Doorstep Smart Policing In India : A Conceptual Framework Integrating Digital Service Delivery, Procedural Justice, Institutional Capacity And Police Legitimacy

ABSTRACT The integration of digital technologies into policing has transformed the nature of law enforcement and public service delivery in India. Within the broader framework of Digital India and SMART Policing reforms, technology-enabled platforms have reconfigured police–citizen interactions. This paper introduces and conceptualises “Doorstep SMART Policing” as a citizen-centric, technology-enabled governance framework that delivers police services directly to citizens through digital and assisted channels. This framework is to provides the structure to reduce administrative and physical burdens on both citizens and police personnel while focusing on procedural fairness, institutional legitimacy, and democratic accountability. The literature based on secondary sources including government policy documents, official digital platforms, and peer-reviewed literature to develop a conceptual framework linking digital technologies, service design, procedural justice principles, citizen engagement, and empowerment outcomes. Doorstep SMART Policing combines elements of SMART policing, procedural justice theory, citizen-centric governance, and digital public service innovation into an integrated approach that prioritizes accessibility, convenience and the burden of service delivery as means toward legitimacy and empowerment, unique in its orientation. Where previous models have focused on crime control, data analytics or collaborative problem-solving, this framework positions service delivery design as a means of strengthening democratic policing. Keywords: Doorstep SMART Policing, Digital Policing in India, Citizen-Centric Service Delivery, Procedural Justice, Police Legitimacy, Institutional Capacity.