Major snag in 20 per cent VTS units of Mumbai police cars

The VTS was installed so a car’s location could be tracked by the police control room and it could be sent to a spot near it where a crime was reported. Representation pic/ Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Mumbai police had a Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) installed in their vehicles in 2017, so that their location could be tracked by the control room. The idea was to send the vehicle that was nearest to a crime or incident, immediately to the spot. But nearly 20 per cent of the VTS units are not currently functional it is learnt, due to technical issues or because there is a delay in their installation in new vehicles.

About 1,500 VTS units were given to the Mumbai police and over 250 of them are currently non-functional. Senior police officers have asked all the police station personnel to review the VTS in their patrolling vehicles.

A police officer told mid-day, "Some of the VTS are damaged due to technical reasons. Some police vehicles are damaged and sent for repair along with the VTS in them. In some cases the installation of VTS in a new vehicle takes time." He added that every unit has a SIM card in it, and sometimes the location is not tracked due to lack of network. Joint CP Law & Order Vishwas Nangre Patil told mid-day, "All police stations, zone DCPs and additional CPs have been asked to repair the defective VTS. VTS in all vehicles is being examined."

What is VTS
VTS is a GPS-based vehicle tracking and monitoring system. It has a SIM card in it, with the help of which its location is traced. Its battery has to be charged.