PANAJI
Goa Police has more than halved the time it takes to reach people in distress, cutting its average response time from 18 minutes two years ago to less than eight minutes. Now Union Home Minister Amit Shah wants the force to further bring it down to six minutes or less.
Shah, who on Monday presented the prestigious President’s Colour to the Goa police, said the next improvement is possible with more police vehicles already on the road.
“I hope the response time can be reduced further, to six minutes or less... The force has recently added to its fleet more cars and motorcycles,” he said at the event organised at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium.
The force had reported last month that its average response time had fallen below eight minutes in August 2026, from 18 minutes two years earlier.
The Home Minister also applauded Goa's response to cyber fraud, an increasingly difficult policing challenge as financial scams move at speed across phone networks and digital platforms.
He praised Goa Police for introducing an AI-based call agent for the 1930 cyber crime helpline, stating the State had moved ahead of several others in using technology to assist victims of cyber fraud.
“Goa is ahead of several other States in taking this initiative forward,” Shah said, adding that the technology should become more accessible to visitors and people from different parts of the country by adding Gujarati and other major regional languages to the service.
Shah also sought sporting culture within Goa Police, advising personnel to remain physically fit and look beyond the State's traditional strength in football.
“Police personnel must remain fit and healthy, and all types of sports can play an important role in ensuring physical fitness and overall well-being,” he said.
The Home Minister also placed Goa Police high on the national rankings for implementation of the three new criminal laws. He said the force, which had remained No. 1 nationally for several months, now ranked second with a performance score of 93.38 per cent.
