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Police Summit in Lucknow Draws 400 to Push Smart Policing

Police Technology Summit in Lucknow Puts AI, Surveillance and Cyber Tools Under the Spotlight

More than 400 people from police forces, Central Armed Police Forces, defence and security agencies, universities and technology companies gathered in Lucknow on Thursday as the 3rd Police Technology Summit 2026 examined how new technology can be used in day-to-day policing.

The event was organised by Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), with the AIC RRU Incubation Foundation, at the Atal Auditorium of Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University. More than 200 police, CAPF, defence and security personnel attended the summit, along with researchers, academics, start-ups and technology specialists.

The meeting comes as Indian police forces face a wider range of digital and technology-related challenges. Cybercrime, digital fraud, the use of artificial intelligence, drones and large volumes of digital data have made technology an increasingly important part of investigations and security work.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about this shift several times. The SMART Policing idea was introduced at the 49th All India Conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police in Guwahati in 2014. At the time, SMART stood for Sensitive and Strict, Modern and Mobile, Alert and Accountable, Reliable and Responsive, and Techno-savvy and Trained.

The government has since placed greater emphasis on technology in policing. In 2021, Modi called for a high-powered Police Technology Mission to identify and adopt technology for policing needs. In 2024, while addressing the 59th All India Conference of DGPs and IGPs in Bhubaneswar, he again asked police forces to use technology to reduce constables’ workload and expanded the SMART policing description to strategic, meticulous, adaptable, reliable and transparent.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also referred to the Police Technology Mission in 2023. He said the mission was intended to help police personnel, from constables to senior officers, deal with changing technical challenges.

The Lucknow summit is part of that wider policy effort. Its theme was “Initiative Towards Shaping the Technology in SMART Policing”, with discussions covering the use of technology in police operations, investigations and public-facing services.

Prof. (Dr.) Bimal N. Patel, Vice-Chancellor of Rashtriya Raksha University, inaugurated the summit virtually. Dr Manjari Chandra, Campus Director of the RRU Lucknow Campus, spoke about the university’s work in education, research, training and technology related to policing and national security.

Shri Bhagwan S. Srivastava, ADG, Technical Services, Uttar Pradesh Police, attended as Chief Guest. Shri Anil Kumar, IG, Central Reserve Police Force, was the Guest of Honour.

The choice of Lucknow also brought the discussion closer to a large state police system. The Uttar Pradesh Police and Uttar Pradesh Prison Department were among the biggest groups at the meeting. Other participating organisations included the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Assam Rifles, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Punjab Police, Uttarakhand Police, Central Command and NCC. Members of the Prantiya Raksha Dal attended as special guests.

Universities and research institutions were also represented, including IIT Kanpur and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow.

One of the main attractions was the technology exhibition, where companies, institutions and start-ups demonstrated tools designed for police and security use. Areas on display included artificial intelligence, predictive policing, data analysis, drones and counter-drone systems, cyber security, digital forensics, smart surveillance, CCTV and Open-Source Intelligence, commonly known as OSINT.

A technology demonstration reported ahead of the summit focused on detecting mobile phones in sensitive locations. Systems included a mobile phone presence detection system, an entrance-point mobile phone detection system, a secure meeting guard and a prison communication guard. Such systems are aimed at places where unauthorised mobile devices may create security or communication risks.

The wider push towards data-based policing is already visible in government systems. The Ministry of Home Affairs says the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems, or CCTNS, has covered 17,712 police stations and holds 35.24 crore crime and criminal records at the national level, according to government data released in 2025.

The Interoperable Criminal Justice System, or ICJS, is another major part of this change. It links information held by police, prisons, forensic agencies, prosecutors and courts. The system is intended to reduce dependence on paper records and allow investigators to use data analysis and artificial intelligence tools.

For police forces, the challenge is therefore moving beyond buying new equipment. Officers need training, reliable data, systems that can work together and clear rules on how technology is used. Technology can speed up an investigation or help officers identify a suspect, but its value depends on the quality of the information and the way officers use it.

The summit also brought police officials into direct contact with researchers and technology companies. RRU said discussions could lead to joint research, training programmes, internships and testing of technology for police requirements.

This is the third edition of the Police Technology Summit organised by RRU. The university’s 2025 summit at its Pasighat campus in Arunachal Pradesh brought together police officials and technology providers from the North East. The exhibition there featured 22 participants and covered areas such as artificial intelligence, OSINT, drones, cybercrime investigation, digital forensics and smart surveillance.

The Lucknow meeting has widened that discussion by bringing together state police, CAPFs, defence organisations, prisons, universities and private technology firms.

For the police, the practical question remains how quickly these technologies can move from demonstrations to regular use. For citizens, the larger test will be whether new systems lead to faster investigations, better emergency response, safer public spaces and greater accountability while respecting legal safeguards.

The summit therefore placed technology at the centre of a continuing debate over how Indian policing should change as crime and security threats become more digital. Its next measure of success will be what happens after the exhibition closes: which technologies are tested, which are adopted, and whether they solve problems faced by officers and the public.