Nirbhaya Fund to help police make Mumbai safer for women

The city’s police force is all set to make Mumbai ‘Nirbhay’ (fearless) for women. In the next two months, the Mumbai Police is expected to implement some of the

The city’s police force is all set to make Mumbai ‘Nirbhay’ (fearless) for women. In the next two months, the Mumbai Police is expected to implement some of the most ambitious and important plans towards modernising its force.

HT Image

Keeping women’s safety a top priority on its list, multiple plans and measures have been chalked out and are soon to be implemented to curb gender-based crimes. These plans would be implemented with the help of the Nirbhaya Fund (around ₹250 crore) allocated to Mumbai by the Centre (along with seven other metropolis post the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case) to enhance policing in the city.

Among the new safety measures and projects are two phone-based apps. The ‘track me’ app will help the police control room get an alert with the real-time location of the app user in case of an emergency, a senior police officer told HT.

The ride-sharing app provides details about the driver and will help citizens share their ride details with the police to ensure their safety during the commute.

With a view to adopting advanced technology in policing to improve the quality of investigations of rape, sexual offences and other crimes against women, the police are expected to receive advanced forensic kits which would include a 3-D scanner, biological evidence collection equipment, fingerprint collection equipment, and a rape kit. “It will also have a 360-degree camera that will capture the scene of the crime.

With this, police would be able to recreate the scene with more accuracy,” said a member of the core team tasked with assisting the Mumbai Police in implementing these projects. “The kit would also have an object scanner advanced enough to determine the depth of a stab wound,” she said.

To intensify its virtual presence on the streets, the Mumbai Police has decided to purchase dashcams (dashboard cameras) and vehicle-mounted cameras for its patrolling vehicles, and body cameras for officers in the field. A senior officer said that with the new cameras, the police’s presence on the ground would increase many fold.

“This would certainly reduce instances of molestation, eve-teasing, and stalking, and women would feel safer. To handle the cameras effectively, the patrolling police staff would be given training,” the officer said.

The force is also likely to get around 1,000 new patrolling vehicles, 500 more MDTs (mobile data terminals), 1,000 public address systems, six Segways and 1,200 more CCTV cameras.

“We intend to enhance the level of policing by adopting newer and advanced technology. The measures would certainly bring a positive result and ensure effective prevention and detection of crimes,” said Vinoy Kumar Choubey, joint commissioner of police (law and order).

The city police will also set up a small call centre at the police control room, with four to five trained callers to get feedback from women complainants who contact the emergency number.

“We hope to start it in the next two months and will complete the implementation of all measures and projects in the next year,” said Pranay Ashok, deputy commissioner of police (operation).

To prevent crimes in deserted areas, police have decided to collaborate with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and illuminate around 160 dark spots in the city.

“With new equipment, the police’s presence and control on the ground will be intensified and effective. This would certainly help prevent crimes against girls and women and make the city safer for them,” said Ashok.