Lower-ranking officers from 20 police stations of the city's central region will have to work only for eight hours, instead of a regular 12 hours shift in a day, an initiative implemented on a trial basis, police said today.

If it is successful, the other four police regions -- South, East, West and North -- which have at least 70 police stations may also implement the initiative, started a few days ago to reduce stress level among the overworked force, they said.

It was seen that many cops fell ill due to immense work pressure, that adversely effected their work efficiency, and in some cases also led to their death.

"The eight-hour shift is being implemented in central region of the city police. The idea behind this is to reduce stress level among the lower ranking policemen. If the results are good, then we will see if it can be implemented in other four regions as well," Deputy Police Commissioner (spokesperson) Nisar Tamboli.

The idea is applicable only to men with the rank of assistant sub inspector, head constable, police naik and police constable, who form 60 per cent of the total staff in a police station. These men are actually on the streets patrolling and bandobast during festival season or at the time of intelligence alerts, police said.

The new shift timings - 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm and 11pm-7am, would not be applicable if there are any emergencies and the personnel will have to work as per orders from their superiors, police said.

An RTI document reveals that out of city's 43,000 police force, at least 58 cops died every year since the the last five years. The document shows that from 2006 to 2010, 292 Mumbai policemen died and of these 163 cops died from cardiac arrests, heart-related complications, while 42 cops committed suicide in the same period.