Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the enactment of new criminal laws marked a paradigm shift in the criminal justice system.

He emphasised that the new criminal laws were framed with the spirit of ‘Citizen First, Dignity First and Justice First’ and instead of working with ‘danda’, police now need to work with ‘Data’.

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The PM was speaking at the 58th All India Conference of Director Generals/Inspector Generals of Police at the Rajasthan International Centre, Jaipur.

He exhorted the Police Chiefs to think imaginatively to convey the emotional spirit behind the newly enacted laws to the different sections of society.

He laid special focus on sensitising women and girls about their rights and protection provided to them under the new Criminal Laws. He exhorted police to focus on women safety by ensuring that women could work fearlessly ‘kabhi bhi aur kahin bhi’ (anywhere anytime).

The PM underscored the need to reinforce the positive image of the police in citizens. He advised the use of social media at the police station level for disseminating positive information and messages for the benefit of citizens. He also suggested using social media for disseminating advanced information on natural calamities and disaster relief.

He also suggested organising various sports events as a way to strengthen citizen-police connect. He urged government officials to stay in border villages to establish better ‘connect’ with local populace as these border villages were the ‘first villages’ of India.

Highlighting the success of India’s first solar mission – Aditya-L1 and the swift rescue of 21 crew members from the hijacked vessel in Arabian Sea by the Indian Navy recently, the PM said that such achievements show that India is emerging as a major power in the world.

He said that Aditya-L1 success is similar to the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission. He also exuded pride in the Indian Navy’s successful operation. He added that in line with the improving global profile and increasing national strength of the country, the Indian police should transform itself into a modern and world class police force to realise the vision of a developed India by 2047.

The conference was also attended by the Union Home Minister, National Security Advisor and top civil and police officials. Like previous years, the conference was held in hybrid mode with over 500 Police officers of various ranks attending from different places across the country.

It deliberated on critical components of national security, including the newly enacted major criminal laws, counter terrorism strategies, left wing extremism, emerging cyber threats, worldwide counter radicalisation initiatives, etc.