SMS alert proves a thumping success

Madhapur police efforts to alert citizens on crime receive good response and the system may be extended to other police stations

The crime alert service, cautioning and informing of the crime that tak­es place, put to practice at the Madhapur police station since last year has been a runaway success, all stake holders say.

The SMS system was launched as a pilot project in Madhapur. This station was chosen since it has a heavy population of upper middle class people and IT crowd.

Deputy commissioner of pol­ice Madhapur Yoganand sa­id, “Hu­n­dreds of thousands of migra­nts who work in scores IT companies reside in Madhapur. We will in­t­rod­uce this crime alert system in oth­er police stations limits very shortly.”

“The idea is to alert the residents about the crime taking place in their area. If a theft has taken place in a particular area under our police station limits, we immediately send SMS alerts to the residents and traders of that particular area or locality. This would help enable us in alerting the residents and warn them to be more vigilant,” Madhapur police inspector K Srinath Reddy told Postnoon.

He said, the SMS is not just sent indiscriminately. “If a jewellery shop is burgled, we send an SMS to jewellery shops in that particular area, not to all the residents,” Reddy said. The facility was launched with the help of National Information Center (NIC) and the cost of each SMS is just 10 paise.

The police station has included a total of 1,500 contact numbers in its data base so far.

“This is an excellent concept. It has helped us a lot since its launch. Especially, during the times bandhs and agitations like the agitation for a separate state by Telangana activists and security related issues, the police sent us SMS alerts. These alerts not only alerted us, it also prepared us to face the situation,” G Yaswanth Kumar, property manager of I Labs, Hitech City.

City-based interior designer Humera Anjum emphasised the need to have such a facility in all police stations of Hyderabad and Cyberabad. “This is an excellent system. It is a much needed thing for the residents of Hyderabad, especially since there has been an increase in the number of cases of thefts and crime in the City,” she said.

Kumar said added that SMS alerts come in handy for them to make alternative arrangements, which also include transportation to homes for their employees whenever there is an emergency situation. However, Kumar said it had a negative aspect too — the alert sometimes generates a sense of panic.

Tags: Madhapur, police, sms alert

Category: City, City News