The State police are going the e-way in controlling crime. The department has deployed four Falcon vehicles (Mobile Command Control Units) in Andhra Pradesh to keep a check on anti-social elements.
Recently, police used a Falcon vehicle in Vijayawada during the recent bandh call given by YSR Congress Party, pressing their demand for Special Category Status (SCS), for the State.
To check movements
The new vehicles will help the police to check Maoist movements in Agency areas and during VIP movements, the police said.
“Falcon vehicles, which have military standards, have a range of up to 1.5 km distance and can log on to CC cameras wirelessly”, Director-General of Police (DGP) R.P. Thakur told The Hindu . Falcon units, equipped with upgraded communication facilities, were allotted one each to Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Kurnool cities. The special grade vehicles will help control law and order situations during emergencies”, the DGP said.
The vehicles (also called as Mini Command Control Units) have the technology to cover more than one km and pass information to the nearest Police Control Rooms. Falcon is equipped with 10 high resolution cameras, a generator and about 200 nearby CC Cameras can be observed in the mini command control unit, which will help monitor suspects, criminals and other anti-social elements.
Remote locations
The vehicle will be manned by eight personnel, including two with body-worn cameras, and three systems, said Vijayawada Police Commissioner Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao.
The military grade vehicle that costs up to ₹1 crore, is much useful during elections, riots, bandhs and other situations, Mr. Thakur said, adding that Falcon vehicles could used even in remote areas to check the movements of criminals.
“Telangana police have similar vehicles fabricated locally. But, Falcon vehicles are of military grade and can check Naxal movements too from a long distance”, a senior police officer working in Agency area said.
Mr. Thakur said the staff in Falcon vehicles could observe the movements of criminals and suspects from a distance through the high-mast cameras fixed to it and also from the nearby CC Cameras and alert the local police control rooms, which will alert the police.
