To connect Delhi Police and citizens, B S Bassi launches phablet plan

Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi at the launch of 500 phablets at an event Friday. Purushottam Sharma

Three days before his retirement, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi Friday inaugurated the launch of 500 phablets, which aims to “reduce the gap” between local policemen and residents of the capital.

The phablets, Bassi said, will help in sharing information about a particular beat with the residents of the area. “It will be a step towards fulfilling the vision of the Prime Minister,” he added.

Explaining the reason for launching phablets, a senior officer said, “The staff of the police control room often need to make many calls and coordinate at various levels, especially when they have to take an injured person to the hospital, or track missing children or help senior citizens and women in distress. This requires the staff to make a lot of calls, for which they have to pay from their own pockets”.

“To give the initial report, the policemen had to use mobile phones. Several policemen had complained about facing substantial financial expenditure for official work,” he added.

The force had looked for an advanced gadget that could meet the targets of ‘smart policing’ – combining videography, storage of data on missing persons and stolen vehicles, direct interface with the control room, said the officer.

“After intensive training of police staff, 500 phablets have been distributed across 11 PCR zones. This technology will go a long way in reducing response time to all kinds of distress calls,” added the officer.