FastSecFIR: A Layer 2 Consortium Blockchain for FIR Registration and Investigation Ledger with IPFS

The filing and management of First Information Reports (FIRs) is a major concern in India, a country with diverse and large populations. Managing FIRs comes with inefficiencies such as delays and distinct lack of transparency. Such issues are worsened by the hurdles in scalability that layer 1 blockchain solutions face when working with large amounts of public data. This paper discusses FastSecFIR, a layer 2 consortium blockchain framework that improves security, privacy, and scalability. This new approach to FIR registration and investigation employs zeroknowledge proofs (ZKPs) and layer 2 rollup to confidentially validate claims and lift sensitive information in the process. FastSecFIR also employs an interplanetary file system (IPFS) to provide a blockchain solution to evidence. It is impossible to retain information such as the over 445,000 FIRs that were pressed in India in 2022 that too only under the crimes against women category, which translates to around 51 FIRs every hour, directly on the blockchain. Doing so would only worsen the previously mentioned issues of transparency and lack of storage space. To mitigate such problems, FastSecFIR solve these issues by maintaining private PDFs, images, and reports on the IPFS with easy access to the case hashes on the chain. Additionally, the ability to the access details of the FIR is recorded immutably. The developed architecture increases accessibility by incorporating a web-based interface, thereby improving tampering prevention, unauthorized access, and systemic delays. Additionally, the FIR processing is performed automatically via smart contracts. Through the expanded optimization of Layer 2 transaction batching and mining features, FastSecFIR improves law enforcement productivity, all while preserving data privacy and integrity. These developments provide a holistic framework that is scalable, secure, and transparent for upgrading the policing infrastructure of modern India.