AP to maintain dossier on criminals

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: A first-of-its-kind criminal tracing system introduced in Vijayawada police commissionerate will soon be replicated across the state. The Integrated Mobile Photo Album (IMPA), which is a computerised data-base containing over 12,000 pictures of criminals and others (including about 7,000 auto drivers), has been installed in the clues unit that normally visits every scene of offence. The data-base helps the victims identify the criminals by browsing the pictures stored in the computer and simplifies the investigation process. Vijayawada police commissioner C V Anand explained the system during the recent conference of senior police officers which was appreciated by Director General of Police M A Basith and others. On the DGP’s suggestion, Vijayawada Special Investigation Unit officer A Pallapu Raju demonstrated the IMPA at a conference of fingerprint inspectors and other senior officials in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Additional director general of police (CID) M Ratan and women protection cell IG Umapathi were also present. Anand said in many police stations, photographs of criminals were not recorded in the last one decade making it difficult for police and crime victims to identify criminals in offences like house-breaks or dacoity. Besides, available photos were manually stored in albums that were almost worn out. “The process of taking photographs of criminals, printing and maintaining them has become cumbersome and expensive because of which most police units have given it up. Though the complainants identify the offenders, police are not in a position to show the latest photographs, which has led to desertion of a very important crime control technique,” Anand observed. With a small investment of about Rs 1.23 lakh, the IMPA could be effectively used in crime control and tracing. In this, pictures of the known offenders are stored in the computer data-base according to the modus operandi used by each one of them. The Vijayawada police succeeded in breaking five major cases recently and apprehending a four-member auto driver gang that robbed women passengers. In another case, a small girl identified a criminal with the help of the data-base which led to his arrest and recovery of booty.