An Onduty Beat Marshal with the mobile app at one of the points in Kashimira | File Photo
Mira-Bhayandar: Almost five years after bidding farewell to conventional policing methods, the smart electronic-beat (e-beat) patrolling system introduced by the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police has been playing a crucial role in controlling crime by ensuring transparency and better police visibility in the region.
A geo-tagged digitized web-based operation, the smart e-beat software had been launched to eliminate malpractices by supervising beat activities and make patrolling and field policing more efficient. Before the introduction of the tech-savvy initiative, cops on patrol duty had to manually sign on beat books- an age-old system which did not rule out the possibility of manipulations.
Under the e-beat system, as soon as the beat marshal riders assigned (in two shifts) by the concerned senior police inspector reaches designated point, he is able to punch his presence on his mobile phone application-specially designed for the purpose.
The application records details such as identification sign of the personnel, place of patrolling and real time of visit. As of now there are a total of 679 punch beats including-219 in Mira Road division, 214 and 246 in the Vasai and Virar division respectively.
Apart from zones tagged as sensitive and hypertensive, the beat points include places like- ATM’s, crowded markets, gold ornament shops, schools and religious places.
The reports of visited and not visited areas are automatically generated which can be accessed by senior police officers on their smartphones and desktops.
“Beat patrolling is the backbone of ground policing. By bringing in more transparency and accountability, chances of manipulations have been plugged and patrolling has become more effective and robust especially during the night hours.” said a senior police officer.
The application dashboard will not only display how many locations or places have been visited or skipped, but also the data of person’s having shady character, women vulnerable point count and stolen vehicles.
After the elevation of the existing rural format of the Thane and Palghar police to a combined MBVV Police Commissionerate in 2020, the number of police stations have gradually increased from 13 to 19.
Total Number of Punch Beats: 679
219 in Mira Road Division.
214 in Vasai Division.
246 in Virar Division.
Total Number of Police Stations Under MBVV Jurisdiction: 19.
Software Used: Geo Tagged Smart e-Beat.
