Southeastern division of Bengaluru police goes fully paperless

The southeastern division of the Bengaluru police has gone completely paperless, making it, as per officials, the first in the city and the state. The division headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) CK Baba has 14 police stations and three offices of the Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACP). 

Taking a cue from Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda, who made e-Office – a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National E-Governance Plan – mandatory for the divisional-level offices, Baba streamlined it to all police stations and ACP offices. 

Speaking with DH, Baba said, “All the stations and ACP offices are interconnected with my office and work through the digital mode. This has helped avoid the time lag and the use of excess manpower and has helped create transparency, convenience, efficiency and accountability and promote two-way communication. The digital mode of e-Office has streamlined administrative tasks and reduced paperwork, in turn saving a lot of time. E-Office has been available — but only at a higher level.”

The digital mode helps officers access matters related to administration – leaves, promotions, punishments, inquiry and others – remotely and improves the response time. 

“Digital records are more secure: the need to carry files physically becomes redundant, the data is encrypted and has access control. Nothing can wrong as everything is on record. In matters of achieving sustainability goals, the use of paper is nil and there is the aspect of saving the cost as we won’t have to use printers and other similar equipment. We have to be environmentally conscious,” Baba said. 

There have been instances where files have gone missing from the records or been manipulated.  “I believe strongly in transparency. E-Office promotes transparency in the administrative process and document handling in a big way. The digital print cannot be manipulated. The digital data can be backed up securely, which decreases the chances of loss,” the DCP said. He said that digital mode has helped streamline the leave-applying process for his personnel.

“My staff don’t have to wait for weeks together to see if their leaves have been sanctioned or not. All the personnel part of the administrative work have been trained sufficiently and have received digital credentials. We have received support from the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), the Police Computer Wing (PCW) and the Centre for e-Governance.”