Hi-tech Hoysalas infuse new energy in patrol squads, aid troubleshooting

BENGALURU: It's 10 AM. Constables Rajappa K and Gangamurthy from Nandini Layout police station are seated in their brand new Hoysala-139, stationed on the Outer Ring Road stretch linking Tumakuru Road and Magadi Road. They receive a message on their tablet alerting them about the gridlock near Dr Rajkumar Memorial in Kanteerava Studio. A sand truck has gone kaput in the middle of the road, bringing traffic to a standstill.
There is no way the patrol vehicle can reach the epicentre of the chaos, given the snarls. But the cops have to find a solution and the tablet comes to their rescue. Using Google maps, the gadget shows them an alternative route. As the Hoysala reaches the spot in 10 minutes and resolves the problem, officials tracking the vehicle through GPRS heave a sigh of relief. The Hoysala policemen, meanwhile, use the tablet to send pictures of the normalized situation and return to their assigned spot.
There's a fresh energy among patrol teams in the city, thanks to the new fleet and the new command and control centre, located in the police commissioner's office, that that makes their deployment and monitoring easy. Hoysala crew are allotted spots across the city where the vehicles are parked round the clock; they rush to the scene of trouble on receiving calls.
A high school girl, who was fed up with her squabbling parents and feared calling police thinking she may alert her parents, sent a WhatsApp message to a senior police official, seeking his help. The elaborate message described how the fights were making her depressed. She desperately needed counselling. "Along with Hoysala crew, we sent women police officials and counsellors to her house. Our intervention has made a big difference in their lives," said a police officer.
In all, police have 278 Hoysala vehicles, of which 222 are new. Each vehicle is allotted six points and has to be stationed at one of them. Every move of the vehicle is tracked on a huge screen at the command centre.
1,668 spots covered every day
"With the new system in place, we are able to cover 1,668 points per day. Before allocating the points, we take into consideration the area, crime statistics, repeated offenses and population. While three points are fixed for day duty, three are assigned for night patrolling," said top cop NS Megharikh.
DCP, central command, Nagendra Kumar said the new vehicles are linked to social media. "Any complaint lodged via Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, email and other form of social media will reach the command centre and we will forward it to the Hoysalas. It takes merely five minutes," he said.
How system works
The command and control centre is part of a nationwide movement to come up with a unified emergency response system to cater to all types of distress calls. It has a dedicated desk with 15 policemen, including women, to receive complaints. These officials are well-trained to handle social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. Once a complaint is filed with the command centre, the nearest Hoysala vehicles (at least three or four) are alerted.
On receiving the complaint, an indicator glows on the vehicle's icon. A flag is raised against the vehicle with preliminary details like the nature of complaint and the time of occurrence. The flag is deleted once the issue is satisfactorily resolved and the case details are stored in a dedicated folder. The details are forwarded to jurisdictional police stations and senior officers, including the deputy commissioner of police.
Besides reporting and rushing to spots, Hoysala crew have to submit a closure report. "We have to brief officials at the command centre about the incident, action taken and click pictures whenever needed. Before handing over the case to the local police station, we have to submit a report to the centre," A policeman said.