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| Edited By: Malini Agarwal |Source: DNA |Updated: Jun 23, 2018, 07:54 AM IST
An important part of Rajasthan’s rich history, policing has had a major role to play in shaping the state’s robust structure. From a time when Rajasthan was made up of more than two dozen royal states — each with its own police — to the present day, when it boasts an institution like the Rajasthan Police, police has definitely evolved in the state.
After the various states of Rajputana merged with the Union of India to give way to the present state of Rajasthan, policing too got streamlined and the new face of Rajasthan Police emerged in 1949. During its early years, policing was predominantly under the influence of the British. With passage of time, a civilian police structure came into being. The police underwent a lot of changes over the years, as the time and social milieu demanded.
Slowly and steadily, newer wings like the CID, investigating cells, traffic department, Anti-Terrorism Squad and others were formed as the need arose. While patrolling was earlier done on cycles, foot patrol and even horses, now the mounted police are only a symbol.
Today, the Rajasthan Police has state of the art infrastructure and latest technology in IT. It has a Forensic Science Laboratory and extensive wireless communication systems. Now, CCTV cameras are being installed with command, and control centres are being set up in each district. Criminals have also started using sophisticated ways, better vehicles and better weapons. So, we have to upgrade ourselves too, and it is an ongoing process. Only in the last few years, we have received immense funds for upgradation and modernisation in terms of calibre and capability development of the force.
In the past decade, we have also developed our investigative capabilities. Now, investigations are being done by head constable level officers also. Moreover, a constable is not merely a beat constable who roams about. They are being provided additional tasks, which they performing exceptionally well.
However, in the sphere of cyber crime, we are learning new things every day. To deal with cyber crimes, our men are being imparted with new learning. We have cyber cells and now we are setting up cyber police stations on the range level. Police is becoming more tech-savvy and a lot of upgradation in technology is also happening at par with the mainstream society.
At the same time, the use of social media has increased manifold. While it is a good platform to interact, it also invites crime. We have been very successful in solving cases, even though criminals have made use of the latest technology. We have CCTNS surveillance system to connect our police stations with other states of the country. Earlier, the dissemination of occurrence of crime was not too fast, however with social media and internet, any incident takes seconds to go viral whether it is positive or negative. While social media helps us communicate, it also encourages a lot of rumour mongering and spreading of negative news, especially when a serious law and order issue takes place. For this very reason, we have had to shut down internet in tense situations. We are using the latest technology to come down heavy on such incidents, but still we have to long way to go.
Thirty per cent reservation for women in the police services has been a major change in the police force. Many women have joined the force, which brings sensitivity to the Rajasthan police. It also instills confidence among women, who are now more comfortable in approaching us. This enables us to handle cases in a better way and makes the police more sensitive towards the weaker sections, women and children. We are also working on ways to become friendlier towards tourists, since the world visits us every year. From where we were to now, the Rajasthan police has moved forward in leaps and bounds.
From basic ways and method of policing we have indeed come a long way. Earlier we used to rely more on human intelligence and were doing a lot of paper work ourselves. As documentation goes online, data processing has become much faster and knowledge has become much more accessible. We are moving towards paperless offices; we communicate through e-mails and our data is stored in secured computers. We can track criminals with the help of technology. It has brought about a huge change in our performance, positively.
The author is Inspector General of Police, Ajmer range
