Selfie sticks, thermal scanner headgear: Cops vs Covid
nNEW DELHI: A magnifying glass attached to a selfie stick that can help read documents from a safe distance to headgear that can scan the temperature of multiple people from 10 metres way, Delhi Police are using innovative ways to keep its personnel from contracting Covid-19, the viral disease that has killed one policeman and infected at least 110 others in the Capital.
The police are also using hands-free water taps, foot-operated soap dispensers and automatic temperature scanners -some of which are being sourced from private firms while some others being put together by the police personnel themselves.
The police force has been playing a critical part in enforcing the national lockdown norms, manning entries in containment zones, helping transport people and patients and also maintaining law and order, which leaves them vulnerable.
Senior police officers said while some of these devices are already employed by the personnel on the ground, trials continue on some others. The idea is to minimise contac.
The first of these improvisions is a selfie stick that has been turned into “document-checking equipment”. “We fixed a magnifying glass at the end of the stick so that the policemen at pickets can read documents presented by motorists without having to approach the person or touch the documents. We attached an LED light to make it handy even at night,” said Atul Kumar Thakur, deputy commissioner of police (South).
After top police officers inspected the operation of the device, about 50 such equipments were readied and distributed to other police districts, the South
DCP said.
In West Delhi, the police partnered with a private firm to prepare headgear, similar to a helmet, on which a thermal scanner has been fitted which, the officers claim, can measure the temperatures of multiple people at a time.
“This device can scan the temperatures from as far as 10 metres, negating the need for the police to approach the public. We have conducted a trial run in Rajouri Garden. If successful, it can be deployed at supermarkets, mandis and hospitals,” said Deepak Purohit, DCP (West).
Jugal Kishore, director and professor of community medicine at Safdarajang Hospital, said the accuracy of the data provided by the headgear should be put to stringent tests first. He said the headgear will also factor in the temperature of the local environment and the readings have to be precise. “Similar devices used at hospitals haven’t been really effective,” Kishore said.
The police in Sangam Vihar subdivision have devised a simple system by which anyone visiting the police station can use their feet to press a spring below a water tank to turn on the tap, and then a similar spring on another side to dispense liquid soap.
“This device works on the hydraulic principle to release water and soap without having to use hands,” said Sudhans Dhama, assistant commissioner of police (Sangam Vihar). Dhama, who devised this system, is an electronic engineering graduate from Bits-pilani.
Across districts, the police are already extensively using drones to keep a watch on neighbourhoods from a distance. The Central and South police carry out announcements using drones, even singling out individuals based on their outfit colour.