Delhi Police to start air surveillance for proper patrolling of Delhi

NEW DELHI: Few would disagree that 1,000 vans are too inadequate to patrol a city spread over 1,484sq kms and with a population of 1.65 crore. However, Friday's air patrol initiative could change the way Delhi Police has been handling law and order and crime situations in the capital so far. Top cop B S Bassi seems confident as he said that chopper-aided policing would not remain a one-time experiment.

“All over the world, police organizations use choppers for crime prevention, apprehension of criminals, law and order and crowd control, traffic management, evacuation and rapid force deployment. I have no doubt that choppers shall be useful in policing the capital,“ Bassi told TOI. Sources say the police brass is awaiting necessary approvals in this regard.

Senior officers, who have visited western countries on exchange programmes, are surprised that the largest metropolitan force in the world has remained dependent solely on force deployment on the ground. “Aerial policing or police aviation is alien to Delhi and the rest of the country but it is a major part of police agencies in the west. The US was first to establish a police aviation unit in 1929 in Brooklyn, New York. NYPD and LAPD depend a lot on patrol choppers for situations ranging from crowd control to ferrying accident victims or even dangerous inmates,“ said an officer.

Reports suggest that LAPD's choppers hover around for 18,000 flight hours each year. They provide backup for cops on the ground during hot pursuits and even act as air ambulance. According to data, choppers helped in one out of seven arrests of serious criminals in 2011 and led to recovery of around 50 stolen vehicles.

Most police agencies in western countries have a separate wing, which deals with aerial surveillance and tracking. For example, Police Aviation in the UK helps the British police with aerial support unit and assists them in pursuits and other situa tions. UK has at least 14 aerial policing units spread across various regions. Australia too has a unit named Victoria Air Police wing. The US uses the most advanced choppers in aerial policing. NYPD's air support division now uses a few of the twin-engine Bell 429 patrol helicopters replacing the older A119 Koala.

In Delhi, choppers can be used to keep an eye on the borders and track down suspects fleeing to other states.

Delhi shares its borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh making it more vulnerable from exodus of criminals. Incidents like riots, flash mobs and build-up of sudden crowd at VIP or secured installations can well be avoided through chopper surveillance.

However, the officials will have to keep the cost effectiveness of these sorties in mind as well. For instance, the LAPD police spent $1,056 an hour on choppers. Friday's four-hour-long flight cost Delhi Police around Rs 4.5 lakh, sources said.

Frequent usage would mean shelling out a substantial sum from the police budget which eventually will need to be augmented.