Police to watch you from the sky

The Delhi Police is all set to procure drones for the purpose of monitoring the ground situation in case of any processions, protests, riots, etc. The specifications for such drones have already been finalised and tender may be floated soon, said a senior police official.Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Dr Muktesh Chander said the process of procurement is at the advanced stage as the specifications of such drones have already been finalised and sent to the higher authorities. 

“My job was to finalise the specifications, which has been completed. Based on the requirement of the department, four to eight drones, or maybe more, may soon be inducted in the Delhi Police,” said Chander.These drones, fitted with live-streaming cameras, will be used by police to monitor traffic, crowd management in case of processions and protests, and even in case of riots. They can also be used to follow a fleeing criminal and give details of his/here whereabouts, said a senior police official.

“If we can’t be given helicopters, at least we can use drones for such purposes,” said the official.The specifications for these drones were finalised late last month after a series of meetings and live demonstrations of many such drones. Officials from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were also involved in the meetings.

The Delhi Police handles thousands of protests and rallies every year and after many such rallies, there is a need to conduct a post-event analysis in case of any enquiry. Currently, they use private cameramen or borrow footage from TV channels for the same. But with the induction of these drones, the Delhi Police will be technologically equipped not only to conduct such analysis on their own, but also control any emergency situation arising at such events based on the live feed of such drones.

Incidentally, the Delhi Police had used similar drones to monitor the situation in Trilokpuri after riots had broken out in the area. “That time, we had taken the drones on rent. But based on their utility at that time, we decided to have drones of our own,” said Chander, Special CP-Traffic.