Filing of FIRs should be computerized across the country

16 March, 2013

Information Technology can be effectively utilised by all the Police Stations (PS) located across the country. If one goes to one PS in any of the progressive towns or cities, he will certainly find a computer, a printer and possibly an inverter attached to the system. But beyond these, there is not much of computer penetration.

On an everyday basis numerous First Information Reports (FIRs) are filed wide across the country and still the modus operandi is to note everything with pen and paper and after complying with necessary formalities like obtaining all the signatures needed, etc., these are filed and then kept in a steel almirah with some sort of workable indexing.

Every time, as the need for opening /browsing these papers arises, one officer has to open the almirah, look for the index, then retrieve the papers and place it before the concerned officials. At times, this whole exercise takes a longer time because the officer in charge of safe keeping these documents is already burdened with so many similar/different tasks and therefore he sets his own time for retrieving the documents and placing them to the concerned officials.

It is also found that whenever FIRs are lodged, besides pen and writing pads/loose writing papers, at least two officers are required to sit with the concerned aggrieved party who is questioned/cross questioned and then the outcome is written down with the help of a translator-facilitator.

As such, once written down, many a time they are never deleted or substituted with new findings because the aggrieved party is also seeing that with his assertion points are taken and noted down, and it is generally not easy to either add or delete once points are put in black or white - this is where the truth may get hidden.

On the other hand, with the help of information technology, if FIRs are permitted to be put in the computers, then the task becomes easy and simpler for the officers handling the case. Since addition or deletion is so simple in computers before final saving of any written text, the true statements can come in more easily.

The aggrieved party once finds out that addition or deletion is not an issue, he can keep changing his statements in his one or numerous sittings with the concerned officials by giving justified replies for change in his statements which can be easily incorporated with the help of addition or deletion till everything is declared as final. In this manner, the word truth certainly gets a boost.

It is also noted that many a time FIRs are to be lodged on the spot of any incident and not in the police station. Therefore, in the absence of any portable computers, everything is noted down with the help of pen and paper. If computers are allowed to be taken to the site and FIRs are then lodged, the task will become that much easier with great accuracy of record taking.

Debates should be initiated in concerned circles whether to incorporated more and more of information technology tools in the different Police Stations across the country - benefits accruing will be huge. Portable computer devices should be allowed to lodge FIRs in places where actual incident has occured. The big advantage will be huge paper flow which is currently being used can be reduced to a great extent.

More and more of true statements can be made forthcoming which will be easier to incorporate changing the old ones with the help of computers. Manpower strength can also be increased with the adding of more computers to manage them from software / hardware view point which would mean more of job creation in Police circles. At times of need, documents can be easily retrieved if they are stored in the computers.

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COMMENTS (1)

Guest

Vishnu Mohan

Once FIRs are allowed to be lodged in the computers, opportunities can be created to do away with 'suppression of truth' which can be done more easily.