'Send Addl DCP rank officers in CCTV coordination and monitoring meeting'

New Delhi: No officer below the rank of additional deputy commissioner of police should attend the CCTV coordination and monitoring meeting, said Special Commissioner of Police to senior officers in Delhi Police. The move came after a meeting, held in last month, between senior officials of Delhi Police regarding the functioning of CCTV cameras in the city.

"It has been observed that different officers attend coordination meeting regarding CCTV functioning on different dates. As per standing order, additional DCsP in districts is designated as a nodal officer," reads a letter written by Special Commissioner of Police (operations) to senior officers.

According to police sources, the letter was sent to Special CsP (law and order), crime and Joint CsP ranges and crime.

The letter further reads that a meeting was held on October 30 in which it was found that the officers attending the meeting were not aware of the number of CCTV and automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed in the districts and details of their functioning. It was also found that sometimes ACPs are attending the meeting instead of the nodal officers.

"You (senior officers) are requested to direct your nodal officer to come fully prepared for the meeting with all details in the next meeting. Henceforth, no officer below the rank of Additional DCP should attend the meeting," sources said quoting letter contents.

Adding further, sources said that during the meeting, it was pointed out that no police officers were monitoring or deployed in monitoring room in police stations in some districts.

"Senior officers were told to deploy at least one knowledgeable police officer in each of the control room," sources added.

It was also observed that there was no monitoring of alerts from ANPR cameras by the districts.

"As per standing order 397/10, it is the responsibility of the district to monitor and repair the CCTV cameras once it is installed and accepted by the user district. The nodal officer should liaise with ECIL officer and get the defective cameras repaired as soon as possible. The proposal for repairing is not being followed up with PHQ (DCP/GA office) by user district," the letter reads.

The Special CP also told senior officers that it has been observed that districts and user unit are not sending the status of working and non-working CCTV cameras to DCP (P&L) office.