The Police wireless communication Department was established during pre-independence period in the year 1946 in the state of Mumbai. Earlier the state police force did not have its own self-contained communication system and the police force had to depend entirely on the Central Department of Telecommunications system for communication.
Due to lack of equipment, the wireless communication of the Maharashtra State Police Department was started by bringing into use the old wireless sets used during the Second World War. In the year 1946, a total of 13 districts were provided by establishing high frequency (HF) wireless communication through this scheme and the communication link of the said districts with the then Special Inspector General of Police, Maharashtra State was established at Pune. An officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police was working as Head of Wireless Messaging Sub-Division. In the year 1947, after independence, Mr. N. M. Kamte was appointed as the first Special Inspector General of Police of the Bombay State. After that Mr. S. M. Nabar was appointed as Superintendent of Police wireless according to his technical qualifications. The Police wireless Department was separated from the office of Special Inspector General of Police from the administrative point of view and was functioning independently.
In the initial period wireless messaging systems were set up using wireless sets issued by the Director, AMD Forces. The system was operated by trained soldiers of the police force, trained at the Army and Air Force Wireless Communication Training Center in Pune. As the utility of wireless messaging in the day-to-day functioning of the police force became visible, wireless stations were set up at the district-wise taluka level as well as at other strategic locations. Stations were also constructed for the location of some urban district headquarters, for which the received wireless materials were reused by appropriate modification from the point of view of necessity.
After the implementation of HF telegraphy system at the district level, VHF telegraphy communication was started within the city of Mumbai. Old wireless sets were put into use by making usable modifications. On a temporary basis, a Police Control Room (Police Control Room) was set up in the Mumbai City Police Commissionerate and the control room was linked to 40 patrolling teams operating round the clock in the city.
In the year 1984 VHF mode communication facility was made available at local level within the district, communication link of the police stations in the district with the district police headquarters was established. Simultaneously, teleprinter communication was started between Zonal Police Headquarters and State Police Headquarters by leasing teleprinter lines from the Central Telecommunication Department.
For the exchange of written messages, the available reliable Morse system was used to communicate tedious and slow communication. In the year 1988, a communication system was set up between the District Police Headquarters and the State Police Headquarters, Mumbai, using a microprocessor-based system called ACS (Auto Communication System) for the exchange of written messages. Through it the exchange of information started at a very fast pace.
With a view to increase the scope and scope of wireless communication, inter-district communication links were established by constructing wireless message rebroadcast centers at high places within the district. A Trunk Auto Repeater Station Link (TARS) was established to establish the link between the District Police Headquarters and the State Police Headquarters, Mumbai.
At the district level within the state, at the regional police headquarters as well as at the state police headquarters, due to the limitations in the functioning of the exchanges, which are functioning through manual operation, the modern C dot system automatic telephone exchanges were built in the year 1990, thus there was a drastic change in the efficiency of communication through the exchange.
In the year 1995, the communication of UHF system was started under the jurisdiction of Pune city, Nagpur city and Mumbai city, so in terms of wireless communication, the quality and clarity of communication improved by overcoming various obstacles like tall buildings within the city.
A state-of-the-art radio trucking system was provided in the jurisdiction of Mumbai City Police Commissionerate in the year 1997. In this scheme, multiple radio channels are efficiently provided to the widely available wireless sets in the network. Available channels are distributed sequentially according to demand. Therefore, not being able to communicate wirelessly even when an empty channel in the conventional method is available is not a defect. This ensures that the channel is available without any delay in communication. This is the first system in the country for police department.
In the year 1998, communication facility (V-SAT : Very Small Aperture Terminal) was made available to the police force through INSAT3B satellite using SCPC DAMA technology system. Through that communication and exchange of written messages started. NMS (Network Management System) is located in Pune is an integral part of this system and a total of 52 stations were working in the state.
