Bhubaneswar: The State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) released its crime statistics for the first time here on Thursday.

The report, which has been prepared on the lines of annual crime statistics published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) , was released by chief minister Naveen Patnaik during the valedictory session of the senior police officers' conference in the state capital.

The police said that the report contained district-wise crime statistics. "Various crime statistics have been provided in the report, including crimes against vulnerable sections such as women, children and senior citizens. The report will help the stakeholders, including the media, analyse the crimes in the state. The 350-page report also has statistical information on cognisable offences. The report is likely to be uploaded on the home page of the Odisha police in April," said SCRB director Sudhansu Sarangi.

Though the NCRB has been publishing the annual report since 1953, the SCRB released the report for the first time this year. " We have been sending the data to the NCRB for their publication all these years. So, we decided to use the data and publish a similar report for the state this year," said another SCRB official.

Naveen also launched a mobile app, "Sahayata", to enable citizens avail various services under the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project. The app, which has also been developed by the SCRB, will provide various services, including request for FIR copy, procession request, protest/strike request, registration of lost properties, registration of missing person and character certificate request.

Sarangi said that the app could be downloaded by android and iPhone users in a couple of weeks. "As many as 17 services will be made available in the app at the initiate stage. Later, more services will be added. With the app, citizens will have no need to visit the police stations to avail certain services," he said.

Naveen advised the police to raise the standard of policing to match global benchmarks. "The state is fast emerging as a top destination of international investors because of stable law and order situation. The police must be people friendly and must have an attitude to serve the people. The resource constraints of the police will be taken care of to make it pro-people and efficient force," he said.