All States and Union Territories (UTs) have been urged by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to focus on enhancing their capacity to deal with cases of crime against women.
The MHA has also requested a “status note” on the ground-level implementation of the women’s security directives, demanding that “appropriate instruction be issued for early beginning of the action and continued monitoring in the matter on a regular basis to calibrate the action.”
In a recent circular to all Chief Secretaries, Home Secretaries, and Directors General of Police in all States and UTs, the ministry expressed its objective, emphasising the need to offer improved protection to women across the country.
The MHA also cited eight of its advisories sent to all States and UTs between May 10, 2013, and June 30, 2021 in the circular last week, requesting them to pay heed to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to crimes against women.
The MHA cited the 233rd report of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, which included several recommendations for strengthening the mechanism for dealing with crimes against women, including SOPs on registration of FIRs, including details on total Zero FIRs filed and disposed of, and training for police personnel on dealing with crimes against women using the Bureau of Police Research and Developments (BPR&D’s) SOP.
According to the MHA, the Standing Committee has also suggested that SOPs on FIR registration include recommendations for police to record reasons for complainants’ delays in reporting crimes to the police.
“This field is said to be available in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems (CCTNS). The BPR&D’s Handbook on Women’s Safety and Security may also be extensively distributed by states and UTs. All police officers should be given a guidebook for first responders and investigators, and they should be included in the training modules.”
The use of Crime Analytics by Delhi Police in the prevention of street crimes through crime mapping and identification of hot zones for enhanced action is also being highlighted, according to the government.
It stated, “The Parliamentary Standing Committee has suggested that comparable measures be made in other major centres.”
The “Crime Mapping Analytics and Productive system (CMAP) and COGNOS BI tool implemented on CCTNS may be used,” according to the MHA.
The National Crime Records Bureau has made these available to states and UTs, according to the MHA.
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