Delhi Police deploys PCR bikes across 173 stations to cut emergency response time

Delhi Police has launched a motorcycle patrol system at 173 stations to improve response times and street-level policing, aiming for a 10-minute response.

The police control room (PCR) unit of Delhi Police has rolled out a motorcycle patrol system across 173 police stations across the city in an effort to reduce response time of first responders to distress calls and sharpen street-level policing, senior officers said on Thursday.

Emergency and distress calls received at the police control room are being directly routed to designated motorcycle patrol officials

While each of the 173 police stations out of the 179 in the city have received one PCR motorcycle, also known as a “112 patrol bike”, officials cited above said that a proposal is in pipeline to equip the remaining six police stations and 23 police stations of the Delhi Metro and Railway police units with at least one PCR motorcycle each.

The initiative places at least one patrol bike at each police station, designed to ensure that first responders can navigate congested stretches and residential lanes faster than conventional PCR patrol vans, an officer said.

“These first responders are primarily the beat officers posted at the police station. While the bikes are in the custody of the police stations, their administrative and operational control are with the PCR unit, creating a hybrid command structure aimed at improving coordination,” the officer added.

Beat personnel are familiar with areas falling under their assigned jurisdictions. Unlike PCR van staff, who rely on navigation maps to locate incident spots – a process that often consumes crucial minutes – beat officials are well-versed with local lanes, bylanes, and landmarks.

“This local knowledge allows beat officials to identify and reach crime scenes or locations of people in distress more swiftly, further reducing response time,” a second officer said.

Under the new system, emergency and distress calls received at the police control room are being directly routed to designated motorcycle patrol officials, who have been equipped with advanced electronic gadgets like wireless sets and mobile data terminals for real-time data capture, communication, and processing.

Upon receiving an alert, the beat officer is required to rush to the location, assess the situation, and file an event report back to the control room, ensuring real-time tracking and accountability.

Senior police officers said the impact is already visible in response metrics. On average, 600 to 650 calls are being handled daily by motorcycle patrol personnel. Earlier, motorcycle patrols under the control of police stations were attending 200 to 250 calls per day with an average response time of 15 to 20 minutes.

“The new arrangements have brought down the average response time to around 10 minutes. Our efforts are to bring that response time to seven minutes. For that we need to add at least one more PCR patrol motorcycle in each police station,” the first officer said.

In another move to curb crimes against women and children on streets, the PCR unit has directed all its zones to identify at least 100 crime-prone hotspots, with a particular focus on areas frequented by women and children. These locations will see intensified patrolling, with PCR vans and motorcycle units working in tandem.