Set to connect all police stations in the state under Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS), the Jammu and Kashmir Police has set 2012 as the deadline to train the force to operate the system.

“We have set 2012 deadline for training the entire police force in the state in CCTNS so that all the police stations are connected in the state under the CCTNS project,” JK Director General of Police (DGP) Kuldeep Khoda told the new agency.

CCTNS is a mega project of the Central government to connect all the police stations of the country so as to ensure spontaneous retrieval of information at any police station on real time basis.

“Once fully implemented, it will not allow criminals to abscond and escape the clutches of police for a long period,” the DGP said.

About 6,300 police personnel have already been trained in the CCTNS, Khoda said, adding, “Of these, 4,300 policemen have been trained in the Jammu region and only 1,800 in Kashmir Valley,” Khoda said.

The ratio of the training remained low in the Valley because of huge law and order problem last year due to which the training programmes suffered badly, he said.

Department of Electronics and Accreditation of Computer Courses (DOEACC) was engaged in imparting training to the trainers of the police department, he said.

The DGP further said that District Police Labs (DPLs) in all the 25 police districts have been established to impart training to the police personnel.

In order to widen the scope of training, Police Training Centres -Sheri Kashmir Police Academy, Udhampur; Police Technical Training Institute (PTTI), Vijaypur; Police Training School (PTS), Kathua; State Training Centre (STC), Talwara; PTS, Manigam; STC Sheeri and State Crime Branch (SCRB) have also been brought under the CCTNS coverage, he said.

Overall crime under various sections has reduced considerably, the DGP said, adding, “This trend has been noticed in murder cases which have decreased by 6 per cent in 2010 as compared to 2009”.