Representational photo. PHOTO: FILE
The software has connected all bus stands and railways stations across Punjab and its central portal has been established at the Central Police Office (CPO).
Whenever a passenger purchases a ticket, he/she has to submit his computerised national identity card (CNIC) number. The number is fed into the computerised system of the station and the software will be updated with the data. Moreover, whenever a suspected proclaimed offender (PO) submits his details, it will pop up on the system. Subsequently, local police will move forward to arrest him or her.
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The project was initiated as a pilot project two months ago and has so far connected all the bus and railway stations throughout the province.
Punjab Police Public Relations Director Syed Nayyab Haider told The Express Tribune that the initiative was part of a series of IT initiatives to improve the efficiency and organise it along modern lines. Travel Eye will help curtail the free mobility of suspected criminals and aid in their arrest.
According to an estimate, the data of over 0.1 million citizens have been fed into the system. Besides, 15 suspected POs have been busted.
The software is a replication of the ‘Hotel Eye’ software developed by Lahore Police in collaboration with the Punjab Information and Technology Board (PITB). It was developed for the real-time monitoring of visitors at hotels. After the promulgation of Tenants Act inspired by National Action Plan, it had been made mandatory for hotels to register the data of visitors and the hotels.
The report was compiled and submitted on a weekly basis to police stations. However, it was a tedious, time-consuming process that lacked accuracy. Considering the need for a prompt action after a suspected criminal checked into a hotel, a web application to log check-ins and checkouts at hotels was developed. It recorded the data of Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) and personal details of visitors.
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This system was integrated with the National Database and Registration Authority, Police Station Record Management System and Crime Registration Office. When a suspected criminal record holder checked in, police was alerted through a notification to take an appropriate action.
Later on, in October 2016, the Punjab government made it mandatory for hotels to use the system to log guest details.
So far, Hotel Eye has helped police arrest more than 70 criminals. Making the Hotel Eye software a permanent feature of the security process, police have linked nearly 600 hotels using this application. As many as 1,260,591 check-ins have been registered across the province and 5,723 criminal record holders have been traced.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2019.
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