GPS for Guwahati police

Guwahati, Assam: City police will soon have global positioning system (GPS)-aided facility for quick responses to emergency situations. It is part of the computer-aided dispatch system (CADS) launched in 2008.A US-based company, InterAct Public Safety Systems, a provider of comprehensive public safety and homeland security solutions, has already started work on the new system for the police, which is expected to be completed within three months. Work on the project started in December last year, a source in the home department here said. Once complete, the computer-aided dispatch system will be like cities in the US and Canada which have this system for faster response to emergencies. “Installation of hardware and software, electronic mapping of the city and plotting of about 1 lakh land telephone lines have already been completed,” a senior home department official said. He said in the first phase, GPS service would be introduced only to the land phone lines but there are plans also to include the global system mobile (GSM) communications and code division multiple access (CDMA) systems subsequently. “There is a question of availability of funds,” he said adding that if the system clicked and achieved its desired objective, other key towns in the state would also be brought under it. The official said initially about 30 patrol vehicles in the city would be fitted with GPS and would be monitored from the police control room. “We expect that introduction of this new technology would enable swifter responses,” the official said.The geographic information system (GIS) map will be able to show the movement of the 30 vehicles live and the base map would have landmarks like roads, railway lines, buildings, locality, police stations, road intersections. “The GIS will be capable of working with the dial 100 application and would display the respective locality of the origin of the telephone call on the screen. The operator at the control room can immediately inform the nearest patrol vehicle from where the phone call had come,” the official said. The entire operation will work under a BSNL server, the official added. The official said the introduction of the GPS system wo-uld also help city police work with minimum manpower. “It will not only help keep an eye on the movement of the patrolling vehicles but also accurately guide them to the spot when an incident takes place in quick time,” he said. Sources said another big advantage of introducing the GPS system would be that no policeman on patrol duty could lie now since the movement of his vehicle would be monitored round the clock. “Many officers do not visit vulnerable areas despite strict orders to do so. There was no way we could prove them wrong,” the official said. Source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/