The Andhra Pradesh Police is tapping into digital technologies in a big way as it is gearing up to implement the AP Disha Act-2019.
“Safety of women has been integrated into the AP Police in a big way after we have launched Mahila Mitra, Cyber Mitra and Be Safe mobile applications, and now we will launch an e-platform, integrating all women’s safety programmes and digital technologies. We will be also using Facial Recognition Tools (FRT) to identify predators targeting women and children,’’ Director General of Police D. Gautam Sawang told The Hindu in an interview.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will launch Suraksha - Spandana on January 1, which is a new grievance redressal mechanism for women.
The new measures are in line with the AP Disha Act which has provisions to set up exclusive special courts to deal with cases relating to sexual violence against women and children and making amendments to existing sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C) to expedite trial in these cases within 21 days.
Good response
The response to helplines in addition to Dial 100 has been overwhelming. The existing helpline data receivers have a capacity to handle 69,000 calls per day and this would be doubled. “We are happy with the response time of police which is six minutes in urban areas and 10-12 minutes in rural areas, which is near to global standards, but we will improve further in rural areas,” said Mr. Sawang.
The State police will also double the DNA and fingerprinting laboratory capacity as the personnel are gearing up to meet the challenge of completing investigation of cases relating to violence against women within the time frame.
Integrated system
“The AP Police will take the lead in putting in place an Integrated Criminal Justice System consisting of police, judiciary and NGOs, which ensures speedy justice in cases relating to sexual violence against women and children,” said the DGP.
The police in tune with the State government’s thrust towards women’s safety, have already put in place Mahila Mitra and Cyber Mitra services. “During the Spandana weekly grievance programme, 52% of complainants are women which is a sign of changing times as women are breaking barriers by coming to police stations to register complaints,” said Mr. Sawang.
