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Bengaluru, India latest city to install crime reporting kiosk

The Bengaluru (India) City Police have installed a kiosk that allows residents to file a "first information report", or crime report, without trekking to the police station or figuring out jurisdiction of a case, according to the India Times Bengaluru.

December 5, 2014

The Bengaluru (India) City Police have installed a kiosk that allows residents to file a "first information report", or crime report, without trekking to the police station or figuring out jurisdiction of a case, according to The Economic Times.

Installing the kiosk is part of an effort by police to streamline FIR filing and obtain a more accurate picture of crime in the city, the article said. The kiosk is outfitted with high-definition audio-video and a touchscreen that allows citizens to speak to a police officer and scan, sign and print relevant documents. The station, developed by Cisco, prints a copy of reports and allows users to review for errors before submitting the file. The police are piloting the kiosk at the Mantri Mall in Malleswaram for three months. Cisco will manufacture the kiosks in India if the program is deemed a success.

"The first kiosk was imported from the UK and modified for localization in Bengaluru, but we are planning to start manufacturing the entire unit in India itself," Dinesh Malkani, president at Cisco India, said in the article.

The kiosk serves 105 police stations and 42 traffic police stations. Users receive SMS alerts on updated FIRs.

Upon installation, two FIRs were filed within 20 minutes.

"This project will reinstill a sense of safety among the residents of Bengaluru," said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said. "It will bring in transparency in crime records and will also help in controlling corruption in the police department."

The Bengaluru Commissioner of Police M.N. Reddi stated that 100 kiosks are needed to improve safety in the city, according to the article. The kiosks will also help police build a central digital repository for crime reports and enable easier deployment of the city's Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems database.