Cops will now patrol city streets in swanky, faster Maruti Ertiga

The Bengaluru police will shortly get fully-loaded Maruti Ertiga cars and phase out most of the old-style Hoysala patrol vehicles. 

For more than a decade now, the police have been using the sturdy Mahindra Bolero jeeps. They will now get 220 swanky, faster Maruti Ertiga cars, a top police officer said, wishing anonymity. 

The current patrol vehicles are too old. Vehicles which are not in good condition will be scrapped, while those which only a few years old will be retained. 

Every new vehicle will be fitted with a surveillance camera, Global Positioning System (GPS) with real-time mapping, loudspeaker, navigator, first aid kit and walkie-talkie. “It’s a long-pending demand. We are discussing it. Most police stations complain that old vehicles need frequent repair. The vehicles break down midway and patrolling policemen have nothing but to wait,” the officer said. “So, we requested the government to give us new vehicles.” 

The police top brass first zeroed in on Toyota Innova but since the multi-purpose vehicles is expensive, Maruti Ertiga emerged as an affordable option. Another top police officer, however, said that if the top brass could find a better and spacious vehicle that could serve the police well for patrolling, that might be considered as well. For now, it is Ertiga, the officer said. 

Another senior police officer said, “Currently, there are 184 Hoysala patrol vehicles in the city. That means, almost one vehicle per station and two for stations having a bigger jurisdiction. Now, when they get new vehicles, the number of patrol vehicles will go up. This will help the police to patrol more intensely.” 

According to the officer, the police are also working on a system to track the movement of patrol vehicles with the help of GPS. A person sitting in the police station will be able to keep a track of where exactly the patrol vehicle is moving.

The police in Mumbai are already using Maruti Ertiga for patrol. In Bengaluru, the new vehicles will be stationed at crime-prone spots for immediate action, he added.