While traditional crimes have seen a dip, cyber crimes have recorded an exponential spike over the years. But, said Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, the number of cyber crimes has seen a downward trend over the last two years, and awareness is the key in bringing it down further. In an interaction with The New Indian Express, he spoke about several issues -- from crimes, technology in policing, to the ‘never-say-die’ drug menace, and, of course, the notorious city traffic. Excerpts.

As Bengaluru police commissioner, what are the major challenges you see in the city, and how are the police handling them?

Bengaluru is a happening city and has a lot of people from outside and from different professions. If we observe the crime trend in Bengaluru, we have different types of crimes -- cyber crimes related to one sector, bodily offences by construction workers and crimes restricted to particular areas. Crime patterns are changing and police need to keep updating themselves. We are seeing good results. Bengaluru traffic is another major issue.

How useful is technology in identifying changing crime patterns?

The Integrated Command Centre gives an analysis of crime patterns. We have 320 ‘112’ vehicles and we get around 2,000 calls per day. We observed that the crimes are less at night, just 10% of what we see during the day. Based on this, we altered manpower and deputed them to checkpoint duty. Such interventions have helped reduce small crimes.

Our initiatives like Safety Island and other safety apps are helping people in distress and allowing us to catch culprits quickly. All these apps are run on artificial intelligence (AI). Right from the call from the public, to the time the vehicle departs to the spot and the feedback is received, everything is managed by AI tech. We can say that our response time is less than 10 minutes within which our men can reach any spot in Bengaluru.

With the introduction of technology in law enforcement, we are seeing a decrease in the number of on-ground police personnel. Don’t you think the presence of police personnel adds to public safety?

It’s a good point. Since I have become commissioner, I have ensured that foot patrolling goes on in sensitive areas. Technology adds to our work, but we cannot do away with manual policing. We do have nearly 23,000-strength force in the city and want it deployed on the streets as much as possible. We have to make ourselves visible and serve our beats. Technology and manpower go hand-in-hand.

You mentioned that police stations can be added. When will that need be felt? Are you in conversation with the government regarding this?

You must have noticed the addition of three police stations on the outskirts of the city. We don’t need to add more stations within the city for now, but the strength of the force can be increased sufficiently. It is adequate as of now, but we can add more to serve specialised wings coming up. We will do it as and when required.

One in four crimes are cyber crimes. What is being done to curb them?

The number of cyber crimes has gone down this year and it reduced even last year. We can say that there is increased awareness among the public as they don’t share OTPs easily now. However, cyber fraudsters are innovating ways to fool people. We have instructed our officials that immediately after they find out a new modus operandi, people should be informed through social media along with solutions to avoid it.

What demographics do fraudsters belong to?

Fraudsters and criminals are not based here, but victims are. It’s perhaps because the city is financially developed due to the number of IT employees here. New modus operandi (MO) come up every day. We have mandated our departments to post on social media every time a new MO comes up, so that people are aware and do not fall victim. Every week, we have a cyber cell meeting to discuss new developments.

Since you mention drugs, how big a problem is it in Bengaluru?

It is not specific to Bengaluru. Nevertheless, it is a place where both transit and consumption happen rampantly; it is quite a serious issue. We cannot blame any specific community, but many foreign nationals here on expired visas are culpable. International courier and road transport are also major routes. This year, we have seized more than Rs 81 crore worth of drugs. We urge people to report such cases, under the promise of anonymity. We are also banking on inter-agency cooperation (involving the Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, etc) to tackle this. It has to be a joint effort. We also look inward: 11 of our staff have been dismissed because they were found to have links with drug peddlers. When we have zero tolerance towards drugs, involvement of our men can’t be tolerated. This must have also sent a message to our staff who are engaging in such illegal activities. It is a continuous process.

What is the role of citizens in stopping drug menace?

Citizens must give information to us, then we will take care of the issue. We will maintain confidentiality. The information can be put on the app of the city police. Details of those giving information will not be known. We have to see how a drug consumer is trapped and how to get him/her out of it. The department has tied up with rehabilitation centres. We have Well Being Officers, who keep interacting with our own staff who may have all kinds of problems. Some of them may be addicted to liquor. We have got information about some people who are into drugs through the Well Being Officers. It is very difficult to get peddlers, who use online platforms like dark net to supply drugs. We have very good technology with our crime branch. We use decoy customers and monitor online platforms.

How do you compare the crime scene in Bengaluru with other metro cities?

In my experience of working in Bengaluru, it is a safe place compared to other cities. It is a cosmopolitan city. People from everywhere work here and are busy with their own professions. A crime here is highlighted because of the IT sector and the city being on the world map. The police are careful here and do not take chances. We are very sensitive to issues, especially regarding women and children. The department has a lot of infrastructure. The city is geographically not so big compared to other cities. We can cover each and every area fast. Not only now, it has always been safe here. This is the reason why so many people come and settle here.

Are crimes like the killing of spouses or those related to college students on the rise in Bengaluru? Is it a worrying trend?

Spouse killings are all personal issues. We are in a society where no one has time for each other. Bengaluru is a happening city. Now nothing is a taboo. It is a pan-India phenomenon, not specific to Bengaluru. It is happening even in rural areas. The city has a lot of cultural mix as people from everywhere come here. Colleges should take up sensitisation issues. Recently, some students were involved in an incident and the college was asked to take action against students. Some police stations like SG Palya, Soladevanahalli and KR Puram have only educational institutions under their jurisdiction. Most of the time, policemen will be interacting with students. In some instances, the police have called parents of students when they are caught for something.

Is the number of women in the police force increasing?

Yes. Of the 25 DCPs in the city, five are women. All new recruitments are being done with the 33% new quota for women.