Nagpur Police to allot staff on data, fit tracking devices on 130 patrol teams

Policing in Nagpur city is moving away from the old way of working towards one driven by data and need. Separate data has been prepared for every police station in the city on 19 parameters, including crime, preventive action, emergency calls and available manpower.

This data will decide which police station needs additional personnel, vehicles and other resources. Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangare Patil gave the details at a "Meet the Press" programme on Thursday. He said resources should be distributed according to the actual workload rather than giving all stations equal manpower.

He gave an example. The Hudkeshwar police station area receives about 683 calls a month on 112, while Bajajnagar receives about 110. Giving both stations the same manpower would not be right, he said.

According to the Commissioner, policing is being rebuilt keeping in view the geography of Nagpur district and the nature of crime. On the lines of Mumbai, the plan is to divide the different tasks of urban policing among inspectors, second inspectors and assistant inspectors, so that full attention can go to investigation as well as law and order.

The process of assigning police personnel work according to their education and skills has begun. In the Economic Offences Wing, staff with a commerce background will be preferred. In cyber crime investigation, personnel who have studied computer science and BCA will get priority. The emphasis will be on personnel becoming specialists in their own field.

For women's safety, 12 Nirbhaya squads led by women officers have been deployed. There is also a plan to give additional manpower to busy police stations as needed.

An analysis of burglary and vehicle theft cases showed that offenders are more active between 3 am and 5 am. Patrolling at this time will therefore be made more effective. Police assistance groups will be formed in residential areas to involve local security guards as well.

At the police station level, the responsibilities of the senior police inspector, the crime police inspector and the sub-inspector will be defined, so that patrolling and investigation are strengthened at separate levels.

To strengthen beat policing, mobile tracking devices are being fitted on the city's 130 patrol teams. This will allow the teams' movements and the actual police presence in their areas to be monitored. Beat marshals play an important role in gathering ground-level information on crime, so the system is being made more capable.