EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
It is after a long gap of 12 years that Uttarakhand will again host the All India Police Science Congress (AIPSC). The two-day Congress will be inaugurated in Dehradun by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 7 October, 2023. The two-day event will be hosted at the Forest Research Institute, and the formal closure of the event will be done by the Governor of Uttarakhand, Lt General Gurmit Singh (Retd) on 8 October. Uttarakhand Police will be hosting this important meet for the second time. The last time Uttarakhand Police hosted the annual event was in 2011. While, in 2011, it was the 41st AIPSC, it will be the 49th AIPSC this year.
Garhwal Post spoke to the Uttarakhand Director General of Police, Ashok Kumar, about the upcoming AIPSC and the technological advances in policing and the emerging challenges before the force. Some excerpts:
What are the basic objectives of the upcoming Police Science Conference in Dehradun?
Ashok Kumar: The world is witnessing rapid technological and scientific advancement in this era. Even the police are undergoing rapid technological and scientific advancements in India. Every year, the country discusses these changes and mulls over how to make the best use of these advancements in policing. The All India Police Science Congress is an annual conference. We are fortunate that Uttarakhand has got this opportunity to host the congress for the second time after 2011. This annual discussion provides the police from all the states to consider the best use of the emerging technological advancements in policing. Also, new ideas crop up during the discussions, each year, and every state benefits. The police have the need to constantly upgrade their skills and their technological tools since the criminals are also regularly upgrading their skills.
With the rapid change in the technological world, as you stated yourself, the criminals are also constantly upgrading their technological skills, and they are coming up with new tools on a regular basis. What are the challenges before the police in this regard to outdo the criminals?
Ashok Kumar: As you are aware, India in recent years has created a significant digital footprint. Now money can be transferred digitally from one’s mobile to the beneficiary’s account. Indians are also increasingly making greater use of Information Technology (IT) for Services and Commerce also on a very large scale. However, along with facilitating the citizens, IT has also brought up a new kind of vulnerability in the form of cybercrimes and cyber hacking! Law Enforcement Agencies are now confronting the challenges posed by organised crime, drug abuse and smuggling, mob violence, terrorism, etc., on a regular basis. These are serious challenges and topics for discussion for the Police force across the country.
We are trying our best to adopt and absorb the latest IT technology to meet this challenge in order to effectively counter the cybercriminals who make use of all possible loopholes and tactics to make money. Earlier, the criminals had to be physically present at the crime scene to commit the misdeeds, which is no longer required in certain crimes. Hence there is no physical footprint for us to follow to reach the criminals. We have to track the digital footprints. A criminal can be sitting in a remote location anywhere in the world and still steal your money. I must admit that the Police are not a highly technically trained department, as yet, in terms of IT and other rapidly emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
However, we try to make the best use of outsourced experts to get solutions. In the upcoming AIPSC, too, we have a discussion slated on the utilisation of private experts in policing. Even in research, for example, DRDO keeps developing new technologies such as new bulletproof jackets, etc. In the exhibition that will be put up at FRI during the Congress, we shall showcase many such products.
Will this exhibition be open to the public?
Ashok Kumar: Sure. It will be open to the people, especially for school children. It will also showcase products and services of the private sector in policing.
What have been the recent advancements in science with regards to policing?
Ashok Kumar: In recent years, there have been many technological advancements as far as policing is concerned. One of the major technological tools more in use is the installation of CCTV cameras at all sensitive places, which has helped to get clues and evidence and helped the police to nab many criminals in recent years. Installation of CCTV cameras has now been followed up with the use of drone technology. The Police Department is using drones increasingly not only in criminal investigation but also in surveillance and crowd management. New technological advancements have also made in fingerprint matching and forensic investigation. Even for routine crimes such as red light violations, we now have Red Light Violation Detection Cameras (RLVD). We also have Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) systems that are there now which can tell the traffic police the history of the vehicles and registration details. We managed the crowds during the last Kumbh Mela held in Uttarakhand with the use of Drones and CCTV cameras. We did the same at the Kanwad Yatra and the crowds in Kedarnath and Badrinath with the use of drones and CCTV cameras.
Even in my office, there is a live view of the Kedarnath temple available through the use of CCTV and drones. As you know, the espionage agencies of Pakistan have been using drones illegally to drop drugs and arms across the border in India. The Police have to find counter technology to combat this challenge, and we are moving towards greater use of Counter Unmanned Aerial System and Counter Drones technologies to detect these drones of the enemy and shoot them down. Some such technologies are Radio Frequency-based Drone Detectors (RFDD), Video[1]Based Drone Identification & Tracking (VDIT), Data Fusion and Command Centre (DFCC), Drone RF Jammer (DRFJ), etc. We are also working on the use of new technologies, including in forensic science such as Proteomics, Carbon Dots Powder, Artificial Technology, Nanotechnology, and advances in forensic technology. Other challenges are also emerging such as crypto-currencies, and we have to discuss and find solutions to them. We are also making greater use of Information Technology in policing now as compared to the past.
How does Police in India compare with the use of technology in investigation as compared to developed countries?
Ashok Kumar: Earlier the gap with regard to the use of modern technology in policing in India and the developed countries was very wide. However, we are catching up fast. We are almost matching up to them, now. In 2016, we went to Washington DC for a training programme, and there we saw live feed in control rooms and also witnessed the use of technological tools there. Now we are also using these technologies in our control rooms. Similarly, ANPR to read registration plates of vehicles and other such technologies are in use in Uttarakhand and India, too. The gap between India and the western countries in this regard is closing rapidly. We are also involved in research with the help of organisations such as DRDO in drone technology, etc.
You have been able to bring the Police Science Conference to Uttarakhand once again after 12 years. What does the theme of the AIPSC, “Policing in Amrit Kaal” signify?
Ashok Kumar: India is currently going through its Amrit Kaal. We secured our independence 75 years ago, and India is rapidly moving towards becoming a developed nation. Economically, we are witnessing the fastest growth in the world currently. India is truly experiencing its Amrit Kaal, and under these circumstances, it is all the more imperative that the police do not lag behind. There are new challenges for the country as well as for the police. India is already a regional superpower and is rapidly on its way to becoming a global superpower, not only economically and socially but also technologically. Policing too has the opportunity to advance in order to match the growth of the nation. The police should strive to be on par with the rest of the country as it shines. Therefore, in my opinion, ‘Policing in Amrit Kaal’ is highly appropriate and promising under these circumstances.
