Field officers to be monitored: SSP

A constant tab will also be kept at the locations of PCR and SHOs’ vehicles,through the Global Positioning Tracking System installed in these vehicles. At the two-hour meeting,Naunihal Singh warned all concerned field officers,including deputy superintendents of police and station house officers,that in case heinous crimes continues in their respective areas,they would be held accountable.

The police control room would be monitoring the patrolling locations of all field officers,including SHOs and police post in-charges. All field officers have been asked not to change their locations without intimating or informing the police control room.

The system was not in place previously and SHOs and police post in-charges were giving their locations to the police control room only when asked. Under the new system,any location change would first have to be intimated to the control room.

According to statistics maintained by the Chandigarh Police,over the past few months the city has seen a sudden rise in the crime rate. Be it spate of robberies in showrooms during night hours or carjackings or spate of snatchings or even vehicle thefts,the city police have not been able to crack down on the culprits,who have been active in the city for the last few months and have been committing a spate of thefts,burglaries and snatchings.

Despite all the specialised wings,including Operations Cell,Crime Branch and Special Crime Investigation Cell,the output has not been up to the mark as far as such crimes are concerned.

“Field officers have been instructed to dominate their areas and check on habitual offenders. Everybody has a grouse that they are short of manpower and men have been transferred out of police stations to the police control room. This cannot be taken as an excuse,as transferring out a mere seven or eight per cent out of each police station does not mean that crime will shoot up all of a sudden. We have a good responsible force and I am sure,they will do well. Police officers are accountable to the public and,thus,need to remain alert,” said Naunihal Singh.