In order to ensure complete attendance of officials at police stations, the Rawalpindi police on Wednesday decided to establish a biometric attendance system, informed a senior official.
The official said 40 biometric attendance systems would be installed in 32 police stations and offices of the City Police Officer (CPO) and Superintendent of Police (SP) so attendance of policemen could be monitored.
The official said all police stations and offices lack any biometric attendance system and attendances are being marked through the old manual system. “Majority of police officers remain absent but in the attendance sheet they are marked present everyday, therefore, this system will monitor their attendance in a better way and thus ensure an enhanced performance,” he added.
The official said that during deteriorating law and order situations, it is easy to determine the attendance of cops because of their deployment in the field, however, during routine days, policemen can do away with it by cheating the seniors.
He explained that during the present political crisis, all police officers were present because of their deployment in various locations and it was easy for senior officials to check their attendance.
After the installation of this system, not a single police officer will be able to cheat, the official said further. A request has been sent to the home department of Punjab for the issuance of the system and in the next week, it will most likely be installed, he added.
Another senior official, who requested anonymity, said the installation of the biometric system is a positive step but high-ups should address the real issues being faced by officers. He claimed that two police stations, Saddar Bairuni and Ratta Amral, which are the oldest police stations of the garrison city, are in pathetic conditions. He claimed that officers are forced to work under leaking roofs which also damage records and case files.
Besides, store rooms and toilets are also in a dismal state, informed the official, adding that the government should focus on these things as well as trying to fix attendance issues.
When contacted, Rawalpindi City Police Officer Humayun Bashir Tarar confirmed that biometric systems would be installed in all police stations of the city. Tarar said the Punjab inspector general of police has approved the installation of 40 biometric systems and this practice would be carried out in the entire province soon. “There is a dire need to update police stations with modern technology and this is the first positive step in this regard,” he added. He admitted that some police stations need to be renovated and claimed that the necessary budget was not allocated in the current fiscal year despite his recommendations.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2014.
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