Cops reluctant to wield 145;mouse146;

The state government8217;s ambitious project to cyber-connect police stations across the state by October seems to have hit a road block.

The state government8217;s ambitious project to cyber-connect police stations across the state by October seems to have hit a road block. A large number of police personnel, mostly of the rank of sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors are reluctant to handle the 8216;mouse.8217; They say the Rs 900 fees for the programme and the certificate examination is too high, given their salary, though the police department has said that the amount will be refunded.

Senior police officers said that since the last two years, the deadline to make the staff computer literate is being extended, but it has not made any impact at the grassroots level. The police top brass across the state has, nevertheless, made computer literacy 8216;unofficially8217; mandatory for promotions.

An IPS officer said on condition of anonymity: 8220;It is like 8216;charity begins at home8217; situation. Those who are imposing computer literacy are themselves not interested in holding the mouse because they have either neared their retirement age or lack an interest in computers. The project has seen countless deadlines and if stringent parameters are not officially set, the situation will continue to remain the same.8221;

Senior officers said the Home Department Integrated Information Technology HDIIT software is expected to bring a sea change in policing. The project plans to connect all the police stations in the state and will start from the cities and slowly percolate down to the district level. But to operate on the HDIIT interface at least 30 per cent of the police force in a police station must be computer literate.

Sub-Inspector M K Motwani, who is the computer centre in-charge at Vadodara said the project will be officially launched in October 2008. 8220;The HDIIT project for the police department, which is initiated in collaboration with a private firm, is expected to standardise police reporting formats including the First Information Report and inquest,8221; said Motwani.

He added: 8220;Under the system, each Investigating Officer for a particular case will himself enter the data of the case on the computer. Initially, two persons from a private data entry firm will assist the police officers. The server will be based in Gandhinagar where the data will be stored.8221;

8230;but middle-rung officers eager to learn computer basics
With speculations rife about HDIIT, there is a mad rush among the policemen, especially those in the middle-rung, to learn basic computer concepts. A policeman from Vadodara said on condition of anonymity that though it8217;s hard on the pocket to pay Rs 900 for the training and examination, given their salary of Rs 4,000, they have to take the test to advance their career prospects. Vadodara Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said the training for the policemen is government sponsored. Another senior police officer said if the policemen are spending money from their own pockets to learn computer, it will be refunded back.