The Surat police force has embraced Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to equip its personnel in countering cybercrime and meeting the cybersecurity needs of the public, as confirmed by a senior officer. According to Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sharad Singhal, “AI is the new hot topic in this generation. It has been used for the first time by the Surat Cyber Cell to protect the citizens of Gujarat from cybercrime. A chatbot has been created that will communicate with the victims in their chosen language.”
Emphasizing the advantages of artificial intelligence for cybercrime victims, the ACP highlighted, “Victims of cybercrime will be able to use the ‘Find My Police Station’ feature to locate their nearest police station. This public interface will work like a helpline, which will communicate with the victims regardless of time.” The adoption of AI is expected to enhance the efficiency of police operations, allowing them to track the number of cases in specific areas, thus identifying the concentration and nature of cybercrimes in the city.
The official also pointed out that AI will play a crucial role in training police officers to combat cybercrime gangs engaged in activities such as phishing, stalking, and sextortion. In a similar vein, the Punjab Police recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar to establish an in-house Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Lab, marking a significant step in leveraging advanced technologies for law enforcement.