The Hindu : New Delhi News : Policing at the click of a button

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 04, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Policing at the click of a button

Common Integrated Police Application will ensure higher levels of transparency in police functioning, feels Devesh K. Pandey

The recent introduction of the Common Integrated Police Application (CIPA) system at some police stations in the Capital has heralded an era of state-of-the-art technology-driven force that no longer depends on cumbersome paper work. The new culture of utilising advanced electronic gadgets to bring in transparency in police work will help instil confidence among the general public.

The most striking feature of the CIPA system -- developed by National Informatics Centre and now installed in New Delhi, North Delhi and Central Delhi --- is that it will instantly make available digitised data pertaining to all aspects of policing to officers at various levels. While earlier they manually collated and analysed the data -- an arduous and time-consuming task -- they will now get the desired information and postulations at the click of a button.

Apart from interlinking police stations, sub-divisions and headquarters, the system will ensure higher levels of transparency in police functioning as supervisory officers will have round-the-clock access to details and developments in investigations. That would mean better follow-up and watertight scrutiny of cases, thus improving the rate of convictions. The entire procedure will also ensure correct appraisal of the performance of the personnel.

Very soon the system will be extended to other government departments as well to ensure smooth coordination among them and the police.

While CIPA would immensely benefit the force, there has been another major development in the field of electronic surveillance in the Capital.

In view of increased terrorist activities here, the police had put forth a proposal to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) for better surveillance at vital installations and vulnerable spots. The tragic incidents of blasts at two cinema halls and the explosions at Paharganj and Sarojini Nagar markets and a bus at Govindpuri in South Delhi last year speeded up implementation of the project.

Within a short span of time now scores of cameras have been installed at market places and shopping malls with the help of market associations. This apart, the police are planning to purchase high-resolution cameras to provide more teeth to the surveillance mechanism.

While CIPA will ensure better coordination and analysis, a wide network of CCTVs would facilitate round-the-clock watch across the city. But if the longstanding project of Global Positioning System also gets implemented this year as envisaged, it will benefit the force immensely. The system will help monitor Police Control Room vans, reducing the reaction time to any distress call.

But such an improved infrastructure will bring forth the desired results only if those handling it are adept at their job. For that, the entire work force will have to be trained to ensure maximum possible utilisation of resources.

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