Ever since the City Police launched the Vehicle Tracing System (VTS) three years ago, the facility contains complete details of over one crore vehicles of all categories in its computerised database today. The VTS was launched with the objective of enabling the law enforcers have in their possession details of vehicles plying within the State and to detect stolen vehicles.
A dedicated software was developed for the VTS, which forms part of the surveillance cameras-based Traffic Regulatory Management System, to store data of vehicles operating all over the State.
Periodic updates is being carried out by obtaining data from the Regional Transport Offices and Unit Offices situated all over the State and uploading the same in the computerised database of the VTS. The VTS contains complete details of over 1.03 crore vehicles of all categories including government buses as of March 2010, a senior police officer said adding that data henceforth would be obtained from the office of the Transport Commissioner at Chennai which is equipped with information regarding new vehicles registered in the RTOs and Unit Offices all over the State every day.
This had been done to save time and obtain information regarding new vehicles from one central place, the officer added. Upon keying in a vehicle number in the VTS, the system provides full details including name of the vehicle owner, registration number of the vehicle, date of registration, residential address, engine and chassis number, vehicle class, vehicle type, name of the financier and vehicle colour immediately.
The facility is being used by the City Police every day to cross check details provided by the vehicle rider with the VTS, located at the modern control room, while carrying out vehicle checks in order to ascertain the genuineness of the owner.
Police sources say 17 stolen vehicles were detected in 2009 through use of the VTS, while seven stolen vehicles were detected till now in the current year using the system. The City Police has been receiving enquiries from other districts regarding the functioning of the VTS. Law enforcers here say their counterparts from other districts have been seeking complete information about vehicles from the VTS after passing on the registration number. Nearly 30 calls are received every day from other districts, the officer said.
The sources said vehicular and public movements in vantage places including the Central bus stand, Chathram bus stand, NSB Road, Main Guard Gate, Aristo Junction were being monitored from the modern control room round-the-clock through the 12 ‘Pan Tilt Zoom' surveillance cameras installed at various places within the city limits.
