Policing will soon get smarter and more citizen-centric across the country.

By April this year, the government is set to introduce a system that would not only bring transparency, accountability and efficiency in policing but will also enable people to file a complaint and track its status — and that of the first information reports (FIRs) — online.  

"The government will launch crime and criminal tracking network and systems (CCTNS), which would bring in greater transparency and accountability in policing. It will also provide online complaint registration and tracking facility to citizens,” union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said on Friday while launching the pilot roll-out of CCTNS in 25 states and union territories.

Shinde clicked open the first online FIR, registered by Tughlakabad police station in the capital, in the presence of state directors general of police (DGP).

"When work on CCTNS project started three years ago, our prime focus was on capacity-building of police personnel,” the minister said. “Now our focus will be on implementing the project at the earliest."

Under CCTNS, the government will network 15,000 police stations and 6,000 higher offices (including circle, sub-division, district, range, zonal and state/UT headquarters) across the country to create a central database of crime and criminals. The project will automate the work flow of police forces and provide high-speed connectivity for quick data transfer and information-sharing among various stakeholders.

Lack of such a system has been a challenge to internal security but with CCTNS in place, experts said police’s ability to track and nab criminals will get a shot in the arm.

Till date, 5.4 lakh police personnel, out of a total 16 lakh personnel across India, have been trained and 2,000 police stations have been integrated to the network.

Shinde said the system integrator has been appointed in 31 states and UTs. He also said getting acceptance of personnel for the new system will be of utmost importance for the project to become a success. Change management (training of personnel for getting their buy-in on the new system) will thus play a crucial role.

Union home secretary RK Singh said when a crime is committed in one part of the country and the criminal escapes to another, there is “no solution but to have a single database to make the job easier” to enable the cops to nab the culprit. He said the project is being completed within the initial budget of Rs 2,000 crore.

CCTNS will be integrated with systems like e-prisons and e-courts, among others, in days to come, Singh said. "Post-implementation, bringing criminals to justice will get easier and transparent," he added.