Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems
Why in News?
The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) is in the news because it recently achieved 100% pan-India connectivity, integrating all 17,130 police stations across 28 states and 8 Union Territories.
Basic Overview & Launch
- Nodal Ministry: Conceived and monitored by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India.
- Nodal Agency: Implemented and maintained nationally by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
- Timeline: Approved in 2009 under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) with an initial corpus of ₹2,000 crore.
- Nature: Classified as a Mission Mode Project (MMP) to digitise manual police procedures.
Key Objectives
- Interconnectivity: Linking police stations horizontally and vertically with higher supervision offices, state data centers, and the National Data Center.
- Efficiency: Eliminating manual and redundant record-keeping to save active police hours.
- Citizen-Centric Services: Facilitating transparent public applications like filing online complaints, checking case progress, and background verifications.
Capabilities & Features
- National Database: Centralises real-time data on crimes, criminals, habitual offenders, missing persons, and stolen vehicles.
- Police Computerisation: Digitises critical processes like Complaints, FIRs, Investigations, Case Diaries, Chargesheets, and Court Appeals.
- Analytical Tools: Provides data-driven crime-mapping, profiling, and trend analysis based on criminal modus operandi.
- The CCTNS framework directly acts as the first pillar of the data-sharing Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) initiative.
- Seamlessly exchanges data with the remaining pillars: e-Courts, e-Prisons, e-Forensics, and e-Prosecution.
Citizen Utilities Provided
- Missing persons search registry.
- Instant generation of Vehicle No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
- Verification tracking for domestic help, tenants, or passports.
- Access to specialized portals like the Online Cyber-Crime Reporting Portal.
