Government fast-tracks crime tracking system
The Modi Government's effort to fast-track the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System could not have a day sooner. The network has the potential to revolutionise policing in this country, a key element of homeland security the importance of which cannot be understated in this day and age. It is no coincidence that the CCTNS was proposed and approved by the Government of India after the 2008 Mumbai carnage, which, terror experts agree, provided the template for the horrific terror attack in Paris last week. The bloodbath in the French capital, which came a day after suicide bombers blew themselves up in Beirut and was followed by bombings in the Nigerian cities of Yola and Kano, reminded us that all it takes is an armed band of fanatics to wreak havoc on our cities; that it doesn't matter if one is living in a major Western capital or in the middle of a perennial troublespot, there is probably a terrorist lurking in the corner somewhere. While at one level, the geo-political factors that lead to these problems are varied and, thereby, require differentiated solutions (think of the Taliban vis-à-vis the lashkar-e-Tayyeba vis-à-vis the Islamic State), at another, more immediate, level, there is only one effective response to this menace: Strengthening the homeland security apparatus. This includes everything, from improving beat-level policing to intensifying intelligence sharing and surveillance to beefing up law enforcement and shoring up border protection. A good example is the manner in which the US overhauled its domestic security mechanism in the aftermath of 9/11 — it set up the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter-Terrorism Centre among tens of other new agencies, reorganised scores of Government bodies, and also enacted tougher laws. And the result is there for all to see: Since the Twin Towers were destroyed, there has been no 9/11-scale terror attack within the US. In contrast, in the seven years since 26/11, India has struggled to raise its fences and plug the holes and leakages in its system. The proposed National Counter-Terrorism Centre has been put in cold storage, the National Investigation Agency is still finding its feet, and several other security upgrades and improvements, promised after the attacks, have either been forgotten or implemented in a half-hearted manner.
It is against this context that the decision from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to push for the completion of the CCTNS must be viewed. The deadline for the project has been set at March 2017 and, once operationalised, it will help connect 15,000 police stations and 5,000 other offices of supervisory police officers across the country. First Information Reports, chargesheets, biographical details of convicted felons etc will be available though a centralised system. Eventually, CCTNS will be integrated with courts and prisons records as well, and this will help set up a truly integrated criminal justice system.