Artificial Intelligence to drones to CCTVs: Delhi Police plans big changes this year

Delhi Police, which got a steep Rs 1,700-cr hike in Budget 22-23 is set to invest big on technology. Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana spoke to Rahul Tripathi on structural changes effected thus far and future plans, including use of drones and artificial intelligence. Excerpts:

On Budget increase
Delhi Police has been allocated Rs 10,355.29 crores. This is Rs 1,701.03 crores more than last year. Of this, Rs 287 cr will be utilised for installing CCTV security surveillance system across Delhi, procurement of advanced equipment for law and order, upgradation of communication system like cyber highways and digital trunking radio system. Additionally, Rs 259 cr will be utilised for construction of police infrastructure.


On purchase and use of new technology in policing
Safe city project and use of AI is a priority initiative for us. Our Integrated Command & Control Centre is one of the leading setups of the world. Use of Drones, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and predictive policing is an integral part of our crime control and mitigation strategy. Besides this, high tech gadgets and vehicles fitted with advanced cameras are being used to conduct operations centrally from the control centre. We will expand this in a big way.

On Women safety
WomenRs s safety and security along with those of other vulnerable groups is of utmost priority to us. Street crime against women starts with stalking on the street and if not nipped in the bud may lead to serious offences such as molestation or rape. We have identified over 891 shadow areas and 303 weak mobile signal spots. Besides, 84 facilitation centres have been set up and 33 more proposed. Pink booths with women police have are already operational in North and North West districts. Night domination plans, where majority police station staff, start patrolling after sunset have been also been implemented.

On agitation like Shaheen Bagh and farmers protest
Peaceful protest is a democratic right of every individual but one is not allowed to take law into their own hands or provoke a gathering through hate speeches. This will be dealt with as per law. We will strive to ensure that there is no recurrence of incidents similar to Shaheen Bagh or farmers protests in the future. We have starting deploying technological solutions such as facial recognition software and CCTVs surveillance to keep a watch on troublemakers during protests.

On Delhi riots probe
During Delhi Riots, 758 FIRs were registered and more than 2,400 persons were arrested. Among them 1,053 have been granted bail while 1,356 are still in judicial custody. Charges have been framed in 97 cases. The matter is subjudice.

On extremist threats
We have reorganised Special Cell into specialized verticals focused on countering foreign-sponsored groups, drug cartels, illegal arms traders, and other organized syndicates. A new unit called NTOC (Narco-Terror, Organized Crime) has been created to act against financial aspects of narcotics syndicates and their networks used for facilitating, perpetrating and hiding proceeds of crime earned from acts of Narco-terrorism. The Counter Intelligence Unit has been strengthened with technical capabilities to pre-empt terrorist, disruptive, subterfuge, sabotage and espionage activities by hostile and proscribed states and non-state characters. Further, the Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) has been strengthened to tackle emerging cybercrimes, enhanced monitoring of activities on Dark Web, and for more effective deployment of data analytics for creating actionable inputs.

On the rising crime graph and police control room response
Our restructuring of the police control room (PCR) has helped improve response time from 8 mins to 4 mins. PCR vehicles and staff have been merged with police stations which has augmented the strength of a local thana by 7,000 personnel, across Delhi. Actual PCR calls of robbery reduced by 61% from 2020 into 2021. The conversion of these calls into FIRs increased by 183%.

On Information warfare
Information warfare is part of Delhi PoliceRs s Vision 2030 plan. Recently, when an incident of gangrape took place in Shahdara, social media was abuzz about the suicide of the girl. We immediately countered this on social media with facts. Today we have a dedicated team to counter fake news. Social media platforms like You Tube, Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter are very cooperative.