Speaking to mediapersons, Kharkare said these programmes are being undertaken with the funding of the Central government and the state since 2000. So far, Rs 240 crore has been allocated for these programmes which have been given an extension till the year 2010 from 2005.

Citing an example of benefits from modernisation programmes, Kharkare said, “Earlier, the response time to any call was approximately 10 minutes, post-modernisation it has been reduced to seven minutes.”

Under the modernisation plan, the Mumbai Police department control room has equipped itself with Geographical Information System (GIS) that has the digitised maps of the city with its landmarks and routes.

The GIS integrated with the Global Positioning System (GPS) devices fitted on police vehicles provides the personnel manning the control room with the exact location of the vehicles.

“Once the call arrives, it would be classified as per its importance and forwarded to the ‘dispatcher’ concerned. The dispatchers will have the location of both, the caller and the nearest police vehicle. Accordingly, they will dispatch the nearest vehicle to the spot,” said Kharkare.

He added, “There is more accountability as the time taken for the whole process would be computed in the system.”

Another front where the modernisation has brought about a drastic change is the CFC. The CFC located near the reception area of the Mumbai police head office, near Crawford Market, accepts applications seeking permits for theatre, hotel and arms.