To make police personnel familiar with the latest technologies, Prakasam district police in Andhra Pradesh launched Trainings and Activities for Technology Adoption (TATA) to train all the officials in adopting technology in various law and order functions.
District SP Siddharth Kaushal while launching the project said the first of its kind initiative in the country aims to develop the technical capacity of every single member of the police force from the rank of a constable to DSP without leaving anyone behind. “Our vision is to create a tech-savvy and future ready police force,” he said.
Under the project, a series of technology adoption workshops are being conducted to ensure dissemination of technical knowhow from basic computing to specialized police applications for the entire police force in order to modernize the law enforcement apparatus.
Police personnel are being trained in the use of technology applications such as: Call Detail Records (CDR) Analysis which is used to track details of telephonic calls or messages generated by a phone device.
Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) in which the information of each and every case is uploaded nationwide so that any police agency can identify the crime and criminals, Internet Protocol Data Record (IPDR) Analysis which is used to investigate cybercrimes.
Criminal Intelligence System (CIS) in which the data of the missing persons, un-identified dead bodies, inter-state criminal gangs, stolen vehicles, etc. is stored and various others systems.
Apart from professional applications, the police force will also be trained in the use of popular mobile applications which are useful for the personnel in daily life like Google navigation apps, travel apps for ticket bookings, entertainment apps, e-commerce apps, payment apps, etc.
Kaushal said this will add variety to their training as well as increase their interest in the programme. A dedicated Technology Adoption Center (TAC) is being set up in the district police headquarters, which is going to function as a center to introduce and test new technology applications, train the personnel and also as a cybercrime lab.
In partnership with the district administration 100 computer systems have been procured for the purpose. The department has also collaborated with local engineering colleges to use their facilities and instructors to administer various training programs under the project.
As part of project TATA, an online investigation tools workshop was conducted for all officers on applications like Enterprise search, Court checker, E-Challana, PSS Survey Search, E-Prisons search, Google timeline, Criminal Intelligence, cyber forensic tools and other allied tools.
“The training is showing immense results and we could immediate detect 94 criminal suspects in three days following the workshop”, the SP said.
Similarly, an intensive workshop for all officers on CCTNS was conducted. This is a primary police application which was introduced nationwide after 2008 Mumbai attacks to integrate the crime and criminal intelligence across the country.
Its full potential has not been realized so far as the various police forces across the country have not been able to effectively utilize this system. As all the officers have been given intensive hands on training on various applications, it has now enabled them to lead the initiative at the field level and ensure that the programs to train the lower ranks are properly implemented and supervised.
A total of 1,752 personnel are undergoing technology training as a part of project TATA in various batches over a period of six months.
In each police station in the country, only 1-3 officials are trained and assigned with dedicated computer operators/technology, Kaushal explained and added that less than 10% of the force is able to operate police related computer applications and other online tools.
“Prakasam police wants to take that figure close to 100%. From now onwards every member of the police force is going to be technically trained as that will be the requirement of the future. A 100% technology trained police force will be a paradigm change in Indian policing and will usher in a new era of modern 21st century policing which protect and serve the citizens in a far better way,” he said, concluding that “Prakasam police aims to become No.1 police force in the country in terms of technology awareness, technology skills and technology application.”
