A total of 17,762 police stations across India are currently using the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) to facilitate near real-time collection, updating and analysis of crime and criminal-related data, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed Parliament.
The data is based on reports received as of June 1, 2026. According to the Data on Police Organisations 2024 published by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), there are 18,284 sanctioned police stations in the country as of January 1, 2024. This number includes rural, urban and special-purpose police stations such as Women’s Police Stations, Cyber Crime Cells and stations dedicated to crimes against vulnerable groups.
Of the total, 9,127 police stations are in rural areas, 5,492 in urban areas and 3,665 are special-purpose stations.
Replying to a query from Rajya Sabha MP Shambhu Sharan Patel on August 5, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar said, “As on June 1, 2026, all 17,762 Police Stations are using CCTNS,” adding that the system facilitates the collection, updation and analysis of data related to crime and criminals on a near real-time basis.
The Ministry outlined that CCTNS offers benefits to state and Union Territory police forces, Central Law Enforcement Agencies and citizens of India. The system has enabled the computerisation of police processes, including complaints, First Information Reports (FIRs), investigation details, charge sheets, court disposal, appeals, challans and registers.
CCTNS also enables searches on national and state databases of crime and criminals and supports data sharing among police, central investigative agencies, courts, prisons, forensic institutions and prosecution agencies to improve justice delivery.
According to the MHA, citizens can access services such as missing persons search, generation of vehicle No Objection Certificates (NOCs), information on proclaimed offenders and location of the nearest police station through the Digital Police Portal and the Central Citizen Services Portal.
Moreover, nine mandated citizen services have been provided through various state police citizen portals. These include filing complaints with the concerned police station, checking complaint status, obtaining FIR copies, accessing details of arrested persons and wanted criminals, and information on missing and kidnapped persons, stolen and recovered vehicles, arms and other property. Requests for issuing and renewing various NOCs (procession, event and performance, protest and strike), verification requests for servants, employment, passports, senior citizen registrations, as well as access to forms for downloading, are also available.
