Aiming to create a database of hardcore criminals, the government has launched a special project in 22 states for biometric identification of such law offenders.

The Automated Finger Print Identification Systems (AFIS) for the purpose of identification of criminals has been introduced in 22 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry last week, a Home Ministry official said. Police stations have started taking finger-prints of all such criminals and kept them in a database which could be used by various law enforcement agencies across the country.

This would enable easy sharing of real-time information across police stations and districts at the state-level as well as national-level, thereby resulting in improved investigation and crime prevention and better tracking of criminals, suspects, accused and repeat offenders, he said. Under Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) Project, which is a Mission mode Project under the National e-Governance Plan, every police station in the country is proposed to be provided with Finger Print Reader for which Rs 15,000 has been earmarked for each of them.

Further, in select police stations Finger print Enrolment Facility is envisaged for which Rs 174.40 crore has been earmarked. The CCTNS project will bring all 16,000 police stations in the country under a single network to counter terror challenges and it will become operational by 2011-12.

"The CCTNS will link each of the 16,000 police stations in India so that any of them can contact any other police station for any information," the official said. The states have appointed nodal officers for the project's early completion and all of them have signed MoUs with the Centre for the purpose. However, Home Ministry officials conceded that erratic power situation in many parts of the country could hamper the successful implementation of the ambitious project.

"Once the CCTNS is completed, it will mark a quantum jump in country's ability to counter various challenges to internal security, particularly terror threats," the official said. Key objectives of the CCTNS project include creating platforms at state and Central levels for sharing crime and criminal information and databases across states in the country. It will also help in creating a platform for sharing intelligence across the states, across the country and across other state-level and central agencies.

Besides, it would facilitate improved service delivery to the public, access to police services in a citizen-friendly manner and provide alternative modes of service delivery such as internet.