After a successful run and then a win in 2020, the Himachal Police has once again emerged a winner when it comes to crime control in the country, as they were conferred the National Award for ‘Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems’ (CCTNS) under the Hilly and North East States category. This is the second consecutive win for HP Police as they yet again brought the magnificent silver trophy home. The award was conferred by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the trophy was awarded by Union Minister of State, Ajay Kumar Mishra.
Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur, lauded the efforts made by the Himachal Pradesh Police and especially DGP Sanjay Kundu, and congratulated them on winning the National Award two times in a row. Mr. Thakur also spoke about how CCTNS is setting standards in Police Station working and effective policing, which is resulting in efficient crime control. He also said that the police are not only using the latest technology in controlling and tracking crime, but also initiating various people-friendly schemes for effective policing.
SECOND TIME WINNER
While speaking to Indian Masterminds, DGP of Himachal Pradesh, Sanjay Kundu, IPS, said, “CCTNS is a pan India network programme and is a big building block for Police Station work and is essential for crime control. At the state level, it is monitored by the State Crime Record Bureau and at the central level, it is monitored by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). The NCRB is now modeling various tools in the system such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), analytics etc., which are making police work easier and more efficient.”
To promote good practices and competition among the State Police Forces, the Government of India institutes various awards which are presented on various factors. Among such awards comes the Hilly and North East States category where competition is held between 11 states, including J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh etc.
Mr. Kundu said, “After winning the award for the second time, my aim is not only to make a hattrick but also rank the state’s police at No 1 in the country. I am very glad that we won the award this year and for this, I thank my officers and my technical staff for working with diligence tirelessly.”
Tech Mahindra is the technical partner and system integrator of Himachal Police in this project. Mr. Kundu congratulated them and said, “They have been working with us hand in hand and we have developed a good bond and symbiosis with them. In collaboration with them, we have put Himachal Pradesh on top of the technology map, as far as policing is concerned.”
COMPUTERISED OPERATIONS
Himachal Pradesh has taken a lot of initiatives in doing policing with technology. Everything has been computerized, right from a person lodging a complaint to the final chargesheeting of the case. Mr. Kundu said, “Through Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS)’, the different pillars of the criminal justice system, like courts, police, jails and forensic science laboratories, are being seamlessly merged with each other. We have been doing a lot of good work under this and have become one of the pioneer states.”