NCRB sets up vehicle information center

Rahul Gupta

New Delhi

Want to know the information whether a stolen vehicle
has been recovered in any part of the country or the second hand vehicle you
intend to buy is involved in any crime. Just pay an amount of Rs 10 at the
counter of the office of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and you will get
all information regarding that particular vehicle.

NCRB that has a national level data-bank of stolen and
recovered vehicles has recently opened a stolen/recovered vehicle information
center. It has developed a software called Property Co-ordination software which
helps to gather information about all the stolen vehicles in the country and
with just a click of the mouse, one can get all the necessary information about
any stolen or recovered vehicle.

The whole system of NCRB is based on Intel architecture.
"We chose Intel for the sake of reliability, scalability, speed, uniformity
of operating system, software and training for the staff," said Harish
Kumar, Director, NCRB.

The system is being rolled-out to all police
headquarters and secondary offices, a total of 13,362 police stations and 1,128
jails. Currently, the network includes over 740 Intel PIII and P-Xeon
processor-based servers.

The online component of the new system will also enable
NCRB to make non-classified material available to the public on the Internet.
Confidential information will be kept within the Police Network (POLNET).

The State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) receives all the
data of stolen/recovered vehicles from District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB) and
sends it to NCRB in New Delhi. DCRB collects data from all the concerned police
stations and jails on a daily basis.

NCRB has completely overhauled its system. The old
system ran on a variety of servers and PCs, some very outdated. "The new
system can handle a greater workload. As a result of the overhaul, we have seen
vastly improved internal processes. Internal management is faster, particularly
the exchange of documents and information between offices," added Kumar.

"Despite the size of the project, the
implementation has been easy. We needed a system with power and speed, which the
PIII and P-Xeon processor-based servers provided for. We have also installed 950
desktops running Intel Celeron processors, which are extremely reliable. We have
had no problems, even when we adapted our software to run on a Microsoft
platform."

NCRB has the Crime Criminal Information System (CCIS)
which is a database of crimes, criminals, lost and recovered property. The
system is networked nationally between state capitals, with state police forces
connected to their headquarters through regional networks. NCRB expects that
2005 will network it to every police station in the country. CCIS standardizes
the way criminal records are maintained across the country, for efficient
sharing and coordination of information at national level. The system generates
a unique number for every crime.

The Facial Analysis and Criminal Identification System (FACIS)
allows officers to generate photofit portraits of suspects based on witness
descriptions, a job that previously required expert artists. The Wanted Arrested
Information System that they named as 'TALASH' co-ordinates data on arrested
persons with data on wanted persons. NCRB also has advanced automatic
fingerprint identification system, FACTS. Developed jointly by NCRB and CMC,
FACTS automates the matching of crime scene prints with those already on file.
"India is one of only a few countries with such a system," claimed
Kumar.

The moment you want to know the information about any
stolen/recovered vehicle, just fill up the small form giving details regarding
the registration, chasis and engine number and obtain an instant report. The
applicant can also find out from the counter whether the stolen vehicle is
recovered in any part of the country or not. Similarly, a buyer can also
ascertain before purchase of an old second hand vehicle if the same is involved
in any crime. This facility can also be availed by the outstation applicants by
sending the details of the vehicle accompanied by a postal order of Rs 10 in
favor of Director, NCRB, New Delhi payable at RK Puram post office.

NCRB receives on an average 40 to 50 complaints daily
and since January 5, 2001 to March 2001, it has received around 1,000
complaints, out of which around 600 complaints were in March only. The
information center was opened in early January.

NCRB faces a number of challenges. As in most large
countries, policing in India is not the responsibility of a unified national
police force. Nevertheless, the 35 individual state forces need to effect a high
level of co-ordination. "A computer system that is reliable, scalable and
easy-to-use is essential to maximize the efficiency of policing in India.
Containing highly sensitive material, the network must be resistant to
hackers," elaborated Kumar.

The bureau also addresses challenges specific to India.

• By designing
  software in-house, NCRB is able to ensure that the software meets the
  specific needs of Indian law enforcement agencies as well as to enhance
  security features, in order to reduce the possibility of security breaches.

• The software
  tolerates variations in spelling and, where relevant, incorporates phonetic
  name searches modified for Indian names.

• Incorporating
  Internet access into its network, NCRB is able to offer online training to
  officers wherever they might be stationed.

• By investing
  in a robust network, NCRB is able to make its systems available nationwide
  at all times.

Formed in 1986 to collect and disseminate information on
crimes, NCRB is charged with maintaining criminal records and statistics related
to crime across the country. Given the size of India, geographically and in
terms of population, this constitutes an enormous job. It designs crime-fighting
software, maintains a fingerprint database, and stores criminal records. In
addition, the bureau is responsible for collating nationwide crime statistics,
which it publishes annually for national and international circulation in its
report, Crime in India.

Said Kumar, "One of the most important activities
carried out by NCRB is the development of software for the Indian police and
other law enforcement agencies. We have to make sure that our software is
user-friendly, that data is efficiently and speedily distributed, and that the
right hardware to run the software is available countrywide to the officers who
need it."

(CNS)