Monitoring the movements of history-sheeter, especially in the district, is a Herculean task for the Visakhapatnam district police. It is one of the largest districts in the State, with a huge chunk falling under the Agency areas, where there is considerable presence of Maoists.
History-sheeters are those who have a criminal record of over two or more crimes, which include rowdy-sheeters who have been booked earlier for any type of bodily offences.
According to the Chief Minister’s dashboard, there over 620 recorded history-sheeters in Visakhapatnam district, and a majority of them are lodged in the plain areas such as Narsipatnam, Anakapalle (town and rural), Ellamanchili, Sabbavaram and Chodavaram, which are considered to be hotspots. Among them, about 350 are located in these areas, which includes ganja smugglers.
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To keep a tab on these history-sheeters, including the rowdy-sheeters, the district police have devised a plan with a touch of technology and it is paying dividends.
According to the Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma, this system was introduced some time back and the main focus is on about 10 police stations that cover the hotspots.
As per the system, the night patrol, comprising a minimum of one constable and a home guard, visit the home of the sheet offender and clicks a selfie with the offender and transmits it back to the inspector concerned and higher officers, including the area DSP and the SP.
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“By doing this, we keep a tab on the movement of the offender. His presence at home indicates that he is probably not indulging in any criminal activity. But if his presence is not there for three or four days on the trot, it arouses suspicion and our team gets into the job of finding him. It may be presumed that he is up to something, and if there is a crime during that period and if it relates to his earlier modus operandi , the sheet offender then becomes our prime suspect,” said Mr. Sharma.
There are about 25 to 30 night beats in the hotspots and everything is done systematically.
According to the SP, the monitoring system not only keeps a tab on the offenders, but also lends transparency and accountability to the policemen on duty. “The selfie indicates when and where it was clicked and it shows that the night beats are vibrant and dynamic,” he said.
CC centre
With the selfie programme kicking off well, plans are afoot to establish a full-fledged command and control centre.
“We want to establish the centre within next two to three months. The centre would work 24/7, and we intend to bring all tech surveillances such as LHMS (locked house monitoring system), WhatsApp complaints and Dial 100 under one roof. The idea is to generate more accountability and build a database,” said Mr. Sharma.