Fingerprint, Face Recognition data in CCTNS

Why in news?

Home Affairs Ministry is planning to link fingerprint, face recognition data to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS).

What is CCTNS?

• Aim - CCTNS aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for effective policing through e-Governance.
• It is envisaged as a countrywide integrated database on crime incidents and criminals.
• It aims to connect all police stations, with their crime and criminal data, with a central database.
• It was conceived as a response to the Mumbai attacks of 2008 and approved in 2009.
• Implementation - The system is already in operation in many states but with a limited coverage.
• The first phase of CCTNS is nearing completion.
• 14,500 of 15,500 police stations across the country have been connected.
• Only Bihar, for various administrative reasons, is lagging behind.

What is the current proposal?

• As part of Phase II of CCTNS, MHA is planning to scale up fingerprint collection from all police stations and link it to CCTNS.
• It also plans to connect the Railway Protection Force’s stations and their data, apart from the revenue police stations of Uttarakhand.
• The proposal has provisions for integrating face recognition system and iris scans as well with the CCTNS.
• Integration of these data will boost police department’s crime investigation capabilities.
• It will also help civilian verification when needed.
• Also, lakhs of motor vehicle offences, registered by the transport department, has no central database.
• Now, this too would be connected to the CCTNS.
• This would help in ascertaining the history of criminal offences that a vehicle is involved in.

What is the need?

• The Central Finger Print Bureau (CFPB) now stores the fingerprint database.
• It currently uses Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), also called FACTS, for matching fingerprints.
• However, this technology is an outdated one when compared to Federal Bureau of Investigation's technology (FBI of the US).
• Also, while FBI has over 4 crore fingerprints in its database, the CFPB currently has a database of just over 10 lakh fingerprints.
• Hence, scaling up data collection is an essential prerequisite for better criminal investigations.

Source: Indian Express

Quick Fact

Revenue police stations of Uttarakhand

• Uttarakhand is known for a unique police system.
• Although regular police is established, in some hill areas, jurisdiction of the police is yet to be extended.
• So the civil officials of the Revenue Department have powers and functions of Police.
• They perform functions of police like arrest of offenders and investigation.