Helicopters ,UAV’s to check crime in 7 major cities

[thestringshredder]

Helicopters with gun-toting commandos and sophisticated surveillance gadgets will soon keep vigil over seven major cities in the country under a Home Ministry project aimed at checking crime.

Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad will get helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles fitted with high-powered cameras, sensors and other surveillance equipment under the Home Ministry’s Safe City Project.

The ministry has said in its latest guidelines that it is essential to have surveillance from air with regard to law and order and other crime-related activities in the cities.

“The air surveillance can be obtained by positioning various equipment i.e. balloons, UAVs, helicopters etc. which should have gadgets like cameras, sensors etc. to cater to specialised requirements on the occasion,” the guidelines said.

The data (video, audio, text) collected from these devices should be fed to the Command Control Centre fornecessary action for both preventive and post-incident

operations.

These elements can also act as a deterrent for criminal elements.

The Home Ministry said the cities should be covered with a network of CCTVs. The network must cover vital public places and critical infrastructure.

It could also cover public places like airports, railway stations, metro stations, bus stations, public hospitals, universities, schools and colleges, major crossings and

roundabout on the roads and important government buildings.

“Special care may be taken to cover areas which are more densely populated or prone to crimes. The CCTV network should be based on wireless system to the extent possible, except in certain places which are important from national security point of view, wherein it may be advisable to share data openly,” the Home Ministry guidelines said.

They said apart from installation of CCTV by government agencies, it is equally important that private sector is also encouraged to play an important role in surveillance.

The ministry suggested that private sector industries and business houses may be exhorted to install similar and compatible CCTV network from where data generated could be transmitted to the central command and control room.

The Safe City Project or Mega City Project was introduced by the government under the Modernisation of Police Forces Scheme in 2005-06. The latest guidelines have been framed with a view to equip police in the mega cities so as to enable them meet to challenges of the modern time.

The Home Ministry said technical upgrading is a key factor in enhancing the efficiency of police.

At the same time, the importance of the human factor, i.e. the man power manning the police system should not be underplayed and it also needs to be upgraded in terms of its capacity by imparting relevant and regular training.

The idea is to have the best combination of man and machine, which can deliver results in the present context of multifaceted challenges faced by the police.

“The final outcome of these guidelines is to ensure proper implementation of the project in the major cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. As a result of this, police will find itself well-equipped for preventing crime and will be better able to respond to and detect crime,” the ministry said.

Link - Helicopters ,UAV’s to check crime in 7 major cities | idrw.org

 

[Brahmos_2]

A much needed move

 

[sancho]

A much needed move

Is it really? More cameras only increase the rate of monitoring of normal people and might only help to prove crimes after they happend, but what's it worth when there are not enough and only weakly equipped policemen on the ground?
26/11 for example would still have happened with helis and UAVs, but a more police men, that could have been deployed faster and with stronger and more capable gear than decades old rifles could have safed a lot of lifes!

 

[Hope4btr]

Is it really? More cameras only increase the rate of monitoring of normal people and might only help to prove crimes after they happend, but what's it worth when there are not enough and only weakly equipped policemen on the ground?
26/11 for example would still have happened with helis and UAVs, but a more police men, that could have been deployed faster and with stronger and more capable gear than decades old rifles could have safed a lot of lifes!

Surveillance is a very essential aspect, in cases like Kidnapping, theft, terrorism, these video footages can used in the following scenarios

1. As evidence of the crime in the court to indite the convict.
2. To identify and capture the assailants at the earliest.
3. To monitor activities of suspects.
4. Provide real-time information to the force on ground , assisting in capture of the criminal or terrorist.
5. Get information of suspected terrorist activities or substance abuse related activities.

Although I also agree on your points, just that its a part of the modernization process and not modernization as a whole.

 

[Parul]

Appreciate but it will protect us from the damages which you BABU'S are doing

 

[Skull and Bones]

Not a necessity of this moment, more emphasis should have been directed towards recruiting more police force, fixed surveillance equipments and modern weapons.

 

[sancho]

Surveillance is a very essential aspect, in cases like Kidnapping, theft, terrorism, these video footages can used in the following scenarios

1. As evidence of the crime in the court to indite the convict.
2. To identify and capture the assailants at the earliest.
3. To monitor activities of suspects.
4. Provide real-time information to the force on ground , assisting in capture of the criminal or terrorist.
5. Get information of suspected terrorist activities or substance abuse related activities.

Although I also agree on your points, just that its a part of the modernization process and not modernization as a whole.

Of course they can be helpful, but that works after the crime has already be commited for example or in a more narrow area, like city of London maybe. I prefer more policemen walking around the streets in duty, which might prevent crimes, before they will be done, especially when we talk about such major cities like Delhi, Mumbai..., which can't be controled that easily anyway. I find it highly irritating that a country with a population of over 1 billion, finds it hard to provide enough men and women for the police forces. So when you don't have the basics, such high techs in support of the police is somewhere questionable to me.

 

[Hope4btr]

Of course they can be helpful, but that works after the crime has already be commited for example or in a more narrow area, like city of London maybe. I prefer more policemen walking around the streets in duty, which might prevent crimes, before they will be done, especially when we talk about such major cities like Delhi, Mumbai..., which can't be controled that easily anyway. I find it highly irritating that a country with a population of over 1 billion, finds it hard to provide enough men and women for the police forces. So when you don't have the basics, such high techs in support of the police is somewhere questionable to me.

The strenght of current police force in almost all states falls short when compared to the required police force. The problem with such organizational issues is that it cannot be changed overnight. It will take years to cover that deficit. The home ministry can issue advisory and directions to the respective states, but its up to the state to acquire additional force depending on the infrastructure and budget. This falls in the concurrent part of the constitution, where both state and Union share the power over police. I am aware that its frustrating but that's how it is...

