Frequently Asked Questions
Why a topcop web site? Are there not many police web sites already available?
Yes there are many police web sites available- and many of these are official web sites. There are also some sites where police officers have started blogging and have come together as part of their social networking. The top cops site is a portal to be available in many Indian Languages and is essentially a knowledge management portal. Police officers will meet on the site to exchange ideas to modernise and professionalise the police and put these ideas into action. It is a facility to take the ideas and thought processes to fruition and execution. Thus it has a unique purpose to achieve.
What is a knowledge management portal?
A Knowledge Management Portal is an Information Technology based system for sharing knowledge in an organisation. It supports creation, capture, storage and quick dissemination of information and enables all members of the system to get quickly updated with what is happening in their community. Thus if a police officer has been able to solve a murder case using the lead given by a mobile phone, the method can be shared among all the other investigating officers who can benefit from this knowledge. The idea is to enable police officers in 14000 police stations and 6000 other offices across the country to have a ready access to information based on facts, source information, and tried and tested solutions.
How will this system operate?
This system will operate on the principle of “Responsibility to share”. Persons in possession of information which may be of use to others is primarily responsible to share such information with his peers and other colleagues.
Is this not opposed to the age old concept of “Need to Know”?
Yes, the age old concept, especially in respect of intelligence was the “Need to Know”. In an intelligence operation, information was not shared ordinarily and only parted with persons who need to know for the success of the operation etc. In this modern age which is rightly called the Information age, this principle does not serve the purpose. In this era where there is an exponential explosion of knowledge and information, it is difficult to track information and get oneself updated when there is a requirement. It is better to put that information in a central repository, and leave it catalogued and indexed so that at the time of need, this vital information automatically surfaces and helps the one seeking the same. So at the time of the creation or dealing with an information, if the person handling the information feels that this may be useful at a later point of time, it is his/her responsibility to put that information in an appropriate form in a central repository for future ease of access and use.
Can you explain that with an example?
Wikipedia is an excellent example of an information repository built with the responsibility to share. All persons creating content, work in a information sharing mode and put their knowledge in a central server and millions across the world access the same as and when they require.
But is not Police work a different kettle of fish?
Police work has to be secretive only when it is operation related or concerns privacy of an individual. For example while dealing with a cheating case, the modus is put on the web, the public can be made aware of the modus operandi and they can stay alerted. In any case even in a murder case, the facts of the case, the evidence against the accused and how the case was solved are matters of interest to the public and news media regularly make news stories of these facts. One has to be cautious only about privacy issues and where the information can affect public order etc. In any case this portal aims to educate and impart professional knowledge for better police working.
Will this not benefit the anti social and other criminal elements?
We have two sections to this portal and one section is exclusively for the Police officers. The other section is meant for the general public. Information contained here is also available in this cyber age in many other portals and forms. This portal has been fashioned to put together information which other officers may not have had the time to access to. For example if there was an investigative report on the Mumbai incidents of 26/11 and this appeared in one newspaper, that police officer who saw it first is responsible bringing it to the notice of others. It also stays linked with tag words so that at any time when another police officer seeks information about some aspect of 26/11 incidents, the indexed information will be easily available to him in this portal. As far as criminals and anti socials are concerned, policing is always a battle of wits between the two sides. By equipping ourselves with web 2.0 technologies and other IT enabled services we are only getting better equipped.
What about data security and challenges of hacking?
That is one issue which every person using the Net has to be concerned about.
Has there been any other example before of these technologies being used in Police work?
The CIA is adopting Web 2.0 tools such as blogs and collaborative wikis, but not without a struggle in an agency with an ingrained culture of secrecy, says a report by Chris Lefkow (of AFP) – Jun 12, 2009 titled “CIA adopting Web 2.0 tools despite resistance”
When the fake stamp scam was under investigation with the StampIT team of Karnataka a web site
www.stampit.info was hosted to collect intelligence as well, as disseminate information. The link can be accessed under the hyperlink “Police Links “in this site.
What is the anticipated success of this venture and its cost benefit analysis?
That is some thing only time can tell. We hope to keep you updated on this information.
R.Sri Kumar.
