The Delhi Police has introduced a phonetic keyboard with a Hindi voice typing facility in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) for investigating officers (IOs) to verbally record their work on the electronic database. The system, as a pilot project, has been launched in all police stations of New Delhi and the northern districts of the force. It will be rolled out in all police districts soon, reports have said. It is a big technological leap in facilitating professional investigations and data and records management. The tool will be used in lodging FIRs (first information reports), writing case diaries, submitting charge sheets, etc.
Officials claimed that this is one of the first system innovation tools to be implemented in north Indian Hindi-speaking states. With it, IOs will be able to speak and record their work electronically using the phonetic keyboard, eliminating the dependency on Hindi typists or the need to record Hindi versions in English alphabets, the Delhi Police Public Relations Officer noted. It is expected to improve efficiency, accuracy, and transparency in investigation works.
Until now, police personnel, especially IOs, faced several challenges while operating the CCTNS in Hindi for official works like writing FIRs, case diaries, and final reports as very few personnel are adept at typing in Hindi. They had to often seek the help of professional Hindi data entry operators, the Officer said. Moreover, the old system did not accept Hindi scripts, and Hindi words and sentences had to be written in English.
However, the newly developed AI-based procedure is quick and easy. A dictionary of traditional Hindi/Urdu words, often used in police work, has been added for the convenience of users. The tool can also identify new words and store them in the database, thus expanding its vocabulary to include all police-related words and syntax. The system will improve the speed and accuracy of police functioning in digitally maintaining records, the Officer added.
Recently, the Delhi Police Commissioner launched an e-FIR application system, allowing citizens to register house theft and burglary incidents online, saving time and costs. Work on the online FIR application has been going on for the past several months and technical and legal aspects have been discussed with the concerned departments. The online tool is a milestone in a series of web applications developed by the Delhi Police to enable complainants to register FIRs and receive a copy of the same instantly without having to go to a police station, the Commissioner stated.
After registering a complaint, an FIR will be lodged at an e-police station. It will instantly dispatch a copy of the digitally-signed FIR to the complainant, area station house officer, senior officers, and designated court. First-time users will have to register by providing a mobile phone number and an email ID. A one-time password (OTP) will be sent to the user via SMS or email.
