The Andhra Pradesh Police Department has brought laurels to the state by securing 48 SKOCH awards at the national level out of a total of 83 awards up for grabs, for the use of technology in policing. This is the second time in a row that the AP police has won the awards, which were announced at the 67th SKOCH Summit on Wednesday.
SKOCH Awards are given every year to organisations, government departments and individuals for their achievements. The SKOCH Awards for Police and Emergency Services are handed out annually to various departments for introducing and making use of technology to benefit people. While Andhra Pradesh topped the list with 48 awards, Kerala is second on the list with nine awards and Maharashtra and West Bengal settled at the third position with four awards.
In the AP Police Headquarters, the Technical Services wing won 16 awards while the Communications Department won three. The Police Welfare wing fetched them three awards and the Law and Order wing won two awards. The state Crime Inspection Department (CID) won four awards.
Reacting to the achievement, Andhra Pradesh Director General Police Gautam Sawang said, “We are proud of the unprecedented achievement and recognition at the national stage. It only demonstrates our commitment and dedication towards better services to the society, citizens of AP and our nation. We are grateful to Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy for the constant guidance and direction. And whose express mandate we are inspired to fulfil wholeheartedly.”
Vijayawada Police Commissionerate won three awards and Kurnool district police bagged another three. Anantapur, Vizianagaram, Kadapa and Prakasam district police bagged two awards each while six other district police teams won one award each.
Out of the 48 awards received by the Andhra Pradesh police, the DISHA initiative for the protection of women started by CM Jagan Mohan Reddy, won 5 awards. The recently-launched AP Police Seva Application which offers 87 types of services for the public is another initiative that has bagged an award.
The police department has also won three awards for its welfare activities. The Andhra Pradesh (CID) bagged two awards in the silver category. They bagged the recognition for the implementation of E-Nirdesha, an innovative concept used for the digital recording of statements of witnesses. According to the CID, this is a first of its kind digital innovation in the country. PV Sunil Kumar, the Add DGP CID is known to be keen in implementation of technology in policing.
Operation Muskaan is another project that has bagged an award. In this project, homeless children and child labourers were rehabilitated by the police during COVID-19.
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy congratulated all the winners of the awards at the national level, saying that steps are being taken to provide speedy service with accountability and transparency to the public, and the new trend in the use of technology is being embraced.