Seven children born in Delhi Police vans this year

Seven children were born in Delhi Police’s police control room vans this year while their mothers were being taken to hospitals. On December 16, the staff of a PCR van had also saved life of a 30-year-old pregnant woman who had a miscarriage. She was traveling with her two children in outer Delhi’s Narela.

According to police, it resulted in 250 female officers being inducted into the PCR emergency services across the city. The female officers will work in both day and night shifts. On December 18, the PCR unit had also taken 139 people to hospitals.
“The unit’s mission is to render immediate first responder help to distress calls from public in minimum possible time,” said a police officer.

In September, three personnel had helped a 35-year-old woman deliver a baby girl — one of the twin — inside a PCR van while on they were on their way to a hospital in south Delhi’s Palam. While the first baby was delivered inside the PCR van with the help of a female constable, the woman and her newborn were driven to a nearby hospital for the second delivery.

Shortage of drivers
Currently, the unit is operating at around only two-thirds of its capacity as it is hamstrung by shortage of drivers.

The central police control room (CPCR) receives 25,000 calls on a daily basis of which 5,000-7,500 calls are “actionable”. These calls are handled by the unit’s sanctioned strength of 1,000 vans. However, 122 of the vehicles have been categorised as “condemned” and around 60 vehicles have been sidelined for repairs. It leaves the force with just 815 vans.

To operate these vans on a round-the-clock basis in three shifts of eight hours each, the unit needs around 3,260 drivers. But they have only around 2,200 drivers.

Such a scenario has forced the unit to borrow around 500 constables from other units as a PCR van also needs to have three personnel – a driver, a gunman and an in-charge.

“It means that to operate 815 vans over three shifts would need around 9,780 personnel,” the officer added. Police hope that the situation would change if the Union Home Ministry approves proposals seeking recruitment of over 5,500 personnel.
Efforts to provide direct police station connectivity from CPCR through a Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) system are also in its final stage. It will enable quicker communication.

“It is also expected that the PCR would have an upgraded caller identification capability in the coming months,” the officer said.

 A comprehensive review of bases, beats, halting points, patrol routes and duties has been done for each PCR van in consultation with district police with a view to increase efficiency in operations and coordination.