Mumbai Police fingerprint database to be operational this month

The Mumbai Police announced that its fingerprint database, which is used by several law enforcement agencies in multiple countries, will be operational in late January, according to a report by The Hindu.

The move follows the Mumbai Police’s implementation of several high-tech security measures, which included configuring a central server for all inter-departmental communication and citywide CCTV camera coverage.

This latest initiative is designed to accelerate the identity authorization process of arrested individuals and suspects, where they will be entered into a database, while cutting down on paper use, according to police officials.

“We have procured digital fingerprint scanners that read and store fingerprints,” said D.D. Padsalgikar, Mumbai Commissioner of Police. “One scanner will be installed at every police station, and police personnel will be trained in their use.”

Once the fingerprint database goes online, fingerprints of all arrested individuals as well as those fingerprints already found in the police database, will be stored on a common server.

Police officials said the technology will make it easier to compare fingerprints found at crime scenes.

Mumbai police are also considering linking the database to the nationwide Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS), a program designed to connect police forces to a single server so that any information regarding arrested individuals and suspects can be accessed by police anywhere in India.

“We are consulting experts on compatibility issues in linking our database to the CCTNS server,” an officer involved in the program said. “A decision will be taken after the project is operational.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  criminal ID  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  India  |  police