Cops go high-tech to manage Deepavali crowd in T Nagar

While 750 CCTV cameras have been installed in Mambalam and Pondy Bazaar police station limits, 10 of them equipped with face-detection technology have been placed in congested areas such as Ranganthan street, T Nagar bus terminus and Usman Road. These cameras can identify the known offenders by matching their faces with criminal database and send alerts to police personnel. 

These apart, crowded streets and roads will be monitored by a drone equipped with cameras and police can view the footage in real time from the control room. This is the first-time drone is being used for surveillance. It would hover over the busy streets to keep crime under check, said Additional Commissioner (South) Mahesh Kumar Agarwal.   

Three small control rooms to attend emergency calls, eight CCTV control rooms, seven watchtowers and five help centres have been set up to ensure that Deepavali shopping remains a pleasant experience for the public. Waiting halls have also been erected for people.

With just 10 days left for Deepavali, the entire set up became functional from Saturday and was inaugurated by City Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan. 

The Commissioner also issued special jackets to 15 beat police personnel on Saturday. With facilities such as Global Positioning System (GPS), cameras and high-beam torchlight, the jackets are expected to make patrolling more efficient. The cameras will be on whenever the personnel are on duty and the visuals captured can be viewed in real time by the inspector or other officers at the police station. The footage will also be saved at the station. 

In case of an emergency, the location of the cop will be established with the help of GPS and additional strength can be rushed to the spot. As police-public confrontation is on the rise, the jacket with camera facilities will help the police deal with such incidents in a better way.