Drones, live-view cameras to keep eye on Kolkata before polls – Times of India

KOLKATA: Kolkata Police has ordered surveillance and security equipment, including eight long-range drones with high resolution cameras, ahead of Assembly polls. The budget for buying the gadgets is Rs 72 lakh.
Of the eight drones, four will have a range of over 3.5 km and the other four will be short-range ones. The drones will be connected to the control rooms at the zonal level and at headquarters, where live feed will be sent within four seconds of the devices being operational and have 10x zoom capability. Police said monitoring through drones and cameras would help officers make quick decisions and build strong evidence. “Technology is always a boon and drones over the years have proved to be one of the most effective surveillance tools. The special task force (STF) will be assigned to use the drones. The detective department, too, will play a crucial part in handling them,” he said.
Additionally, 75 new metal detectors and eight backpack cameras, which can send live feed directly to Lalbazar control room from the ground in real time, have been ordered. While CCTV cameras are fixed at locations, live-view cameras can offer more accurate pictures to senior officers as cops will sport them and move around, capturing vital images. The bidding process has been opened.
The new short-range drones will weigh under 4kg and endure 0°C-40°C temperature and wind speed of over 18 knots. They will have deployment time of less than 5 minutes and packing time of 10 minutes. In contrast, the four long-range drones will weigh less than 2kg. It will be able to endure wind speed up to 6 knots and will come with Autonomous Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) facility. Lalbazar officers said the door-frame metal detectors would be used at VIP locations and at election meeting venues. The special branch will be in charge of the 75 new metal detectors.
Backpack cameras will be used where ground presence is essential. “Drones cannot fly below a given height and are not very effective at night. It is not very dependable in crowded congregations either. With live-view cameras, we can direct our men to specific places, on which we want to keep an eye. These are effective tools even at a crime spot, where evidence can be captured and sent directly to senior officers through streaming,” explained an officer. Police said these cameras, along with drones, were now routinely used in all major political events. “It is a natural addition to the body cameras that sergeants now use,” said the police.
Cops listed the recent use of backpack cameras over the past year. “The top brass reviewed them and agreed on the need to add more,” said an IPS officer.