Anil Puri, CMD, APS Group A thought leader and an action catalyzer rolled into one – Anil Puri is a rare combination of a visionary, and one who has mastered the art of strategic and tactical thinking to the core. He has been using this combination to seed new ideas and to lead them to their implementation on ground. This has been a consistent feature of his career. Here he examines the concept of crime prevention and the expanding role of private security companies. The trends abroad The new landscape of blended roles – law enforcement agencies teaming up with the private security companies i.e., enabling public-private partnerships to serve the public – may be new to the Indian subcontinent but it has been experimented successfully by quite a few nations like United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Nigeria and South Africa. Despite the fact that police and private security operate on quite different principles of private and public interests, there does seem to be, or rather there is an obvious scope for their enhanced relationships that provide wide benefits to diverse stakeholders, provided a well-defined set of guiding principles are in place for ensuring accountability and optimal outcomes in crime prevention partnerships. These partnerships may cover a range of specialties including cyber security, financial criminal investigation and private protection. Law enforcement agencies leverage the expertise and resources of private security firms to better investigate and solve complex cases. Private firms aren’t restricted by a public budget and can invest in the latest technologies. Additionally, law enforcement officers often moonlight with security companies and/ or transition into the careers in private security as they have a better understanding of the system and to facilitate working of law enforcement agencies to better serve the people. Bipolarity of the roles The extent to which the private security industry has a role in proactive policing is an issue. At present the private security industry performs reactive functions in relation to crime; these may include armed response, transporting cash and conducting investigations. Proactive policing is more concerned with conducting crime analyses, working together with the community to understand crime concerns, and strategizing to address safety and security related issues and targeting of criminal and disorderly behavior. In addition to guarding, security companies also provide armed response or alarm response, by monitoring alarms and dispatching security personnel (Quick Reaction Team – QRT) when the alarm is triggered. Although the guarding industry employs the bulk of security personnel, more clients are serviced through the armed response component of the security industry. Private security companies also provide armed escort services whereby they offer escorts to transport cash, assets and confidential documents. Some security companies also provide services during sporting or entertainment events, conduct investigations and security training, and become involved in various aspects relating to the provision and installation of monitoring equipment and security devices. One of the aims is for the police, together with the private security industry, to create an environment in which the security expectations of the public where huge resources are expended are actually met. Indian context The ‘law enforcement and private security’ share a number of common goals including crime prevention, the protection of people and property, and identification of criminals. The growing use of these partnerships reflects some recognized advantages. The deployment of security guards for traffic control, safeguarding metros and rails, escorting buses, and securing hospitals, government buildings, factories, shopping malls, and schools etc., aims mainly to offset the skewed police-public ratio. The PSIs are performing a significant and dominating role in the cash-in-transit business. However, the utilization of the skill-set and resources of the private investigative agencies that are the members of the Association of Private Detective & Investigators (APDI) are not being fully harnessed. Further, the reach of PSIs to be used as an information/ intelligence gathering resource can be a game-changer, if exploited properly. Conclusion Conclusively, I feel that the partnership between the police and the private security industry once integrated can pay huge dividends in leveraging the potential and expertise of both in the larger canvas of internal security and crime prevention. The need of the hour is to ensure restructuring, co-ordination, and operational and partnership mechanisms for an effective collaboration, in compliance with the public safety policing concepts of the ‘operation co-operation’ in regards to civility, transparency and cordial relativity between security stakeholders and not just the template theory.  

Prama Hikvision India participated in the recently held 8th edition of TrafficInfraTech Expo 2019, and showcased their latest technologies, products and solutions for the transportation sector. The TrafficInfraTech Expo was organized at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. “India’s vast transportation sector is fast evolving with the latest smart mobility trends and security solutions. We at Prama Hikvision are offering innovative solutions for the various transportation segments. The TrafficInfraTech expo continues to be a relevant platform to demonstrate latest technologies, products and solutions to the key stakeholders of the transportation ecosystem,” said Ashish P. Dhakan, MD & CEO, Prama Hikvision India Pvt. Ltd. At the expo Hikvision showcased intelligent traffic management solutions (ITMS), mobile solutions, automatic number plate recognition solution (ANPR), artificial intelligence, smart parking solutions, entry and exit boom barriers, under vehicle surveillance solution (UVSS) and Smart Pole. Hikvision offered the latest artificial intelligence (AI) enabled solutions that can help the traffic administrator in identification of the type of vehicle, right direction movement of vehicle, red light violations detection (RLVD), driver behaviour (monitoring driver movements, abnormal gestures and postures, drunken state, seat belt violations etc.), helmet detection (customized solution is available), ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) solution, and e-Challan (for traffic violations) functions. Smart transport solutions offered by Hikvision have the capabilities of forewarning the traffic congestion situation from a long distance. It also has speed limit violation detection cameras and radars for highways to detect speed violation cases. The three-day conference on ‘Mobility: Smart Today, Smarter Tomorrow,’ during the TrafficinfraTech expo covered India’s future mobility plan, global future mobility, safer and smarter roads, mobility and smart cities, parking management. On the third day of the conference Vinay Mishra, Senior Vice President – Projects, Prama Hikvision India Pvt. Ltd., gave a detailed video presentation about the ‘Make in India’ manufacturing facility. He also briefed about latest transportation solutions offered by Hikvision, which got an overwhelming response from the conference delegates. The TrafficInfraTech expo provided a networking forum for government representatives, experts, project heads, system integrators and service providers to collectively find solutions to urban transport challenges. The event concluded with relevant insights on the latest developments in the India’s transport sector.  

