Soon, you can WhatsApp police when you are leaving your house locked

Soon, you can WhatsApp police when you are leaving your house locked

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Nov 21, 2016: If you are leaving your house for a few days, you can soon WhatsApp your details to the police. They will then keep a watch on your house till you return and make sure it is not burgled.

The Mangaluru city police and the Dakshina Kannada force are expected to launch this facility soon. This comes a month after the two police units launched a facility enabling citizens to report traffic offences through WhatsApp.

The facility works in a simple way. Before leaving your house, send a message to the designated number with the complete address of the house and the number of days the house would be locked without inmates. Along with the message, you should send the GPS coordinates as attachment

This message will be forwarded to the officer in charge of night beat patrolling in the jurisdictional police station. The constable on duty at night will be told to pay extra attention to the house.

Police Commissioner M. Chandra Sekhar told The Hindu that the new facility will make it easier for people to keep the police in the loop. “Unlike the earlier feature (of traffic enforcement launched independently), we both (city and district police) will jointly handle this facility,” he said.

Superintendent of Police Bhushan Gulabrao Borase said thieves usually break into houses that look empty, with locked main gates, newspapers strewn about and lights turned on inside. With the new facility, people can be rest assured of police vigil at their houses. A trial run of the facility proved successful, he added.

He said work is on to bring out a video that explains how to make use of the facility.