Data not meant to target anyone

CHENNAI: The data collection exercise to collect information about tenants and students is not being done with the idea of targeting anyone and the information will remain decentralised and responsibly utilised, says Chennai Police Commissioner J K Tripathy. The top cop also called upon the city’s residents to submit the information at their local police stations at the earliest, so that crime prevention measures can receive a boost.Responding to City Express’s questions over the nature of the database that is to be formed with the information that is being collected on tenants and students, Tripathy rubbished the view that people from other states were the focus.“I don’t understand where this idea that we are collecting information to target people from other states came from. We have called for data on everyone in the city who fall within the parameters. We have asked for data of all tenants, not just those from other states. We have asked universities for data of all students, not just those from other states,” said Tripathy.He ruled out any misuse or malicious interpretation of the data. “The data on tenants is going to remain decentralised in the local police stations. It is basically to know who is who in an area. With regard to the universities, we have only asked them to compile the data so that it can be quickly accessed when needed,” said Tripathy.“The universities do not have to hand over the data to us. We have asked them to keep it ready so that we can access it as and when required,” he added categorically. Tripathy also said the move, that has been at the eye of a storm, should have been taken up much earlier. “I think this is already late. Cities like Delhi and Mumbai have already done it long ago. The idea is crime prevention, right from terrorism to petty crime,” he said.The Commissioner also categorically ruled out any possibility of profiling, saying such a thing would be impossible. “There is no region, state or language basis to the crime that is happening. We are not looking at it on the basis of a particular region, state or language. So, that sort of a basis does not come in with respect to the data that we are collecting,” Tripathy assured.