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Not needed. More policemens are needed. Nothing can replace boots on the ground. Moreover, we need modern weapons, bullet proof jackets, and survellaince cameras. (more importantly operational ones)

 

[janon]

Is it really? More cameras only increase the rate of monitoring of normal people and might only help to prove crimes after they happend, but what's it worth when there are not enough and only weakly equipped policemen on the ground?
26/11 for example would still have happened with helis and UAVs, but a more police men, that could have been deployed faster and with stronger and more capable gear than decades old rifles could have safed a lot of lifes!

You are confusing terrorism and crime. Ordinary crimes are not carried out by terrorists trained to become martyrs, and to do one dramatic act before getting killed. Most crimes in most cities are done by petty criminals, like eve teasing, harassment, pick-pocketing, burglery, assault, and so on. These people ARE afraid of consequences.

The point is that, if these criminals know that they may be on camera, being recorded, most probably they would not do those acts. If one particular area is known to be CCTVed, that area would become safer, because criminals would not dare to do anything in those areas. This is different from the terrorists who do 26/11, because they don't care if they are being recorded - they came to die anyway.

Most criminals do not do their crimes with no regard for consequences. Only suicide attackers do so. So CCTV in crowded places will eb a disincentive for criminals to do crimes, and it will be a valuable toold for law enforcement agencies later to prove criminality in courts, and to get a conviction. So CCTVs can prevent crimes to a large extent.

Not all measures are meant for anti-terrorism. After all, most criminal acts in India are not terrorism related anyway.

(I'm not arguing against more boots on the ground or better equipped police forces. Yes, they are absolutely essential. But from your earlier post, in which you said that CCTVs cannot prevent 26/11s, it seems that you think that these measures are only meant for counter terrorism. They are not. This is essential for crime fighting in general. In most cities of USA that I have lived in, whenever the police chase criminals, they are monitored/assisted by helicopters that monitor and recce the whole scence. It ensures that no criminal gets away.)

 

[indoPunjabi]

We already have hundreds of cctv's covering all major roads, markets, institutions and buildings in Delhi but that monitoring system failed badly due to poor condition and lack of maintenance of cctv cameras. we need more police force , more patrolling vehicles, round the clock patrolling in Delhi.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Is it really? More cameras only increase the rate of monitoring of normal people and might only help to prove crimes after they happend, but what's it worth when there are not enough and only weakly equipped policemen on the ground?
26/11 for example would still have happened with helis and UAVs, but a more police men, that could have been deployed faster and with stronger and more capable gear than decades old rifles could have safed a lot of lifes!

Sir, as @janon pointed out, you are coming at this purely from a terrorism POV. And to ne fair, the shortcomings of 26/11 have been addressed in a BIG way- most states/large cities have well equipped and well trained special response units so there won't be an absurd difference between what response the police give and the NSG do.

However as far as mega city policing is concerned assets like UAVs and Helos are a must these days and India is unforgivably far behind this curve. With some of the largest and most populous mega cities on the planet these assets should have been around years/decades ago.

And wrt purely being reactionary assets, this is not true- a helo copter with a FLIR/EO pod that is tasked with crowd control can see trouble brewing and can coordinate action to stop it. CCTVs can spot criminals when they are "casing" a location or acting suspiciously and can direct action to prevent a crime.


When developed nations are going this way, is it not okay for India to follow their lead and get on the bandwagon- which is still many years too late but better late than never.

 

[sancho]

The point is that, if these criminals know that they may be on camera, being recorded, most probably they would not do those acts.

Not necessarily, because everybody knows that identifying an finding the person on the pics are close to impossible in a country that is so wide spread, where people are not registered properly. How do you expect the police to find someone in a megacity like Dehli, based on a picture only? That might work in major cases, like rapes, or kidnapping, when the picture is released to the media, but obviously won't work for smaller petty cases. Not to mention that most smaller cases might not even be followed, since the work is not worth it for such minor cases.
However my point was, that cameras or surveillance with them is only working in the aftermath of crimes and attacks, but that it's the manpower on the ground that actually can do something against them and that we have to get them to proper levels and equippment first.

In most cities of USA that I have lived in, whenever the police chase criminals, they are monitored/assisted by helicopters that monitor and recce the whole scence. It ensures that no criminal gets away.)

That's what I said, such things works in countries / cities with smaller areas, better registration of the population and so on and even there, look at how many policemen are present in the city of New York and compare that to Indian cities. What will let a thief think twice, a camera or a policemen that stands infront of is target?
More importantly though is, that these cameras can often be missused to collect data of people that are totally harmless and the US is the number 1 country of monitoring and collecting data. Privacy is a right that needs to protect too!

 

[sancho]

When developed nations are going this way, is it not okay for India to follow their lead

Shouldn't we follow their examples first in having a well equipped and manned police force first? Also, only because things works in foreign countries it doesn't mean they work in India as well. I know it from Kerala for example, where more and more workers (construction, farming...) come from Bengal now, since they look for work at low costs. Now suppose they would do a crime and get caught on a tv cam, do you really think there is any chance to catch them afterwards? They are not registered in Kerala, they might not even be in Bengal or whereever they come from, so how do you want to do a trace them based on a picture only?
The Iphone of a friend of mine was recently stolen on a German airport, which is full of cameras as well. But even if the thief was caught on camera (police is still evaluating the pictures), the chances to catch them are low, because if the thiefs are first timers, you don't have any lead. If they are from a professional group, they often changer their members and recently even use underaged kids to do it, since they can't be punished till they are grown up.
So these cameras don't prevent anything, but more policemen spread over the area might have!