Implementation of ambitious CCTNS delayed by a month

CCTNS Project in Maharashtra

Record of all crimes and criminals will be available on net from June 1

By Dheeraj Fartode

THE launch of much-awaited Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) in maharashtra has been delayed by another month. Cops as well as citizens were looking forward to the implementation of this system as it would facilitate the process of filing complaints and the follow-up, which would be available at the click of a mouse. As per schedule, the project was to be implemented in the last week of April. Now, the project is likely to be launched on June 1, 2013.
Chief of State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), Special Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sanjay Verma confirmed this delay. “By June 1, 2013, the database of criminals should be in place and work is in progress on war footing. Site preparation and installation of software is in the last stage. Project implementation has been delayed as it is a huge project and on a very large scale,” said IGP Verma while talking with ‘The Hitavada’.
Maharashtra police received the software in Hindi and English. Wipro developed the software in Marathi language for cops here. Trail runs are being done by the Pune police. The project is expected to be started in Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane, Nanded and Aurangabad in the last week of May, Verma claimed.
CCTNS was evolved as Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). About 1,033 police stations and 600 supervisory offices of the police were to be brought under CCTNS loop. The project will be rolled out in Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Kerala. After observing IT literacy among Maharashtra Police, the government decided to include Maharashtra State Police under the pilot project.
CCTNS would help in quick analysis of crime trends and accompanying data about criminals known to be part of that crime. Moreover, status of various criminal cases would be available at a click of a mouse to help speed-up investigations and prevent police from groping in the dark, when inter-state gangs or criminals are involved.
The project has the potential to help in investigation, detection and also prevention of crimes. During passport and immigration check, verifying the data would be helpful in saving time for the investigators. Besides Verma said that there would be a citizens’ portal where people could provide information about crime and criminals or get information for updating their knowledge.
CCTNS footprint would be all over the country for a tracking system of criminals in real time, the most critical requirement in present day internal security problems. The government sanctioned Rs 2,000 crore in the XIth Five-Year Plan for the CCTNS across the country. CCTNS’ basic aim is to integrate police networks of respective states for enhancing efficiency and efficacy of policing at all levels, especially at police station-level through adoption of principles of e-Governance.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Crime, Sunil Kolhe told ‘The Hitavada’ that CCTNS project has four stages, viz. manpower training, digitization, hardware installation and software installation. “More than 50 per cent personnel in the city police are computer literate, which wil help in digitization of data in Crime and Criminals Information System (CCIS) and Common Integrated Police Application (CIPA), work for which has started at Nagpur Police Commissionerate.”
DCP Kolhe further informed that police stations and supervisory offices would be connected through BSNL broadband. The data stored at one police station would be made available to other stations and supervisory offices anywhere in India. The ultimate aim was to bring transparency and paperless functioning in the Police Department.
Data of crimes and criminals between years 1998 and 2012 under Nagpur Commissionerate has already been digitized. Information would be stored in unicode standard so that it would be available in English and Marathi languages. Basic data base of criminals and their modus operandi would be available on citizens’ portal.
“We are receiving computers from government and four computers would be installed in each police station for CCTNS,” DCP Kolhe said. Nagpur police have received 55 broadband BSNL connections out of required 88, the DCP added.
As per government plan, after successful operation in states under pilot project, it will be implemented in all 35 states and Union Territories to cover 14,000 police stations and all 6,000 higher police offices across the country. The CCTNS project will be linked with every police station, district police office, state headquarters, respective State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) and National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Sources said that during the first year, one private technical expert would be deployed in each police station to ensure that errors in operating CCTNS are ironed out at ground level. The system integrator company would be installing computer machinery in all police stations and would look after its maintenance for the next five years.