Hi-Tech Bangaluru policing

At last, the IT city is moving into e-mode in traffic enforcement. Project BlackBerry started by the Bangalore traffic police in 2008 has now reached its final stage.

At a function near Ashoknagar police station on Wednesday, all traffic officers up to the rank of ASI were given BlackBerries and Bluetooth-supported printers. City police commissioner Shankar Bidari said the advantages of BlackBerries included a robust database of traffic offenders, real-time access to history of offences, enhanced punishment for habitual offenders, catching those who didn't bother to settle their traffic violation notices and a real-time Management Information System which monitors performance of officers, logs types of vehicles being penalised and category of offences and makes the information instantly available to traffic personnel.

Besides, there's no scope for manipulation (e.g. duplicate receipts and tampering of carbon paper) and pilferage of fines collected as well as recording the correct fine amount, he said. The BlackBerries can be used as standalones too, he added.

Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic & security) Praveen Sood said Phase II, which involves 370 BlackBerries and printers, has advanced and robust equipment with protective covers.

The initiative brings together all aspects of traffic policing and is capable of pulling out data on more than 2 million cases in less than 2 minutes, he said. It's backed by connectivity and data storage at the state data centre, which will soon be equipped with a redundancy plan also. Carbon paper and notice books will soon become part of history.

Violation Evidence Management System

Home minister V S Acharya launched the VEMS through which notices are being issued with the help of 160 surveillance cameras and five enforcement cameras used for traffic monitoring, regulation and enforcement. A large number of video-supported violation notices are sent to motorists.

Motorists can view the violation photo on the website by entering the notice number. Once seen, payment can be made through the website. Once payment is done, the photograph is automatically deleted from the database.

This technology was developed with the help of Mindtree. "This will lead to stricter action against violators. This facility, however, is available only for video-captured violations," he said.

No law & order problem: Acharya

V S Acharya denied there was any breakdown of law & order in the state. "We've asked for reports about the communal problem from the Shimoga and Hassan SPs. We're also getting reports regarding the attack on newspaper offices in Mangalore. Once we study the reports, we'll take action against the culprits,'' he added.