TATKAL SERVICE to Bring in Service Differentiation CP PLUS, India’s leading brand in advanced security and surveillance solutions, has recently introduced ‘Tatkal Service’ that allows an immediate unit-to-unit replacement and thereby reducing downtime for customers’ security system. This new service facilitates company’s large base of partners and customers across India, and not only ensures customer delight but also gives an edge in the market. It shows CP PLUS’ customer-first approach in addition to its premium quality CCTV products, best price and performance. Appropriate service is crucial in the success of an organization. As we are a complete solution provider in the field of electronic security & surveillance, it’s become vital for us to improve our services consistently. Here Tatkal Service is a great example of how well we are serving our partners. The service provides instant replacement of units and related support. We at CP PLUS always aim to ensure overall customer satisfaction through fair dealing and valuing our patrons -Aditya Khemka MD, CP PLUS With CP PLUS Tatkal Service, replacing or fixing of products gets easy and convenient for the partners. It’s a thoughtful concept by CP PLUS – saving both time and cost. Accordingly, the service is pivotal in improving business productivity, efficiency as well as the profitability of CP PLUS and its partners. With the aim of excellent customer service, the company truly appreciates its partners. CP PLUS Tatkal Service is applicable for selected models only. First Smart Hub in Visakhapatnam The security industry is on its growth trajectory, and value addition in all aspects is a key mantra. The customer is always eager to learn more and more about what extra value propositions electronic security and surveillance products can offer to them. CP PLUS Smart Hub is the intelligent step in the value creation for the security industry. The first such hub with all its value proposition with respect to motion alert, voice over, visitor management, energy saving, greenhouse, etc., was recently inaugurated by Yogesh B. Dutta, COO, CP PLUS in Visakhapatnam. “It will not only set a new milestone, but also a benchmark for others to follow,” said Yogesh, “The Smart Hub will also be a training-ground for system integrators in the region who are keen to bring value-added electronic security and surveillance solutions to customers.” It’s always a challenge to make customers understand the technology offered. This Smart Hub helps customers experience state-of-the-art technology and solutions through a wide range of CP PLUS products. The inauguration was attended by more than 200 system integrators across the region. Yogesh Dutta updated them on the latest trends in the industry. The CP PLUS Smart Hub in Visakhapatnam will benefit users/ customers to a great extent.

Athenta provided surveillance and a centralized web-based platform for monitoring and management of 20 zonal viewing centers and endpoint devices spread across Sultanpur, Lodhi for the festival of Gurpurab. They offered integrated command and control center as the nerve center for all smart city operations working as a virtual third eye providing 24×7 operational monitoring of the entire city. Gopal Joshi, Director, Sales, Athenta Technologies commented, “We are extremely pleased to be a part of such a festival where we are contributing our solutions to keep a check on every single activity and surveillance equipment, and ensuring the system and the infrastructure are up and running efficiently. Athenta aims to achieve twin purpose with this initiative i.e., to control an incident for safe procession and safety of the devotees, and secondly by increasing the efficiency of the city surveillance for easy access and monitoring.” The integrated command and control center takes live feed from various CCTV cameras/ surveillance system, city network, automation location tracking system (ALTS), video management system (VMS), variable message system (VaMS) & video analytics etc., installed all over the city to gather inputs from various departments and applications for analysis and research for better planning and implementation of the city. “With the help of stalled automatic location tracking system, tracking of the information becomes easier. It works as the backbone for connectivity of the city that is divided into various zones like parking, critical areas etc. This integration will help in managing the systems and subsystems independently. With, Athenta tool in place, it can cover the entire city and will help in camera Recording that is integrated with AI application to monitor crowd, fire safety, vehicle detection, face detection etc.,” quoted Rajeev Sharad, Urbaforce Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Athenta provides a zonal viewing center where the dedicated stakeholder of every zone is notified of any incident that takes place in their zone. A central command center helps in identifying and resolving unwanted incidents, while helping track and resolve the grievances of the devotee on a timely basis and effectively from a single platform of the command control center.