The Ministry of Home Affairs has mooted a Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), a project wherein police all over India can share and track realtime crime information, allowing officials a centralised, online record-keeping method. This will also allow citizens to file complaints.
Shafi Alam, Director General, National Crime Records Bureau, who spoke at a workshop on Wednesday at the Tamil Nadu Police Academy near Vandalur, said that the project, undertaken at a cost of Rs 3000 crore, would connect 14,000 police stations and 6,000 higher offices across the country. It will enable police station staff to enter their station process online, automate the investigation process end-to-end for the investigating officers as well as enable citizens to submit and track their complaints online stage-by-stage, the director added.
The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2013, will also provide facilities to match missing persons with unidentified dead bodies, compare lost motor-vehicles with traced vehicles, apply online for Arms license and gymnasium license among others. “In a tech-driven era, we have to take advantage of the technology available. But I find some instinctive reservations about this project from within police department. I just want showcase this project on a common platform to everyone”, said Shafi Alam as he addressed the workshop participants and the media.
“This project will not only improve the modus operandi of the police departments all over India but will also improve the general image people have about police”, he added.
Principal Secretary to Government, Personnel and Administrative Department, Tamil Nadu, P W C Davidar also addressed the gathering. He said, “Many within the police departments think it is very difficult to use technology in keeping track of crime records. They think it is an additional burden. But we want to introduce this system only to reduce the work burden of police and reduce duplication of effort.”
The workshop, which focused on Change Management and e-governance, also saw the presence of Ashish Bhengra, Additional Director General of Police, State Crime Records Bureau, who gave a panoramic overview of the project implementation.
In Tamil Nadu, CCTNS project has gone live in four police pilot districts – Tiruvallur, Ariyalur, Sivaganga and Coimbatore city, which were inaugurated by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in March this year.