Delhi Police is officially using speech-to-text software to ensure that documentation work is not hampered due to officers facing difficulty in typing in Hindi.
The initiative was formally taken up by Assistant Sub-Inspector Lavkesh Kumar, posted in Karol Bagh police station. On September 10, he received an appreciation letter from Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Jasmeet Singh.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Kumar said many officials had been facing problems in uploading entries to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) in Hindi as they are not accustomed to typing in the language. Explaining the process, the ASI said he uses a speech-to-text feature on WhatsApp that can transcribe spoken Hindi into Devanagari script. “After the message is typed, one can open WhatsApp Web on their system and copy-paste the message on to the CCTNS portal,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said he has been using the process for a long time and it has now been formalised in the police station.
The ASI said that about a week ago, concerns were raised about general diary entries — an essential part of policing — not being uploaded on the CCTNS.
Officials told seniors that they find it tough to type in Hindi on a keyboard. Mr. Kumar suggested his method and it was accepted by the senior officers.
“I was always interested in learning new technology. I keep asking seniors to teach me new methods of policing with respect to technology and they help,” said the 50-year-old who joined the Delhi Police in 1990 as a constable.
In his appreciation letter, Mr. Singh wrote: “I would like to place on record my deep appreciation for the excellent work done by you [Mr. Kumar] in connection with the process of filling details of FIRs, case diaries, etc. in Hindi font in CCTNS through voice system using apps viz. Intel Remote Keyboard Version 1.14 and Mobile Version 1.4.0 in Karol Bagh police station.”
Fewer errors
A senior police officer said many elderly head constables and constables relied heavily on CCTNS data operators to upload the information as they were unable to type in Hindi. Many officers also wrote down the information on paper and shared it with the data operators, increasing scope of error.
“The speech-to-text system will cut down errors,” the officer said, adding that even the young officers find it tough to type in Hindi as they are used to typing in English.
Another advantage of the system is faster turn around of documentation work and reduction in use of paper.
DCP Singh said the technology is currently being used only at Karol Bagh police station. If it is successful, the system will be implemented in other stations, he added.
