Transforming policing in Madhya Pradesh through technology

How the State Crime Records Bureau, Madhya Pradesh Police, is Building a Digital Criminal Justice Ecosystem says ADG Jaideep Prasad who is heading the SCRB.

Madhya Pradesh has emerged as one of India’s frontrunners in digital policing, driven by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB). Over the past decade, the SCRB has moved beyond simply deploying software to create a comprehensive digital ecosystem that links police stations, courts, prosecution, prisons, forensic laboratories, hospitals and citizens through secure, real-time information exchange. Under the national Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) and the Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS), the state has integrated policing with e-Courts, e-Prosecution, e-Prisons, e-Forensics and MedLEaPR, enabling seamless coordination across the criminal justice chain and reducing duplication of work.

The foundation rests on CCTNS, now operational across 1,117 police stations and 693 senior police offices. SCRB adopted a phased, risk-mitigated approach: Dewas was designated the model district for ICJS digital integration in 2025, allowing workflows to be refined before statewide rollout. District-level coordination committees, chaired by the District Magistrate or Superintendent of Police and involving all justice stakeholders, monitor progress and resolve inter-departmental issues. Two landmark state-level ICJS workshops in 2025 and 2026 brought together senior officers from police, judiciary, prosecution, prisons, forensics, health and national agencies—reportedly the first such joint review of its kind in the country—to forge a common roadmap.

Field-level investigation has been transformed by the distribution of 25,000 tablets to investigating officers and the e-Vivechana app, which supports on-spot form filling, case diaries, speech-to-text and real-time synchronisation with CCTNS. More than 8.30 crore investigation-related entries have already been recorded. Complementing this, the e-Sakshya platform has generated over 2.30 lakh digital evidence IDs, while the e-Summons and Warrants module—first piloted in Khandwa and rolled out statewide on 1 July 2024—has exchanged more than 36 lakh summons and warrants electronically, making Madhya Pradesh the first state to operationalise the system at scale. Additional tools include MedLEaPR for digital medico-legal reports, the Bail Application Monitoring System (with over 95 per cent of case diaries now transmitted digitally), a Crime Analytical Dashboard, the e-Rakshak mobile app, and NAFIS, which holds approximately 1.658 million fingerprint records in the state and has enabled identification of unknown dead bodies.

Citizen services have expanded through the CCTNS portal, which has facilitated tens of thousands of e-FIRs and online complaints, more than 13.76 lakh character verifications, and over 80 lakh information submissions. Capacity-building programmes, district performance monitoring on data quality and digital utilisation, and the expansion of Measurement Collection Units under the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act further reinforce the system. The SCRB’s efforts have earned national recognition, including top ICJS implementation awards, Digital India and SKOCH honours, FICCI Smart Policing awards, and multiple NAFIS rankings.

Looking ahead, the SCRB continues to deepen the use of artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and paperless workflows. Officials emphasise that the transformation rests not merely on technology but on leadership, institutional coordination and sustained commitment to faster, more transparent and citizen-centric justice delivery—positioning Madhya Pradesh as a key contributor to India’s integrated digital criminal justice system.