Earlier this month, the Delhi Police merged the PCR unit with the district police and separated law and order and investigation duties. Although the move has been appreciated by officers of all ranks, not all police stations are able to take advantage of it due to inadequate staff.
When senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana joined as Delhi Police Commissioner, his first initiative was to integrate the Police Control Room (PCR) unit with the district police and separate law and order and investigation teams, ensuring quick response and operations were to be increased. Capacity.
On the ground, the move has been appreciated by officers of various ranks, but they believe that for the scheme to be implemented successfully, more personnel need to be deployed at police stations where there are not enough personnel.
What is the point of linking PCR Unit with District Police? In the earlier set-up, whenever a call was received, a PCR van would first reach the spot, but did not take necessary legal action until the police station staff arrived. Now an officer of the police station is connected with the PCR staff all the time. This, in turn, ensures quick action on the spot, if required, without the PCR staff having to wait for the police station personnel to take legal action.
“Though it looks like a good move, it will be successful only in those police stations which have adequate staff. For example, there are only three sub-inspectors in our police station, so the scheme may not be successful in many ways,” said an SI-rank woman officer on condition of anonymity.
He added that linking PCR staff to police stations – at least three PCR vehicles to a police station has its advantages, but at the moment, on the ground, it is not helping much. “A constable-rank officer from the police station accompanies the PCR staff to make the call. But the officer can handle only non-heinous offenses like brawls. If robbery or murder is reported, the constable has to call the emergency officer (officer of the rank of assistant sub-inspector and above) from the police station,” she said.
There are three sub-inspectors in a police station, the officer said, which means that if one is on leave and the other is to attend court cases, the third has to be present at the police station.
made two sections
” According toUnder the new scheme, two sections have been created in police stations – investigation and law and order. Police stations, which have more senior staff, can form six-seven teams and work in shifts for investigation and law and order. But police station like ours has less staff, this shift system doesn’t work. If I am on emergency duty today, it is possible that I may get the same duty again tomorrow,” the official said.
One of the solutions suggested by the SI was to fast-track departmental investigations against officers who are good at investigation. He said there are officers who are being wasted in other non-performing units as departmental inquiry against them is not completed. Talking about the benefits, another SI said that PCR vans are being attached to police stations, now they have more vehicles. This increases visibility and the van also reaches the spot faster, he said.
He said that another advantage is that the people in the investigation team will not have to sit on dharna, which they had to do for three hours earlier, irrespective of the workload. “Investigation teams need not engage with law and order unless the situation is serious. For example, if I have a murder case on the way to work and I am ordered to do order duty the next day, vital evidence is likely to be missing soon after the crime is committed. That situation can be stopped now,” he said.
A head constable posted on law and order duty in South West district said the initiative has ensured that he gets time with his family and has also improved his mental health. “The workload has reduced. Seven teams have been formed for law and order and they work in 12-hour shifts. Now, we assign duty after our shift. Earlier we used to come to the police station every morning and there was no fixed time to return home. Now, that’s not the point. After our 12-hour shift, we are called only after 24 hours,” he said. The head constable said that he was able to see his family regularly and take care of their needs. “People in the police force sometimes get depressed due to work pressure and lack of time with family. This has helped us,” he said.