E-Paper
UPCOP app usage: Plaints, requests to police rise 14 times in four years
Due to the monitoring of the mobile app also being done from Lucknow, the results of applications made through the app are also witnessing quicker redress
People are now increasingly relying on Uttar Pradesh Police citizens application —UPCOP app—to not just register FIRs for crimes ranging from loots and thefts but even getting employee, tenant and domestic help verifications instead of physically going to police stations for it.
In the last four years, the trust of the people of Uttar Pradesh seems to have increased with UPCOP app usage data showing a rise of up to 14 times for some requests. Due to the monitoring of the mobile app also being done from Lucknow, the results of applications made through the app are also witnessing quicker redress.
“Awareness about the use and utility of UPCOP has increased significantly since its launch and more and more people are now using it,” said SSP, Prayagraj, Shailesh Kumar Pandey. Uttar Pradesh Police had launched the citizen services mobile app UPCOP to help the common man. It can be downloaded from any mobile app through Google Play Store or iPhone.
Requests from eFIR registration, to viewing and downloading FIRs, getting lost item registered, accessing stolen or recovered vehicle details, reporting bad behaviour or road accidents, requesting for character certificate, tenant verification, domestic helper verification and employee verification can be done through UPCOP sitting right at home and then track the request status until the final closure.
Even submitting procession requests or seeking permission for protest or strike and hosting an event, accessing bounty details, including photographs of criminals, finding unidentified body details, missing persons photos to even applying for film shooting permission can be done through this app.
In Prayagraj too, people have reposed faith in UPCOP. From reporting mobile thefts to cybercrimes, requests for eFIRs are being made online through it. As for the entire state, awareness has increased among the people. There has been up to 14-fold increase in online complaints and requests being filed in 2019 to 2022 for some services.
In 2019, 3,89,150 people had complained about lost articles. At the same time, in the fourth year this figure has reached over 5.23 lakh. More than 1.12 lakh people have used UPCOP in 2022 for registering eFIRs against 17,495 in 2019—almost 6.5 times rise in past four years. A marked rise has been witnessed in domestic help verification applications that were mere 808 in 2019 and rose to 11,609 as on October 22, 2022 amounting to a rise of 14 times.
Most significant use of UPCOP, however, remains for downloading of already registered FIRs with 9,88,277 doing so in first year in 2019 and the figure reaching 42,28,934 in 2021 even as in 2022 the count has already reached 80,36,451—over eight times rise in past four years— with over two months still to go for the year to end.
