‘Wanted’ database at all police stations to be inter-linked

A prototype of the system was presented at a recent meeting at the Centre for Police Research (CPR) here. Though all the district headquarters and city commissionerates have a digital database of wanted and absconding criminals,they are not integrated now. To check whether an arrested criminal is on record anywhere,the police need to check records of each district individually,which is often not possible.

B G Shekhar,superintendent with the state highway police (headquarters),who gave the presentation before some serving and retired police officers at CPR,said,“With this software,if a person has a case registered against him at say both Vishrambag and Faraskhana police stations and some days later if he is arrested in Nagpur,the officers in charge at these police stations will get an alert.”

The police believe the system will put a check on repeat offenders. Shekhar said,“There is a slight difference between a wanted and an absconding criminal. A criminal has to be declared absconding by a court as per the Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The system will give indication as to whether a person is wanted or absconding in any other crime,making the case even stronger.”

Shekhar,a production engineer by training,conceptualised the system based on his experiences during a deputation in Europe. “I saw that automation and digitised records were at the core of every system. To bring that idea into reality,a team of technical experts has put in a lot of efforts. I have presented this idea before senior police officers. We are now awaiting a nod from the DGP’s office.”

Former Pune police commissioner Jayant Umranikar,who attended the presentation,told Newsline that they needed a system to retrieve information from collective databases. “The system also gives alerts if the name of the wanted is written in a different way; ie: full name in one case and just initials in another.”

However,another officer had an interesting take. “Though such a system was badly needed for long,it will be interesting to see when it will actually come into use considering the inertia in the system.”