New in the New Year | Safe City Project: 10,000 AI cameras with distress detection technology to watch over Delhi soon

Three technology companies have been awarded tenders for the project. It is being funded by the Centre under the Nirbhaya Fund — the estimated cost being around Rs 800 crore.

A senior police officer said that at least 32 data sets — including those from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), criminal dossiers, the VAHAN portal, and ZIPNET — are being integrated into the Safe City system. Besides, two mobile command and control vehicles will be deployed under the project.

At least 88 Prakhar Vans equipped with mobile data terminals, communication devices, body-worn cameras, vehicle-mounted cameras, and a global positioning system (GPS) are also part of this project.

The officer said that the installation of CCTV cameras is almost complete, while the integration of all databases and real-time testing are currently underway.

“The system will be designed in such a way that whenever a person in distress makes a sign, gesture, or sound, the AI technology will detect it and immediately raise an alarm at the control room, which we have named the C4i (Command, Control, Communication, Computing and Intelligence) Centre,” the officer said

Explaining the delay, the officer said that new technological upgrades are introduced every few months. “However, we hope to complete the work in the next few months, and the project may be launched next year,” the officer added.

The installation of cameras began in the riot-affected Northeast district and was later expanded to cover the entire city, the officer further said.

The police are also working on ITMS (Intelligent Traffic Management System) to improve the traffic condition in real time. The police department is also working on the installation of 500 ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras at major intersections across the city. The ITMS may be rolled out in a few months, another officer said.

Projects in pipeline

There are 26 other infrastructure projects in the pipeline aimed at strengthening the police force. In October this year, the Union Home Ministry sanctioned Rs 653.46 crore for these projects.

The approved projects include the construction of 18 police station buildings, 7 police posts, 1 women’s hostel and 180 staff quarters. These projects aim to provide modern, well-equipped and gender-sensitive facilities to improve the working and living conditions of police personnel. All these projects will be executed by the Central Public Works Department.