High Court Mandates CCTV with Audio in Police Stations

• 26 Oct 2024

Why in News?

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has mandated CCTV installations in all rooms of police stations.

Key Points

• Directive for CCTV Installations
  • Justice G. S. Ahluwalia of the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state police to install CCTV cameras with audio in every room of police stations across the state within three months.
  • The Director General of Police (DGP) must ensure there are no “black spots” (areas not covered by CCTV) in police stations. Failure to comply could lead to contempt of court charges.
• Data Related to Violence in Custody:
  • According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, between 2001 and 2018, only 26 policemen were convicted of custodial violence despite 1,727 such deaths being recorded in India.
    • Only 4.3% of the 70 deaths in 2018 were attributed to injuries during custody due to physical assault by police.
  • Apart from custodial deaths, more than 2,000 human rights violation cases were also recorded against the police between 2000 and 2018. And only 344 policemen were convicted in those cases.

National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB)

• NCRB was set-up in 1986 under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to function as a repository of information on crime and criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the perpetrators.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• It was set up based on the recommendations of the National Police Commission (1977-1981) and the MHA’s Taskforce (1985).
• It was constituted by merging the Directorate of Coordination and Police Computer (DCPC), Inter-State Criminals Data Branch of CBI, Central Finger Print Bureau of CBI and Statistical Branch of BPR&D.
• NCRB brings out the annual comprehensive statistics of crime across the country through ‘Crime in India’ report.
  • Being published since 1953, the report serves as a crucial tool in understanding the law and order situation across the country.