In a move to modernise policing and citizen-interface, the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) has announced the launch of an AI-powered virtual assistant to handle a wide range of public services in Tamil and English. The assistant will operate through chat, voice-call, or video-call options accessible via popular messaging apps, social-media, a dedicated mobile app, AI kiosks and the Tamil Nadu Police website. It will be integrated with police databases to offer services like FIR tracking, CSR updates, traffic challan payments, licence/NOC status, and IMEI verification. Built on a secure cloud infrastructure, the system will comply with Indian data-protection regulations and is designed to improve progressively, especially in understanding regional Tamil dialects. Implementation is planned in phases over seven months, followed by three years of maintenance and iterative upgrades. While welcoming the initiative as a digital leap for policing, analysts emphasise that this must not replace on-ground presence and human officers. Citizens still value physical accessibility and prompt field response.The GCP expects the system to reduce queue-times, streamline service delivery and free human officers for more field-oriented duties. Early-stage testing will gauge user-experience and make adjustments before full rollout.Data security and user privacy are flagged as key priorities; the police assert that no biometric data will be stored in the assistant’s core module, and human escalation will be available whenever required.
If successful, the pilot may be expanded to other districts in Tamil Nadu, paving the way for state-wide adoption of AI in public-safety services.In sum, the initiative signals a shift towards smart policing but hinges on robust infrastructure, digital literacy among citizens and strong safeguards.
