Smart Policing in Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Traffic Police is procuring 100 Body Wear Cameras to be used during enforcement work under its ‘Smart Policing’ initiative. According to the Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Jitender, high resolution audio-visuals will be recorded in the camera and stored in a memory card. Feeds can be seen live from the police control room through 4G technology. Use of wearable video cameras can bring measurable benefits to relation between police and the civilians. In another move, under the ‘cashless enforcement’ initiative, the police have discontinued the practice of collecting cash for traffic ‘challans’ (a receipt for payment) on the spot. Instead, violators are asked to pay penalties online and through other modern modes.

The Telangana government has sanctioned `21Cr for modernization of Hyderabad Traffic Police. This amount will be utilized for setting up a Automatic Integrated Traffic Management System. Modern signage boards and interceptor vehicles with 360 degree cameras to detect violations are among the new initiatives planned.

As part of citizen friendly initiatives, only officers above SI rank are authorized to stop vehicles for checking documents during enforcement work, while lower rank officer are only allowed to record traffic violation by using electronic evidence.