Women in the city and its immediate suburbs are likely to feel more secure now, with the city police on Friday launching Pink Police Patrol (PPP) dedicated to their security and safety.
Patrol vehicles
Four patrol vehicles — two Toyota Etios and two Maruti Omni — mounted with blaring sirens and fitted with GPS, wireless set, and a tab with seamless internet connectivity have hit the road.
Controlled by an all-women crew, they will be deployed at various points at Ernakulam city, Thrikkakara, Fort Kochi and Thripunithura. They will operate within 15 selected points under the city limits, 10 each at Thrikkakara and Fort Kochi, and nine at Thripunithura.
A mobile number (75598-99100) for sending SMS and images through WhatsApp and a toll-free number (1515) for reaching the Pink Control Room (PCR) managed by women have been readied for the public to avail the service. Each vehicle will have a woman police officer, a driver, and two women civil police officers (CPOs). Sub Inspector (SI) N.S. Saleena and seven Assistant Sub Inspectors have been put in charge of PPP vehicles.
Service timings
Initially, the services of these vehicles will be available between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
“We plan to upgrade it into a round-the-clock service after evaluating the volume of calls and the availability of human resources,” said Deputy Police Commissioner Arul R.B. Krishna. The calls received at the PCR after working hours will be directed to the normal control room.
There will be no direct contact between the distress caller and the crew in the PPP vehicles. Instead, the details of the call received at the PCR along with the GPS coordinates will be relayed to the PPP vehicle at the point nearest to the distress caller. “No calls will go unattended. In cases where the situation is beyond control, we will coordinate with the local police station concerned,” said Ms. Saleena.
PPP vehicles will be positioned at locations, where police aid is expected. For instance, the vehicles will be positioned near educational institutions during morning and evening hours, and personnel will even help women and girls cross the road.
The drivers of PPP vehicles were given a month-long training in driving in association with Toyota, while the PCR crew were trained in technical matters with the support of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing.
