Wireless lines unclogged as police warm up to email

Wireless communication works at two levels,with one channel used only by the senior IPS cadre for urgent operational details,and the second available for police personnel to report and update what is happening in their field.

Police stations also have the additional duty of reporting daily crime to the control room in two separate shifts,one in the morning and the other in the evening. This reporting covers details of every FIR and NC registered in all police stations.

“Everyday,all 21 police stations would clog the control room wireless and phones as they awaited their turn to report their crime sheets. The duty officer has a list of records at the police station,and had to report by wireless every aspect,right from the case number,the accused,the victims,the spot of crime and sections charged,to a synopsis of the case. This would clog the wireless with the channels remaining sometimes inaccessible for quick operational updates,” said Agrawal.

“The burden on the officers at both ends of the channel was another aspect as not only was the channel clogged,there was also duplication of work and an overall burden of lack of time and efficiency for other policing activities,” he added. With a background in engineering and management,and an intent of replicating the “positives of a paperless environment” from the corporate world,Agrawal has promoted email as a means to communicate case updates.

A new inbox,with the password available only to specific officers,sees all 21 police stations sending daily update by 9.30 am,under a file name “all-is-well”,to the control room. Separate folders are marked for important cases like arrests,and also other policing activities.

The system is designed in a fashion that “accountability and deadlines” are in place.

“This is the beginning,so we have back-ups maintained. The wireless channel has seen a drastic difference,with the lines now available for urgent and important communication like spot reporting. It has also started showing results in the operational structure,with officers no longer burdened by administrative hassles and getting more time for police operations,” Agrawal said.