The Navi Mumbai police have started a visitor monitoring system in four police stations, to make policing a better experience for the common citizens.
The system was installed around 15 days ago at Vashi, Nerul, Panvel taluka and Nhava Sheva police station. “It records details of each visitor digitally and can be reviewed at any point of time,” said Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police Hemant Nagrale.
If the pilot project is successful, it will be replicated in all police stations, Mr. Nagrale said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Tushar Doshi said, “When someone visits the police station, the system captures the visitor’s photograph through a webcam. The image is recorded in the system with details such as the reason for the visit and time of exit from the police station. This helps senior officers keep a tab on what is happening at their police stations.”
He added that a unit will be set up at the Commissionerate to monitor all police stations.
Right to Information activist Anarjit Chauhan said the system will also be helpful for the visitors. “Often, citizens are not aware that when an application is submitted at a police station, they should get an acknowledgement so that they know the status of their application. Most of the times, the applications are not acted upon. With this system, since everything will be digitalised, police officers will have to make sure that the work is done on time. This will make policing more accountable,” Mr. Chavan said.
Officers will review the system log every 15 days and inform the applicant of the status. “The system is in a preliminary stage, and our officers are still getting used to it,” Mr. Doshi said.
