Delhi Police found that many PCR vehicles that were supposed to be on the roads were sitting idle in the police stations.
NEW DELHI: One-and-a-half years after integrating the PCR with police districts in Delhi, the Delhi Police on Monday ordered the separation of PCR from the district units after it found gaps and lacuna in the functioning of the first responder team of the Delhi Police force.
According to sources, the Delhi Police, during its review of the PCR (Police Control Room) working under the district unit, found that many of the PCR vehicles that were supposed to be on the road were lying idle in the police stations.
Sources from the Delhi police also said that during the review it was found that the PCR vans that were supposed to be manned by at least three personnel from the Delhi Police were being manned by only one.
“The response time post receiving an emergency call was also seen increased. Earlier, when the PCR functioned as an independent unit, the response time was less than five minutes, which now when integrated with the police district increased to more than 10 minutes. Most of the personnel who were supposed to be on duty with the PCR van were seen on duty with the police station. The low visibility of patrol vehicles on the Delhi roads were also one of the reasons for rising street crimes like snatching and petty thefts,” a Delhi Police officer told The Sunday Guardian.
The Delhi Police officer further added that most of the PCR police personnel when absolved in the district were put on investigation and law and order duty, leaving the crucial duty of the PCR vans to just a few. “Moreover, the district units has limited resources and were not being able to maintain and function the PCR vehicles as per the standard protocol set by the Delhi Police,” the Delhi Police officer quoted above told this newspaper.
The independent PCR unit with 5,219 personnel and 750 PCR vans was merged with the 15 police districts in September 2021 by the then Commissioner of Delhi Police, RakeshAsthana, aiming for better emergency call management by augmenting the resources of police stations, as well as ensuring availability of dedicated police personnel for law enforcement and investigation.
However, a police officer from one of the police districts told The Sunday Guardian that the aim with which it was merged was never achieved as the available resources were diverted to other places. “PCR duty is difficult as one cannot leave the vehicle and go; therefore, many personnel after requesting the respective SHOs (Station House Officers) got themselves into beat policing. The idea behind the integration that it would give more staff to the police stations and improve law and order situation was flawed.”
Some of the Delhi Police officers also say that the real need to separate the PCR unit from the police stations and bring it back to the earlier independent unit was necessitated after the Khanjawala hit-and-run incident, where a woman, Anjali, was dragged under a moving vehicle for almost 12 km without any PCR van being able to locate the dragging car and stop it.Anjali succumbed to her injuries due to this incident.
It is also said that there was a lack of communications between PCR vans to trace the vehicle that was dragging Anjali’s body as “jurisdictional” issues of police stations were flagged.The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had also taken strong note on the incident and questioned the separation of PCR as it failed to do its job. The MHA had then (in Janaury) asked the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Sanjay Arora, to review the functioning of the PCR and suspend all the officials of the Delhi Police that were posted in the three PCR vans.
The long review and investigation into the functioning of the PCR units by the Commissioner of Delhi Police found that the experiment of integrating the PCR with the Police District was a failed experiment.
In an order to separate the PCR from Police districts, Sanjay Arora, the Delhi Police Commissioner on Monday said, “A comprehensive analysis of the merger of the PCR was carried out and it was statistically and conclusively found that the initial gains that were made with it had nothing to do with the disruption of the PCR;these were achieved only by the increase of human resources in the police stations.”
“When the current situation was analysed more minutely, it was found that the then the ownership of the Central Police Control Room (CPCR) over the PCR vehicles and their personnel ended due to the merger and the PCR vehicles, which came under the control of the police stations due to the merger, were used for purposes other than their original functions. Several discrepancies were also noticed in the functioning of the PCR vehicles,” the order from the Commissioner of Delhi Police said.
Following these findings, the Delhi Police Commissioner has announced the separation of the PCR from the police districts and it would now function as a centralised and independent unit of the Delhi Police led by a Special Commissioner and Joint Commissioner.The Delhi Police Commissioner has also set 14 deadlines for the PCR unit to become fully functional by the first week of April, for which the Delhi Police would be inducting more than 4,800 personnel into the PCR unit with more than 600 PCR vans on Delhi roads.
The 14 deadlines include range wise directions and deadlines for the beginning of the PCR unit. For example, by 10 March, all discrepancies if found in the establishment of infrastructure and manpower have to be sorted out. Between 11 to 13 March, the Central Range unit of the PCR has to begin functioning, between 20-22 March, Western Range, Eastern Range and Southern Range have to begin their PCR operations. The order further stated that by 30 March 2023, the process has to be completed and a report and analysis of the revamped PCR unit needs to be submitted for final assessment.