Automation aids law enforcers in ensuring safety and quick disposal of files, transparency

The Tamil Nadu police headquarters has become the first major organisation of the State government to go paperless. The entire administration in the office of the Director-General of Police, also known as the Chief Office, has been automated, with the police deploying e-Office, a web application developed by the National Informatics Centre.

Huge files piling up on the tables of police officers, ministerial staff and in storage rooms is now a thing of the past. The government has cited the deployment of e-Office in the police headquarters and directed all departments to follow suit. Senior police officials are fully convinced that automation ensures safety and expeditious disposal of files, transparency in administration, elimination of physical movement of files through messengers or couriers, etc.

Director-General of Police J.K. Tripathy said the salient features of the e-Office administration were absolute transparency, accountability, excellent supervision and the ease with which old files could be accessed. "Besides the DGP’s office, three Commissionerates and 15 districts have been fully automated. We hope to bring the entire State police, including special units like the Crime Branch-CID, Uniformed Services Recruitment Board and Economic Offences Wing, under the e-Office application within six months," he said.

Mr. Tripathy said e-Office was a tool for conducting office procedures electronically. "It is a secure network that not only facilitates speedy disposal of files but paves the way for a more judicious utilisation of manpower, leading to better governance. Something unique [about this] is that senior police officers can supervise the movement of the file at every stage and intervene in the event of any delay. This is a user-friendly application that comes with a cost-effective e-storage facility. Public grievances are also being automated, and the petitioner would get updates on his/her mobile phone/email on the progress and disposal [of his/her complaint]," he said.

High-speed Internet, computers, laptops and other gadgets required for implementing the automation were purchased through the Modernisation of the Police Force scheme, jointly funded by the State and Central governments. Adequate training was given to the police officers, subordinate ranks and ministerial staff.

Remote functions

With the implementation of e-Office, senior police officers would be able to clear files remotely, even using their mobile phones. Since old files are being scanned and stored in a cloud environment, searching for past content data has become easy. "Files can be traced almost instantly. The file nothings made at the entry level by a Junior Assistant cannot be erased and will remain even after the file is disposed [of]. This level of transparency was never there before. Another advantage is that we can know the pendency of files at just the click of a button," a senior police official said.

Though the State government rolled out the e-governance policy in 2017, Additional Director-General of Police (Cyber Crimes) G. Venkataraman, who was then the Joint Director, introduced e-governance in the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in 2011-12, which is still continuing. He later launched the e-Office in the Administration Wing of the State police in 2018. In the IT-enabled police governance, pen scanners have been given to police personnel covering court proceedings. The moment an order gets issued, they would scan and upload it in the system, making it accessible to the officers concerned. Senior police officials were respondents in thousands of court cases, and it was imperative for them to get updates at the earliest for follow-up action like filing affidavits or counter petitions. The practice of police constables carrying tapals in trains or sending files by courier from various districts to the police headquarters in Chennai has been eliminated now, police sources added.

SP (Office Automation and Computerisation) V. Vikraman said a core automation team of at least 25 Sub-Inspectors with an IT background was handpicked from across the State and trained in e-Office. They were now giving hands-on training ministerial staff from cities and districts. "Currently we are training the Chennai Police personnel who will soon go on the automation mode. More than 1,100 computers are being purchased and each unit will get at least 25 systems,” he said.