The Gujarat Police has launched the Gujarat Police Drone Response and Aerial Surveillance Tactical Intervention Project (GP-DRASTI). This aims to solve the delays that used to happen with PCR vans.
Vikas Sahay, Director General of Police, highlighted the importance of rapid and high-quality police response during incidents. Sahay said,”The response time of the police and the quality of that response is very important when any incident occurs anywhere in Gujarat”. While PCR vans currently serve the purpose, they often take time to arrive at the scene. To combat this issue, the Gujarat Police has introduced drones under the GP-DRASTI project to significantly reduce response times and facilitate effective action.
When someone reports an incident by calling 100, both the PCR van and the drone station are alerted. A drone will be sent to the spot along with the PCR van.
According to a 10-day pilot project conducted in Surat and Ahmedabad, drones reached the scene in less than 50% of the time taken by PCR vans, sometimes arriving within two to two and a half minutes.
Real-time footage captured by the drones will be sent to officers at the drone base station. This will allow them to assess the situation quickly and decide on the appropriate level of response and deployment of police forces.
After the pilot project succeeded, more drones were ordered. The police now have 8 drones, with 18 more coming soon. In the first phase, the GP-DRASTI system will be set up in 33 police stations in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, and Rajkot—cities with higher crime rates.
A six-day training session at Karai has been organised for the implementation of the project. Following the training, the initiative will commence at eight police stations in Ahmedabad and later expand to other cities.