The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Cameras to be installed at checkposts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Cameras to be installed at checkposts

By S. Vijay Kumar

MADURAI, JUNE 8. The Madurai district police have evolved a strategy of photographing/videographing suspicious persons and vehicles at all checkposts.

With frequent robberies, chain-snatchings and thefts on the city outskirts and district border, the plan, the police hope, will help to effectively curb crimes and corner criminals. "In the event of any untoward incident, we can easily pin down culprits, since the system will have a clear picture of who traversed the district," the Superintendent of Police, T. Sundaresan, told The Hindu today.

Video and still cameras have been given to all 41 police stations in the district, and steps are taken to provide them to checkposts at the earliest. Officers in the rank of Inspector and Sub-Inspector will be briefed at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Mr. Sundaresan, who assumed office last week, said the focus was only on suspects and vehicles without proper records. "Our intention is not to take pictures of everyone passing through the checkposts. Even when no crimes are reported, the pictures will be stored for at least a month."

Admitting that rowdies had become active in some parts of the city, he said a list of habitual offenders and dossier criminals was being prepared. The night-round officers would submit a weekly report on the movement of these elements. The night/day patrolling system was being revamped to enhance vigil in crime-prone localities.

Besides drawing up a scheme for vehicle checks and patrolling, a monitoring mechanism would be put in place to ensure that the police implemented the scheme effectively, the SP said. During the lean hours (from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.), a special team of the Armed Reserve and local police personnel had been deployed for patrolling in sensitive pockets. "We have not only made the presence of police more visible but also reduced the time to reach the scene of offence in less than 30 minutes," he said.

Mr. Sundaresan said the Special Branch sleuths were directed to hire private vehicles and conduct surprise checks of the functioning of the Highway Patrol Police on a regular basis. "Another team of experts will look into the condition of roads in accident-prone areas, particularly on highways. If there are any discrepancies in the engineering design at curves or minor bends, it will be taken up with the Highways Department," he added.

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