Pune: In order to improve policing in Pune, Pimpri and Chinchwad, the Pune city police will soon procure 500 global positioning system (GPS) devices for tracking patrolling vehicles. 

Earlier in 2009, the city police had installed GPS on a pilot basis in some vehicles but many cops removed the batteries, or the device itself. 

Officials said this time latest technology will be used to monitor the vehicles from the police station, divisional ACP offices as well as from the main police control room. These devices will operate using power from the vehicle batteries and will also have internal battery back-up for eight hours.

The city police have to maintain law and order over 800 sq km and cater to about one crore population through 39 police stations and a manpower of about 11,000.  

With the installation of the GPS, it would become easier to locate the patrolling team which is nearest to the scene of a crime and thus direct it accordingly. 

At present, citizens call on the multiple lines of the emergency number 100. The automated Voice Response System connects the caller to the police control room, where a constable takes down details such as the caller's name, location and the nature of the emergency. He then directs the nearest police vehicle to the scene of the crime after locating the positions of the vehicles making use of the GPS technology.