In the NCT of Delhi, between the period 2013-2019, the incidence of crime registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) increased by 275 per cent.Shortage of manpower in the Delhi Police department has impacted the investigation of crimes.More than half of the Mobile Patrol Vans don't have gunmen, the communication system used by the force is 20 years obsolete, anti-terror unit doesn't have adequate arms, ammunition and bulletproof jackets and the SWAT teams are working at reduced efficiency.These are just a few of the findings of a performance audit report on "Manpower and Logistics Management in Delhi Police" by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.The audit report may virtually deepen the sense of insecurity among the residents of the national capital as it highlights how the force is starved of manpower, infrastructure and basic facilities amidst rising challenges.The audit report primarily covered Law and Order Police (Territorial Police Districts), Security Unit, Police Control Room (PCR), Operations and Communications, Special Cell, Provision - Logistics, IT Cell and Police Head Quarters (PHQ), for a period of six years, from 2013-14 to 2018-19.Crime in NCT of DelhiThe report shows that the incidence of crime registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the NCT of Delhi by 2019 increased by 275 per cent as compared to 2013.The audit report says that between 2013 to 2019, the number of heinous crimes registered in Delhi rose from 4,159 to 5,185 in 2019.The audit further shows that as compared to 2015, the crime rate has cooled down a bit in 2019 -- as indicated by the registration of heinous crimes that increased sharply from 4,159 in 2013 to 11,187 in 2015.Police attribute this sharp increase to comprehensive reporting of crimes("Other Theft" and "M.V Theft") and improved FIR lodging facility to lodge e-FIR.An expert on policing, however, said: "The findings in the report also highlight that there has been a steady decrease in crimes registered during 2015-2019."Manpower Position in Delhi PoliceThe CAG audit found functioning of the Delhi Police severely impacted by shortages in manpower.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had approved 12,518 posts with advice to operationalise 3,139 posts in the first phase and remaining 9,379 posts after deployment of 3,139 personnel on the ground.The audit found that after the first round of recruiting 3,139 men, the Delhi Police has not operationalised the remaining 9,379 approved posts till August 2020.Moreover, the audit report found that the representation of women in the Delhi Police was merely 11.75 per cent, way lower than the stipulated target of 33 per cent.Inadequate infrastructureThe audit report says that the Delhi Police PCR Vans and Tourist MPVs were operating with only 4,144 police personnel against a requirement of 6,171.

55 per cent of the MPVs were operating without a gunman, it says.Obsolete CommunicationThe audit shows that the Delhi Police force is using a 20 years old trunking system (APCO), which is already 10 years beyond its normal life span.It observes that proposals for up-gradation of these communication sets were initiated a little over a decade ago but till date even tenders have not been finalised.This is not all.

For rapid response and coordination, the efficacy of wireless sets is paramount.However, the audit found that despite the rise in population, challenges and number of personnel, the number of wireless sets under the conventional system with the Delhi Police declined.After the Nirbhaya case, the central and the Delhi government promised to cover every inch of Delhi with CCTV cameras.The Delhi Police has installed 3,870 CCTV cameras across the national capital at strategic locations.

But, the majority of these cameras don't work.According to the audit, 31 per cent CCTV cameras installed in the pilot phase were completely defunct.

Around 44 per cent installed in other phases were found to be defunct.To tackle the rising crimes against women, the Delhi Police had launched the Himmat Plus Mobile App, which is a women safety centric application in February 2018.

This was as an upgraded version of the earlier Himmat App.The Delhi Police had spent Rs 18.5 lakh on development of the Himmat Plus and a whopping Rs 6.82 crore on the publicity of the Himmat App and the Himmat Plus App.

Still, the response of the users to the App was tepid.Out of the total of 1.66 lakh initial installs of Himmat/Himmat Plus App, 1.32 lakh users uninstalled leaving only about 34000 users as of May 2019.Cyber CrimesRanges operated by the Delhi Police's key counter-terror Unit -- the Special Cell -- were found to be struggling against the availability of vehicles, protective equipment like bulletproof jackets, and arms and ammunition, which are vital for quick in real-time responseThe SWAT unit, which is the first responder to any armed act by the terrorists, gangsters or anti-national elements in Delhi, according to the performance audit report, was functioning with reduced efficiency in terms of bulletproof jackets as well as specialised training for their all-round development and preparedness.Similarly, the Cyber Crime Unit of the Special Cell didn't have an adequate number of trained and qualified personnel deployed to efficiently handle the cyber-related crimes leading to inadequate disposal of cases in the Cyber Crime Unit.While the Delhi Police regularly faces public ire over its zealous security cover provided to VVIPs and other protected persons, the audit found that against the requirement of 3,896 police personnel for the protection of all the Protected Persons (PPs), only 2,661 were posted for active duty.

This means that there existed a 32 per cent shortage of manpower in this field as well.The Delhi Police was found to be providing security of 261 personnel to 27 protected persons who do not even reside in Delhi.

As per the norms, security should be provided by the concerned state governments.Even worse, the government failed to take care of the force in form of providing adequate facilities to the stressed police force.For about 80,000 police personnel, there are only 15,360 quarters available in Delhi.

This means that less than 20 per cent of the Delhi Police's force has been provided quarters.Only 1 out of 72 police stations, test-checked by the audit team, had staff deployed as per the norms prescribed by Bureau of Police Research and development or BPR-D.It was found that in these 72 police stations studied there was a shortage of 35 per cent in manpower.The report summarises that due to the acute shortage of staff, the police force is under tremendous strain as their average daily duty hours in the six test-checked police districts (Central, New Delhi, South, Dwarka, North East and Rohini) ranged from 12 to 15 hours against eight hours as prescribed under the Model Police Act 2006.The audit report virtually highlights the reasons for it.

It says: "Many police stations lacked facilities like barracks, Canteen/Mess, Kitchen, parade/playgrounds etc., which are necessary for comfortable working.

Facilities for public like reception/waiting areas, toilets, women help desk etc.

were also below the required standards."Then, the cag audit team found that there exists a shortage of vehicles Police stations which impacts the force's response m to law and order situations.Police Control RoomThe audit reports make a special mention that among the Distress calls are received at the Central Police Control Room via a Computer Aided Dispatch system (PA-100/ERSS-112) too many are blank calls.It says: "Increasing blank calls over the years has been a major irritant affecting the performance of the Emergency Response System.

A satisfactory solution has not been found."The Safe and Secure Delhi, enterprise-wide Data integration and Intelligence gathering project, to be implemented through Rs 40 crore funding by the World Bank be shelved as despite repeated attempts Delhi police failed to finalize vendors.