Police Department is implementing Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), which allows all the police stations to access crucial criminal records and information. With this, we are taking a big leap in the field of IT, says Prafulla Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Jodhpur in an exclusive interview with Kartik Sharma and Harshal Desai of Elets News Network (ENN). Kumar also talks about the IT deployments and social media engagements done by the Jodhpur Police, along with the future plans of successfully implementing ITMS, Cyber Crime Cell and Tourist Police Station at Jodhpur.
How is the Jodhpur Police making the most of Information Technology?
We are planning to use Information Technology (IT) in a major way. Currently, it is in its initial stage here in Jodhpur. We are generating a lot of data from various sources. However, the integration and meaningful utilisation of the data is something which needs to be worked upon.
One good initiative which has been implemented is Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), which allows all the police stations to access crucial criminal records and information. With this, we are taking a big leap in the field of IT. However, we need to integrate old data in the system. Once this is done, multiple reporting processes shall become redundant. Further, once data integration is completed, it will also help us in analysing and mapping the data, which may help us further deal with crimes and criminals.
In Jaipur, we had done a very simple exercise – Hotspot Analysis – where we mapped property offences on the map with thier latitude and longitude along with time, and also recorded the nature of crime or offence. This analysis helped us understand the criminal trends scientifically. We are now planning to do similar exercise in Jodhpur as well. This is called Spatiotemporal Data Analysis, which can give you enough knowledge to stop crimes before they might happen.
Cybercrime in India grew by a massive 457 percent in the last five years. What are the initiatives being undertaken by you in Jodhpur?
We are trying to set up a Cyber Cell, and we have already started a basic facility. Some of our men have been trained for the job and deployed. We are making efforts to develop a team which will help local police stations in forming strategies and provide technology to fight cyber crimes. We have a small unit at this moment, but in near future, we will surely have a bigger team in Jodhpur.
Jodhpur, being a global tourist destination, calls for more safety and security measures towards the people visiting the Sun City. What are your views on this? Please elaborate.
We have proposed a Tourist Police Station in Jodhpur. We have roped in Hotel Associations and Guide Associations as well. We are planning to launch an information card as well which will be a handy tool for visitors to contact necessary departments and places in the city. We are making efforts to outreach the people visiting the Sun City with increased visibility.
How effectively is your department involved in citizen engagement?
Social Media Platforms are helping us in reaching out to the people of Jodhpur. At this moment, we are sharing basic information on social media platforms, but very soon, we are planning to make our social media platform interactive and run campaigns for women safety, tourist safety, and cyber crimes. We shall be roping in some agencies which would help us in customising and generating content for our platforms to attract citizens’ attention to various issues.
With the help of some media houses, we had run campaign to engage citizens of Jodhpur where they would ask questions and we would answer; it helped us ensure a positive connect between police and citizens.
Any plans to implement Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) in Jodhpur.
We have installed CCTV camera across the city. We are seeking the help of IIT Jodhpur for meaningful manipulation and analysis of CCTV data. ITMS, I would say, is a significant project. We are in the process of sending proposals to Government to implement ITMS mechanisms in the city as well.