Now, GPS will help police arrive on time

Now, GPS will help police arrive on time
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Soon, the moment you dial 100, the city police will be able to land at your doorstep probably even before you could put the receiver down. The State police are currently working on a GPS-based auto-vehicle tracking system for control rooms to reduce response time while attending a call.

The system requires a digitised map of the city. The police say that anybody in distress can dial 100 and the operators will instantly know which patrol vehicle is closest to the caller. For instance, if a call comes in from Frazer Town police limits, chances are that the Hoysala attached to the Shivajinagar police station is closer to the spot.

So the control room operator will relay the message to it. With GPS, the control room can even guide them to the exact location. If the situation demands, more than one vehicle can be rushed for help.

“In principle, the proposal has been accepted. The system is in place in cities like Chennai. We will study it and enhance the existing facilities,” DGP K.R. Srinivasan, who heads the Telecommunications, Transport and Modernisation Wing, told this website’s newspaper.

“Earlier we had a Dial-100 system. Now we are linking the telephone number and directory so that the moment the caller's number is displayed, the address is also available. With an integrated auto-vehicle tracking system, the response time will be minimal,” he said.

The BMTC is at present using a system to track their vehicles but they do not have wireless sets for communication. The police are now working out the feasibility of such a tracking system.

But apart from crime, senior officers envisage that the system will help them serve people in a far more humane way. “Like in Western countries, if a child locks himself out of the house and needs help, then he can turn to such a helpline for help,” Srinivasan said.