IIT Kanpur incubates startup to develop AI-based search engine for predictive policing, crime mapping

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) is using AI to beef up policing. The premier technology institution is incubating a think tank, which is developing an artificial intelligence-driven data search engine to aid in policing.

Lucknow-based Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF) is being incubated under IIT-K’s Artificial Intelligence and Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship (AIIDE), Center of Excellence, Noida.

The search engine hopes to improve the investigation and policing process by using data from all relevant stakeholders to establish a data search engine. The search engine will help with predictive policing, crime mapping and analysis, FCRF hopes.

Frauds and crime are one of the main social issues, said Shashank Shekhar, CEO of FCRF, which is developing methods of predictive policing using AI.

“Now we can understand crime better and solve them faster. We are committed to promoting AI startups in UP, I am thankful to GoUP for their support for the Centre of AI at Noida,” said Dr Nikhil Agarwal, CEO, IIT Kanpur (FIRST, AIIDE and C3i Hub).

FCRF’s search engine will be able to leverage data analysis and predictive analysis AI by building data banks. The government has a trove of data from case files, FIR, charge sheets, seizure memos, conviction memos, arrest memos, crime (case/incident) data, criminals’ data, and data from the police stations records rooms and citizen complaint information. The data from the sectors like BFSI, transportation and others is often not used.

FCRF hopes to build a platform where all the available data -- one set which the government already uses as well as the banking, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), ISP, telecom, transport data -- will be a click away from investigation agencies.

“We will collect all necessary data from many sources and create a single platform that can execute data analysis utilising regression models, data mining, and artificial intelligence, as well as providing insights into the crime pattern that is unique to a given region,” said Shashank Shekhar, Co-Founder, FCRF.