In a significant push towards modernizing traffic management, the Mangaluru City Police is set to install advanced artificial intelligence-based automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras at three crucial junctions on national highways within its jurisdiction.
Project Details and Funding Sanctioned
City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy CH confirmed that an agency for implementing the project has been shortlisted. A formal letter will be sent to the office of the director general of police (DGP), after which work orders for installation will be issued. The commissionerate has received a sanctioned capital expenditure of Rs 1 crore for this initiative.
The allocated funds will be utilized for a comprehensive upgrade of traffic infrastructure. This includes the procurement of the AI-enabled ANPR cameras, additional body-worn cameras for police personnel, and new traffic signboards aimed at bolstering road safety and regulatory compliance.
Capabilities of the New AI Camera System
The new ANPR cameras are designed to automatically detect a range of traffic violations without the need for manual intervention. Once operational, the system will capture vehicle images and registration numbers to facilitate the issuance of penalties. Key violations it can identify include:
- Signal jumping
- Riding two-wheelers without helmets
- Driving four-wheelers without seat belts
- Various other traffic rule breaches
Expansion of Body-Worn Cameras and Signage
Commissioner Reddy provided further details on the equipment upgrade. Currently, the city police have 121 body-worn cameras. An additional 77 cameras will be procured soon, with the majority being allocated to traffic police personnel to ensure transparency and accountability during enforcement actions.
Furthermore, to improve road user awareness, 81 new traffic signboards will be installed along national highways within the city police limits.
Proposal for a New Traffic Police Station
In a related development aimed at streamlining operations, a proposal has been submitted to the government for establishing a new traffic police station. Presently, the commissionerate operates four traffic police stations: Mangaluru Traffic East, West, North, and South.
Areas like Moodbidri and Bajpe currently have their traffic-related cases managed by general law and order police stations due to the lack of a dedicated traffic unit. The proposed station is intended to reduce the burden on existing facilities and ensure more focused and efficient traffic enforcement across the region.
