By IANS,
New Delhi : Terror attacks are often launched from across sovereign borders to disrupt peace and typically target large and densely populated urban areas, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here Wednesday.
Inaugurating the India-US police chiefs’ conference, Shinde called for improving internal security through strategic partnership between India and the US.
The two-day conference will discuss cyber security and use of forensic science to determine accuracy of criminal investigations.
Shinde said the two countries were at the forefront in countering terrorism and international crime.
“We are also, unfortunately, the leading targets of such transnational terror groups and crime syndicates. All too often, attacks are launched from across sovereign borders in a manner calculated to cause the greatest disruption of peace,” Shinde said.
He said countries will have to endeavour to fight the menace in all its forms through partnerships based on genuine and result-oriented cooperation.
The minister said the conference was a key element in the expansion of India’s bilateral cooperation with the US.
“As strategic partners, the more we can work with each other to enhance internal security, the more meaningful our partnership becomes to the ordinary citizen,” he said.
Shinde said the India-US Homeland Security Dialogue was an important element of the bilateral security architecture.
Stressing that major terrorist attacks typically target large and densely populated urban areas, the minister said: “Both our countries have lived through such terrorist carnage, during 9/11 in New York and during 26/11 in Mumbai.
“Cooperation in megacity policing is intended to enhance capacity to provide an integrated security umbrella to megacities and large urban centres,” he said.
The minister said an efficient megacity policing system must serve as an effective deterrent against terrorists and their masters who launch targeted attacks on the nerve centres of a country.
“Our objective must be to make our cities, and, therefore, our countries safe by reducing our vulnerability to such challenges.”
Shinde said technology was a key input for policing and the US has consistently led the world in deploying technology in the service of its people.
“There is much that we can do together as partners to enhance the use of appropriate technologies for our police forces,” he said.
The minister said India was committed to working as a partner with the US in bringing and applying state-of-the-art technologies to crime prevention, crime detection, forensic analysis and traffic management to make cities safer.
“I urge technology partners from both countries to join hands with each other and with law enforcement agencies to deploy innovative technologies and enhance research in various fields of homeland security,” Shinde said.
The US delegation at the conference includes police chiefs from major cities and their technology partners.
The two sides will make presentations on response to mass casualty events, maritime security and law enforcement.
Surveillance and command control in urban policing, security and law enforcement in mass transit system would also be discussed.