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Police forces turn to technology to fight crime: Infosys, Wipro among firms helping Karnataka with tech expertise to upgrade systems and develop solutions

Police forces turn to technology to fight crime: Infosys, Wipro among firms helping Karnataka with tech expertise to upgrade systems and develop solutions
This has helped him solve cases by matching patterns, he says. The most noted of these was that of the serial killer Mallika, who used to murder her victims with cyanide mixed into food before looting them. Mallika was sentenced to death in March last year.

With a laptop and a few thousand records and photos of criminals and thieves, Umesh usually manages to provide a clue or two to colleagues in Bangalore. He also relies on the database of the state crime records bureau, which has around one million entries. But he wants more: better insight and back-end support for getting phone call details of criminals or court records that would help crack cases faster.
Across India, state governments, independently and assisted by the Centre, are investing in modernizing the police and the supporting infrastructure for better policing and quicker responses to crises such as the terror attacks in Mumbai.

For example, New Delhi is spending at least Rs2,000 crore on a national crime control tracking and networking system that links databases of offenders and criminals of all states.

"There are no readymade solutions that can be bought for policing in India. It has to be built locally," says Pratap Reddy, director for cyber security at National Association of Software and Services Companies, or Nasscom. "Karnataka in some ways has been ahead in adopting technology because of the ecosystem here." Reddy is an Indian Police Service officer on deputation to the software grouping.

In Karnataka, software firm Wipro Ltd has just begun working on a system that police officers such as Umesh want. For the first time, it is building a crime intelligence and search project--a real-time tool that tracks multiple data points such as complaints, incidents of crime and traffic violations.

It then uses analytic tools to build predictive models. A team of officials will work at the back-end and push as much information to investigators on their handheld devices or computers.

The partnership can also result in new commercial models. While both Wipro and the Karnataka police share resources, once the tool is built, tested and proven, the private firm can then market it commercially to other police forces. An academic institution such as the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Statistical Institute will be part of the project.

"We understand policing, not building technology applications. For that, there are specialist companies. Our idea is let us bring both to the table, share the knowledge and bring the best technology solutions for solving our problems," says M.N. Reddi, inspector general for the criminal investigation department of the Karnataka police. "We may look at a small share in revenue that we can plough back in the system." For Wipro, this is its first such experiment in the public sector. "It is a good model. We bring in the technology expertise. We don't understand crime, how it is detected, how it is prevented, these are the domain of the police. Once we build a solution that is proven, we are free to take it (outside the state)," says Sairaman Jagannathan, vice-president, business solutions at Wipro.

Other companies are involved in upgrading the system. Infosys Technologies Ltd is building a control room at the state police chief's office that can act as a command centre for the entire state. Honeywell International Inc is working on equipping beat constables on their daily rounds in a locality with smartphones, which will allow them to use social media tools built by the firm to send information to the police station in real time, while networking with local citizens.

Around eight constables from the JP Nagar police station headed by Umesh are the first to experiment with the concept. The trial will run over the next three months. "This needs constant training and patience," he says.

In project Sahayog, Cisco Systems Inc is setting up the back-end for better coordination between the police and private security agencies, mainly in areas where tech firms are located.

"In terms of crisis, there are a lot of rumours," says Reddi. "We can work with them and ensure safety of all." ANZ Operations and Technology Pvt. Ltd and Misys Software Solutions (India) Pvt. Ltd will study the functioning of police stations and suggest process re-engineering; while First Indian Services Pvt. Ltd will work on improving the process of document management.

At Carlton House, the century-old bungalow turned office of the criminal investigation department, where the chirping of birds masks the sound of traffic, Reddi shows email responses from industry leaders when the police chief first invited Bangalore technology companies to participate in a technology overhaul in October.

Director general of police Ajai Kumar Singh's invitation was frank in admitting that some of the technology initiatives by the police had shown slow progress, mainly due to ineffective project management or lack of technical expertise and needed help from the industry.

"The fact the police admitted openly that there were limitations and they need help was refreshing. There were several meetings and each one came up with what they can contribute," says Akila Krishnakumar, country head at SunGard Technology Services, a software firm, who took part in the meetings.