The city police on Friday commenced full-fledged issuance of computerised First Information Reports (FIRs) to complainants in all the law and order, crime, all woman police, traffic investigation wing and other special police units. This is part of the state-wide initiative of the police department.
Computerised FIRs as part of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) would help making FIRs transparent and make it impossible to make changes in it once it is entered online.
To make things easy for station level Police Data Entry Operators (PDO), the city police started the trial run from April 1.
Though there were initial hiccups at some stations, police personnel said that the system would prove to be easy compared to the conventional mode when the PDOs get adapted to the system.
Without a computer at the Peelamedu Crime Police Station, the police was forced to take complaints to the law and order police station. At Singanallur police station where there was software problem, despite which the police managed to give printed FIRs to complainants.
Police officers while claiming that computerisation and the CCTNS linking would be of help to the system, felt that more trained manpower should be provided at police stations for successful implementation. “We have computers but not the required manpower,” a station level officer said.
While at least one PDO was trained in the computerisation process, senior police officers said that there has been some shortfall. A senior police officer said that this was because some PDOs got retired or transferred and a few others complained of eye problem and difficulty in using the computer.
In such places the department was in the process of identifying the right persons who would adapt to the system and ensure smooth functioning of the system. Officers are also trying to bring to effect the direction from the office of the Director General of Police (DGP) that PDOs should not be deployed for other forms of station related works or policing duties.
Earlier, computer proficiency of the youth brigades came in handy for the police personnel at the station level. But now that they have been relieved to undergo the police constable training as part of regularising them as policemen, their absence was felt at the stations.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Nisha Parthiban said that they are trying to train more police personnel at all the 35 police stations in the city and in the special police units to ensure that each station has at least two police data entry operators. “This will ensure that they are available round the clock,” she added.
