A first: PCR vans fitted with cameras in Patiala

Tribune News Service

Aman Sood

Patiala, August 1

To ensure that senior officers continue to deal with people visiting their offices and simultaneously keep tabs on the law and order situation, the Patiala police have started installing CCTV cameras on the police control room (PCR) vans.

Live feed to seniors

• Senior cops will get live feed on their mobile phones
• Will help keep tabs on on-duty police personnel and anti-social elements

Tabs on ‘risky’ spots

Besides the live monitoring of law and order situation, the PCR vans will keep tabs on vulnerable locations such as religious places and stadia during events. Deepak Pareek, SSP

These vans, first of its kind in Punjab, will be enabled to send live feed that will be available to all senior police officials on their mobile phones.

SSP Deepak Pareek, the brainchild behind the initiative, said making the best use of technology, all four-wheeler PCR vans and traffic vehicles had been equipped with CCTV cameras now.

“The advantage of having PCR vans fitted with cameras is that we can watch the live status of the police personnel deployed on duty at various places on my mobile phone. It helps us keep tabs on the anti-social elements and also ensure that the recordings are available instantly in case of any crime,” said the 2014-batch IPS officer.

“This is also being done to keep tabs on the movement of the police vehicles using an application and to take swift action in case of any untoward situation. During the festive season, instead of deputing more personnel, we can keep an eye on the activities and movement in areas with high footfall through these cameras,” the SSP said, adding that the project was in its initial stage and was proving to be helpful.

Interestingly, while the district administration, the police and the Municipal Corporation have spent a lot on the installation of the CCTV cameras around the city, a majority of them are not working due to some technical glitch or unpaid Internet bills. In such a situation, the PCR vans fitted with cameras can come handy even while chasing criminals or for special operations and encounters.

Talking to The Tribune, the SSP said: “The cameras will also show whether the specific vehicle is moving or standing at a place. These will, however, act as deterrent to the PCR and traffic cops as their movement will be live on the mobile phones of their seniors and they will have to remain alert on duty.”

He further said with these cameras, the police would also get the video evidence of any situation.

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