record was updated. Last year Delhi police arrested culprits in 31 cases and after checking their fingerprints found out the accused were involved in numerous other cases too.

The sharp end

It might sound bizarre but if Delhi Police records and observations of its officers are to be believed" sharp-edged instruments like knives are the preferred weapons in the murders that occur around the city.
According to Delhi Police records" sharp-edged weapon were used in 41 percent cases of murder in 2010 while firearms were used only in 13 percent cases.
A police official on condition of anonymity said that criminals use knives and other sharp-edge weapons to avoid several sections of IPC that will be invoked against them if they commit crime with firearms. "Criminals know that if firearms are used in the crime" police will take them as members of some gang and question them accordingly about the origin of arms. Police will also go on trail of arms suppliers and so apart from Section 302 of IPC" the accused will be booked under other sections too. To avoid this they use sharp-edged weapons" said the official. "Also" a gun would cost a person around Rs 2,000 while any sharp-edged weapon can be procured in less than Rs 100. Buying any firearms will also mean the accused intended to commit a murder while if sharp-edged weapon is used" it can always be claimed that it was meant for self defence" the official added.