Innovative Policing

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“Technology is the future”. In the 21st Century, technological developments are required in various spheres of life such as industries, agriculture, security etc. Almost all the nations in the world are moving towards the technological development in their defense system in order to counter external aggression but does that really keep us safe? Both internal and external threat, are considered to be of serious concern.  India being the 2nd most populated country in the world faces the problem of keeping a track on criminal activities as well as bringing efficiency in policing. But the introduction of the “Crime and Criminal Tracking and Networking System (CCTNS)” has revolutionized the system. It has brought efficiency and effectiveness in the criminal tracking and hence, brought the advancement in countering criminal activities.

CCTNS, a mission mode project under National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of the Government of India. It was launched in 2009 by the Union Home Ministry with idea of linking all the police stations in the country. It is an advanced software application which would empower police organizations and help policing through the e-governance method. CCTNS would bring connectivity and enhance cooperation amongst police stations belonging to different jurisdictions. This would also enable better coordination in tackling crime and exchange of information of various absconders. CCTNS will facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, storing, sharing and accessing data at the police station level and between the State headquarters and the Central Police Organizations. BSNL will provide the connectivity and the system will work on the Linux operating system.

CCTNS would come under the  E-Governance vision. CCTNS will create a national data bank of crime and criminal and their bio-metric profiles. This databases of other agencies of the criminal justice system like Courts, Jails, Immigration, Forensic Labs etc in a phased manner. CCTNS would contribute towards making the police functioning citizen-friendly and more transparent by automating the functioning of police stations. There had been widespread grievances amongst citizens of not having clear access of  records and not availing the services as per the demand due to the unavailability of records and personals, but under the CCTNS project,  there has been improvement in the citizen centric services through effective usage of Information and Communication Technology. Under the outmoded system of policing, Seniors Officers could not keep the track over the activities of their subordinate officers and any wrongful act by them could not be directly reported so easily. CCTNS assist senior police officers in better management of police force. It helps to keep track of the progress of cases including in courts. It has reduced much of the paper work which were easily misused and misappropriated and the technology has reduced the redundant records keeping. Computerized records are smartly safeguarded and cannot be misused easily.

We all are aware of the fact that India is vulnerable to terrorism and other internal and external threats such cross-border criminal activities. I would like to highlight the effective implementation of CCTNS in the State of Tripura. CCTNS has been set up in Tripura as part of the nation-wide project to keep tab on criminals and to curb crime. It helps policing through e-governance. All police stations in Tripura have been inter-connected through internet networks under the CCTNS. The new system would help police to solve criminal cases promptly and share information with the police stations in and outside Tripura or with the national agencies which would improve coordination and cooperation amongst various units. The director general of the National Crimes Records Bureau(NCRB), R.R.Verma, has recently appreciated the ‘excellent progress of work of CCTNS in Tripura as compared to other States in the country’. Director-General of Tripura Police, K. Nagaraj, has said that due to the concerted efforts of the police administration and all stake holders, the conviction rate in Tripura has increased to 22.51% last year as compared to 14.67% in 2013. The overall crime rate has also come down by 12% and militant activities have been largely tamed.

India has been technologically deprived since many decades and it is also true that police personnel or other related people are inadequate and  inefficient in handling such advanced technology. In order to undertake proper and efficient implementation of this project, it is important to avail professional assistance and guidance. Without training such technology would be of no use. Tripura, especially, is situated in eastern border of India and due to the large-scale ignorance by the politicians and other governmental organizations, the State despite of being highly potential has suffered through many backlogs such as development, technological advancement and many other things.  Being situated in the border area, such availability of resources should have been provided long time ago in order to curb incursions, cross-border terrorism, illegal immigration, drug trafficking and supply of heavy weaponry to the rebel groups from across the border but this unnecessary logjam has simply delayed the process and people suffered throughout the country. The project of CCTNS would not immediately show effective results due to the massive technological barrier, unavailability of adequate resources and various other administrative as well as political reasons. But, it is hoped that the implementation would bring upon some fruitful changes and the increasing crime rates would be curbed by its proper implementation.

About the Author

ShreyanShreyan Acharya is currently pursuing his B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies. Being a law student, he tries to explore different fields in law and is inclined toward research, which he feels, helps in upgrading his intellect. Besides this, he is into sports, which augments his interest in Sports Law, thus keeping him focussed on the field he wants to pursue a career in. Currently, he is interning at the Model Governance Foundation.

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