RAB prepares digital database of 2,53,000 criminals

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has prepared the largest ever digital database of over 2,53,000 identified criminals, including a large number of militants.

The database contains 150 types of information such as photographs, biometric finger prints, irises and previous criminal records and punishments in criminal offences, according to official sources.

"The particulars of the criminals, readily available in the database, are helping us a lot to prevent and combat crimes, particularly militant activities," director general of RAB, Benazir Ahmed told BSS.

RAB started preparing the database in 2011, with inclusion the information of the militants arrested by the force and the prisoners who were sentenced to various jail term under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Trained operators of RAB visited 64 jails out of 67 prisons (except three of hilly districts) across the country to collect basic information of the criminals for preparing the database. The officials also trained a number of jail officials to help them preparing the list of the criminals.

Currently, the RAB officials concerned are adding related information to the main server of the database in one minute of arrest of any criminal or militant by the anti-crime elite force.

A code number is allocated for each of the criminals. All the information about a criminal comes out in few seconds after pressuring the particular code number.

RAB has assigned trained personnel at all its battalions and crime

prevention teams to upload data to its main server at the headquarters in Dhaka. The database is able to detect the persons who commit crimes with using different identities.

The force has also detected 1100 such people who committed crimes in different names after matching their information with the criminal database.

It has obtained access to the database of the NID (national identity card) to know criminal involvement of a person through verification of his information from the NIDs.

Work is going on to get access to MRP (Machine Readable Passport) database and drivers' license database of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to get the similar information.

RAB also introduced Jail Inmate Database on February 7 in 2016,

incorporating 200 types of data of 58,000 criminals, who was in jail even for a single day. The database preserved biometric finger prints of 10 fingers of both hands and iris scan of the criminals.

Previous crime records, types of crimes, punishments, name of criminals, their addresses and professions are also included in this database.

Communication and Management Information System (MIS) wing of the anti-crime elite force prepared the database with the help of the prison authorities.

A main database server and a recovery server have been installed at the RAB headquarters, with having connectivity through optical fiber to 67 prisons across the country.

The database also obtained access to the NID wing of the Election

Commission (EC) while the process to collect information from the MRP wing is also underway.

It has been built in such a way that the RAB director general and the inspector general of prisons will receive text messages once on the information of an inmate in any jail in the country included to the database.

The database also enables authorities to monitor the status of criminals and condition of the prisoners in 67 jails at a single click.

RAB is giving training to prison officials to make them efficient to operate the system effectively.