What happened

The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that the National Crime Records Bureau’s National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) is a centralized database used by law-enforcement agencies for the investigation, detection, and prevention of sexual offences. The ministry also said that the National Crime Records Check (NCRC) portal, CCTNS-linked citizen verification services, the cyber-crime reporting portal, and the 1930 helpline are available for criminal-record checks and reporting cyber offences.

Background and earlier position

Police and public order are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. State Governments and Union Territory administrations remain primarily responsible for prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of crimes through their law-enforcement agencies.

The NDSO was established by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2018 under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The database is meant to help law-enforcement agencies identify accused persons and repeat offenders in sexual-offence investigations and to verify criminal antecedents. Access is restricted to authorised law-enforcement agencies.

The NCRC portal is used by government agencies for preliminary verification of employees and personnel. The portal uses the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) and the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) database for crime-record checks. States and Union Territories have also launched citizen portals over the CCTNS application to facilitate verification requests by individuals and organisations.

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