Polnet 2.0 is a nationwide satellite based messaging network to modernize the country’s police telecommunications. Polnet 2.0 is an advanced IP (Internet Protocol) base communication system implemented and governed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi since 2019. The basic purpose of the network is to provide nationwide voice, fax and data communication and to provide connectivity to the National Crime Records Bureau computers. Currently there are 64 Polnet 2.0 stations in the state of Maharashtra.
VHF Radio Network has been set up for wireless message communication for all districts of the state. Said V.H.F. Radio network provides wireless communication between police control rooms, police stations and police vehicles. Mainly voice calls as well as wireless messages are exchanged using this radio network. In the conventional method of message transmission, a wireless message sender transmits a message by reading, and the message is written down by the staff at the receiving station. The current method of sending messages is time-consuming and alternatively, the wireless message channel remains busy for a longer period of time. The conventional method is more prone to errors during message exchange and requires frequent retransmissions. As the time available for voice calls in wireless messaging is reduced, less time is available on the channel for day-to-day law and order information exchange in the control room and important voice calls remain pending.
In order to overcome the above mentioned limitations of VHF Radio Network, Data Communication System has been developed by the Research and Development Section of Police Communication and Information Technology Department Pune by using Existing VHF Radio Network and through that, by connecting computer to VHF wireless set in Police Station in Existing VHF Radio Network, Data capability in the Network is Facility is available.
It is possible to transmit/receive wireless messages through computers and its main advantages are as follows.
1. Dynamic communication.
2. Exchange of Low Resolution, Web Camera Photo in Marathi or English language.
3. Exchanging messages to more than one station at a time.
4. Some level of message security from a privacy perspective.
5. Instant delivery facility of messages through chatting.
Under the modernization year 2008-09, the implementation of the system for 13 districts was successfully implemented in further total 401 places of the state.
Separate telephone exchanges were set up at city police headquarters using telephone lines for self-sufficient communication arrangements within the police force. A telephone number 100 (DIAL100) for emergency service facility has been set up at the Police Control Room for the convenience of local common citizens. Through that, the patrol vehicle was sent to the nearest patrol vehicle to help the citizens. DIAL112 Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) is a single number (112) based emergency response system for citizens all over India. Each State/UT has set up dedicated Emergency Response Centers (ERCs) to handle emergency relief. This includes dialling 112 from the phone for emergency assistance from police, fire, rescue, health and other services. DIAL112 service is operational in Maharashtra from year 2021.
Communicating with each other without using any kind of wire network is called ‘Wireless Communication’. In the defense sector of the country, wireless communication is used to exchange messages in the police force. This ensures secure exchange of confidential information by end-to-end encryption so that no one else can hear it.
Maharashtra State Police Communication and Information Technology strength chart
| SR NO | DESIGNATION | SANCTION POSTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addl. DGP & Director Police Communication, Information Technology & Transportation, M.S. Pune | 1 |
| 2 | Deputy Inspector General of Police Communication & Information Technology, M.S. Pune | 1 |
| 3 | Additional Commissioner of Police Communication & Information Technology, M.S. Mumbai | 1 |
| 4 | Supdt. Of Police Communication & Information Technology | 5 |
| 5 | Deputy Commissioner of Police Communication & Information Technology | 2 |
| 6 | Deputy Supdt. Of Police /Asst. Commissioner of Police | 37 |
| 7 | Police Inspector (PI) | 179 |
| 8 | Police Sub – Inspector (PSI) | 426 |
| 9 | ASI ( Senior Technical Officer) | 874 |
| 10 | HC ( Technical Officer) | 1958 |
| 11 | ASI ( Senior Technical Assistant) | 8 |
| 12 | HC ( Technical Assistant Grade II) | 24 |
| 13 | PN ( Technical Assistant Grade I) | 73 |
| 14 | PC ( Technical Assistant) | 247 |
| 15 | ASI (Driver) | 1 |
| 16 | HC ( Driver) | 4 |
| 17 | PN (Driver) | 10 |
| 18 | PC (Driver) | 18 |
| SUMMERY TOTAL | 3869 |