Big brother's gonna be watching

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Criminals watch out. Mumbai cops will now monitor roads via GPS and close circuit TV</span><br /><br />Criminals may soon find it difficult to escape after committing a crime, for they will be watched by close circuit televisions (CCTV) on Mumbai roads. <br /><br />Not only will they be watched, but all their possible exit routes could be blocked within few minutes by the police.This would be done with the help of the Global Positioning System (GPS) which the Mumbai police are planning to install in police vehicles in the next few months along with CCTV. <br /><br />According to Police Commissioner A N Roy, the CCTV system will be fixed at 100 important junctions in Mumbai. “It will be fixed on poles strategically so that it can cover all the sides of the junction,� says Roy. Cops believe that the system will help in identifying the criminals committing crimes on the streets of Mumbai and will help identify the vehicle in which they escape. While the CCTV system will help in capturing these images, the GPS will help the cops in reaching the spot and blocking the exit routes within a few minutes.<br /><br />The GPS will be installed with the Geographical Information System (GIS) which is a map-based digital system. The GPS, which is a small instrument, will be fitted into police vehicles. To begin with, it will be fitted in 400 patrolling vehicles. The basic function of GPS is to give the exact location of the vehicle.<br /><br />Roy says that the GPS system will reduce reaction time to an emergency call. “At present, when the control room gets an emergency call, the officers have to call various patrolling vehicles situated close by. After pinpointing their position, they decide which is the closest to be sent to the emergency area,� says Roy. This can usually take up to five minutes as everything is done manually. Now with the new GPS system, the closest vehicle can be identified in five seconds and cops would immediately be asked to rush to the spot.<br /><br />Apart from emergency calls, the system can effectively be used to block all escape routes on the roads soon after a crime is committed at a particular location. This can be done by sending the nearby patrolling vehicles to all the points. <br /><br />However, it''s not only the criminals who will be watched through this system. This system will also help the bosses in finding out if the patrolling vehicles are really doing their job or the cops are just relaxing on duty! Roy says that the department is trying to get these systems in place in the next three to six months.</div> </div>