Running website & solving crime is their job

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: When Constable Sandesh More joined the force seven years ago, the last thing he expected was to be designing web pages. But when he, along with six colleagues, was selected to be part of the city police’s web department, life took on an interesting and more specialised turn.

Today, More manages the website with the ease of a professional. “I design web pages, handle online complaints, upload information about wanted gangsters, missing persons, etc and much more,” he said.

Instead of relying solely on professionals with little or no training in police work, the Mumbai police, chose to hire from its own pool of constables and officials to handle the webpage: www.mumbaipolice.org.

“There was a time when I’d never even worked on a keyboard, but now I know more than an IT expert,” said another constable. “All of us were given intensive training, and we did a certificate course in computers before being inducted into the web department. Initially, we lacked confidence, but that has changed, and now we are entrusted with important work,” he added.

The seven-member team is supervised by inspector Arundhati Rane. All constables are graduates and work in 12-hour shifts. “Besides dealing with online complaints and running the site, we upload information about dead bodies, missing persons, etc,” said another constable.

Though the Mumbai police launched its website more than five ago, its popularity is a recent phenomenon. Over the last two years, the site has become very popular, and gets over 5,000 hits every day, said an official.

Another key area that the team is currently working on is easy facilitation of interagency communication. “For instance, the CBI recently forwarded us an email from a Nagpur-based woman who alleged that she was being tortured by her in-laws. We contacted the Nagpur police immediately, and they were able to reach the house within two hours. This would not have been possible without our help,” said Rane.

For More and his colleagues, the training they have received and the expertise they have gained will hold them in good stead. It’s reassuring to know that we have skills we can use even we retire from the force, said one constable.

The Times of India, April 15, 2010