Improving policing: Police cars to get tracking devices to improve efficiency

PITB will install the system. It will also help redress IT problems at police stations.

LAHORE:

Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) will install a tracking system in police vehicles, Minister for Home Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada said on Wednesday. “The system will be linked with the Emergency Call Service 15 to help police tackle emergencies in a more efficient manner.”

He was presiding over a meeting at the civil secretariat on Wednesday. Participants of the meeting discussed ways to improve law and order and policing.

Khanzada said that solving people’s problems was a top priority for the government. “We can only achieve the desired results by strengthening partnership between people and the police.”



He said 800 policemen and constables who had been deputed unnecessarily in certain areas had been called back to police stations.

The minister said according to the chief minister’s vision, police would be made servants of the people in spirit. He said the government will provide the police with all available resources to help them in discharging their professional responsibilities. He said they will receive all necessary equipment and weapons.

Khanzada said as a pilot project, night vision cameras will be installed in all entrances and exit points of the city. He said they were also considering a plan to divide the policing system of Lahore into three divisions. He said they were hoping that it would improve considerably governance.

While speaking about how to manage protest demonstrations in the city, Khanzada said the police will ensure that the relevant minister and secretary respond to the protesters’ concerns regardless of what socio-economic category they [the protesters] belonged to.

He said they were planning to upgrade 84 police stations in the city. He said PITB’s technical staff will be deputed at these police stations to help address their IT complaints.

“Relevant DSPs and SHOs will meet daily every night to discuss these complaints and solve them.”

He said they were also working on a strategy to improve patrolling in several areas. He said the strategies in this regard will be implemented soon. CPO Ameen Wains, and the operations DIG, among others, attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2014.