Soon, you can use emergency call box to contact cops 24x7

Police recommends 10 important locations to Cidco for installing the boxes

City residents will soon be able to directly communicate with police officers in the control room through videoconferences.

Ten emergency call box systems will be installed and residents will be to contact the police helplines 24x7. The city will be the first in the state to install the system.

For better public s ecurity and monitoring, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) and the city police have jointly chalked out a plan to install 10 such call boxes.

A caller will be able to directly convey his or her messages to the police officers from such boxes, a senior police officer said.

“This new system will be helpful to report crimes which are happening, fire accidents, medical emergencies or threat to personal safety,” said Pradeep Kannalu, assistant commissioner of police (wireless).

The police control room will then trace the location of the caller and alert the nearest police station to reach the spot and take action.

“Besides, it could also be used by beat marshals and patrolling police officers to report their positions, status and call for additional backup in case of emergency. It will not only benefit residents, but also the police,” he added.

After conducting a survey in the city (zone 2), the police has suggested Cidco the locations where to place the boxes.

“We have chosen mostly the public places that gets maximum footfall throughout the day. Work on this project has already started and it will be operational in next seven to eight months,” Kannalu said.

This system will be one of smart city component in Cidco’s j urisdiction which encompasses nodes such as Kharghar, Kamothe, Kalamboli, New Panvel, Roadpali and Ulwe among others.

“Since Cidco is funding the project, the proposed 10 call boxes will be installed only in their jurisdiction. We may think of starting similar systems in the areas of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) at a later stage after having discussions with them,” said a police officer.

Cidco along with Na vi Mumbai police is also planning to install 20 public address systems in their jurisdiction.

It will help in efficient communication of live and prerecorded messaging at the important junctions.

“It will also generate an automatic response in any crowd to pay attention to the voice being broadcast over the system. The police can leverage this for making important announcement during festivals such as Ganeshotsav and Navratri for crowd control by announcing safety instructions,” a Cidco official said.

“There will be one panic button in each system which could be used by the beat marshals to communicate with the control room in case of emergency,” he added.