The Chandigarh Police are the fastest in the country with an emergency response time of 7.03 minutes, a report by the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems has revealed. The response time, which is the time taken by the police control room (PCR) vehicles to reach a spot when an emergency call is received, was further improved in February when the average time was 5.34 minutes, UT police officials revealed.

The Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems studied police response time in different states and Union Territories for eight months in 2023. While Chandigarh Police was found to be the fastest, Puducherry ranked second in the country with a response time of 7.11 minutes. This is followed by Tamil Nadu which had an average response time of 8 minutes followed by UP Police with a response time averaging 9.82 minutes. Delhi Police have an average response time of 9.86 minutes.

The Chandigarh Police added 25 Tata Safari vehicles in their PCR fleet last year, replacing the old Ertigas which have been phased out. The fleet of 61 vehicles deployed across the city is well-equipped with modern and powerful systems to keep track of events. As per the police data, the response time was 5.56 minutes in May 2023, 6.03 minutes in August 2023 and has remained less than 6 minutes since December last year. In January this year, the average police response time was 5.33 minutes.

While Punjab Police have an average response time of 25.25 minutes, Haryana Police recorded an average response time of 12.36 minutes.

According to UT senior superintendent of police Kanwardeep Kaur, the PCR vehicles are equipped with GPS trackers and mobile display terminal (MDT) screens which enable them to track the cars and ensure that the closest vehicle reaches the spot. “Upon reaching the spot, officials are required to punch in the exact time and this has increased accountability and also improve response time,” she says.

The quick response has also helped police solve a number of cases.

Police officials posted at the control room recall how a six-year-old boy who went missing in Ram Darbar some months ago was traced minutes after a call was received at the police control room number 112.

In another case, police were able to nab a mobile phone snatcher minutes after a call was received as the PCR van intercepted the bike when the accused was fleeing.

“We are proud of the achievement but there is still scope for improvement,” added the SSP.