Using technology in right direction and fearlessly can take policing to next level: Fadnavis

Mumbai, Sep 20 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said using technology in the right direction and in a fearless manner can take policing to the next level.

Addressing an annual event of Indian Police Foundation (IPF) at the Maharashtra Police Headquarters in south Mumbai, he stressed the need to change the organisational structure of the police force from time to time to bring in agility.

"Technology is like a horse. It is the horse rider who decides the destination. If we use technology by taking it in the right direction, fearlessly and in the right manner, then I think we can take policing to the next stage," Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, said.

"While we speak about embracing new technology, we also have a lot many questions in our mind, just like when computers were introduced. At that time, we had questions - whether it will affect employment, and had fear that many will lose jobs. But we did well in the (IT) sector. There was a boom in that sector and progress in Silicon Valley. The contribution of Indians in Silicon Valley was also tremendous," he said.

Now, we are standing on the verge of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and we have a lot of questions, the CM said.

"But I feel any technology is like a horse. If the horse rider sits properly and takes the horse in the right direction, then the horse also runs fast," he said, adding that defining the destination was the task of the horse rider.

The world is changing rapidly. Twenty years ago, when it was being said that street crimes will come down and white collar crimes will go up in future, it used to be considered a 'jumla' (rhetoric). But we are now moving in that direction, he said.

Today, street crime is not a big challenge for us, but white collar crime and cyber crime are, he said.

"We brought in new organisational structure in the police force in 2023, which was done after 53 years. In those 53 years, many tasks of the police, which were considered less important earlier, became most important today," Fadnavis said.

We have to change the organisational structure of the police force from time to time to give that agility to the force. There is no need to fully change it, but we have to think of making improvements in it, which I believe is necessary, he added.

The Maharashtra police force has created a cyber security lab, which is the most progressive cyber security centre in the country, he said.

"I feel glad to say that at least four countries approached us and one of them has given us an offer letter to set up a similar kind of cyber security centre back home," he said.

"I feel our people have developed the capability to create such marvels. We were the first to use AI tools in policing, which brought in more efficiency and many difficult cases were solved in innovative manner," he said.

Integrating new systems into policing is also important, but many times it faces resistance, he said.

While embracing the new technology, we should not leave the old system behind as it has its own importance, Fadnavis noted.

"No financial superpower in the world can stand without the support of law and order and if it does so, it cannot be sustainable. We have seen 'mafia raj' helped create some prosperous societies, but those were never sustainable and declined rapidly," he said.

Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla, Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti and other officials were present at the event. PTI DC NP