Amid tech push, big drop in traffic cases filed by cameras across Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Despite the claims of the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) that they have been implementing tech-driven initiatives to track violations, the number of cases recorded through means of contact (i.e. personnel checking for violations on the ground) has only increased, with the numbers nearly doubling from 4.81 lakh in 2024 to 8.49 lakh in 2025.

While only 2.7% of the total cases were registered through contact in 2023, the rate increased to 5.8% in 2024 and further to 12.14% in 2025, indicating that the number of cases recorded by personnel on the ground has increased.

On the other hand, the number of cases filed through cameras has come down, from 87.47 lakh in 2023 to 78.07 lakh in 2024 and further down to 61.38 lakh in 2025.

Officials attributed this to the BTP’s move to manually validate all the cases recorded automatically after complaints that a few cases were wrongly detected.

“Sometimes, there are errors when cases are recorded automatically using cameras and hence, we are now validating all of them. In this process, a few cases might be removed and hence, the numbers might be down,” Karthik Reddy, Joint Commissioner of Traffic, Bengaluru City, told DH.

Moreover, sources said some cameras were not functional, bringing down cases.

That apart, many parts of the city are also not covered by cameras where cases are either not filed or the police are depending completely on manual intervention.

Meanwhile, pointing out the increasing cases registered through the contact method, the public complained that a high number of police personnel are waiting on city roads to stop vehicles and “harass” commuters.

“You can see two to three traffic police officials waiting to catch people on most of the busy roads. In fact, there are multiple teams at every 2-3 km interval. When such is the situation, there is no doubt that cases will increase. Many of them [commuters] bribe officials and get away, while many others who don’t [bribe] will get a challan,” said Abhay K, a techie.

BTP officials, on the other hand, maintained that they take up special enforcement drives to track drunk driving, no parking, footpath driving and other offences that can’t be traced through cameras and hence, the number of such cases are
increasing.

“There are only a few types of violations that the cameras can track. Others have to be checked by personnel on the ground. We have taken up special enforcement drives to check drunk driving cases. Pedestrian safety has also been prioritised and hence, the cases may be high. Also, the entire city is not covered by cameras and manual checking is inevitable in these areas,” said Joint Commissioner Karthik Reddy.

He also maintained that all the activities are recorded through body cameras. “Only when there is a visible violation, our officials stop people. All the officials wear body cameras and they cannot stop unnecessarily. Also, all officials are managing traffic during the peak hours and they are involved in enforcement only during non-peak hours,” Reddy added.