Congratulations to the students of Goa Engineering College for having developed an “e-beat book” app in collaboration with the cybercrime police. A beat is the smallest unit that denotes policing in an area. The app would help to trace locations of beat police for a timely delivery of court summons and warrants to accused persons and witnesses. All the information about a particular beat can be seen by senior cops on their computers and mobile phones. There are plans to sell the app to other States. The app was made at much less than Rs 70 lakhs which any private company would have charged. We hope that the students who developed the app have been suitable compensated. The next phase of the app development would have tenant verification and domestic help. Once the apps are launched, beat constables who wish to play hooky cannot do so by beating the system! The Goa police should now introduce body cams so that complaints of harassment and beating by the cops, misbehaviour by public and other deeds can be recorded in real-time. Body cameras would deter the cops and people from taking justice into their hands.
