FAISALABAD - The first phase of Faisalabad Safe City Project (FSCP) would be completed before May 31, starting online monitoring of eight bazaars, Iqbal Park and other important commercial centers of the city, said Dr. Muhammad Abid Khan, Regional Police Officer (RPO). Addressing the business community at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI), he said that in the next phase the industrial belt of Khurarianwala, FIEDMC, Jaranwala and Sammundri roads would be included in the project in addition to the adjoining areas of motorways. He said that earlier monitoring cameras were installed under CPLC and police vision but these proved unsustainable.
When he took over charge as RPO, most of these cameras were lying un-functional. He made them functional, RPO said, adding that when caretaker Chief Minister and IG Police Punjab visited Faisalabad after the incident of May 09, he briefed them on this minimal structure of safe city. He said that the CM instantly announced a safe city project for three cities including Faisalabad with an estimated cost of Rs.100bln. He said that the cost of FSCP was around Rs.4bln but he used indigenous technology and started work on it with only Rs.140-150 million. He said that there was a grey structure for the proposed site of FSCP which was completed within a record period of 45 days. “Under this project latest and hi-tech cameras are being installed at 32 sites”, he added. About change in police culture and people-friendly policing, he said that front desks had been established in 80 police stations and timeline had also been fixed for the registration of FIRs.
He also mentioned the services offered by Police Khadmit Markaz and driving schools and said that earlier its income was poured in the police welfare head, however now this amount had been dedicated for welfare of the families of police martyrs, education of their children and active police employees. He said that a fixed percentage of the amount collected through challans was dedicated for the concerned field police staff in KPK and motorway police, however now we have decided that 15% of this amount would drop in the welfare fund for the sustainability of different projects launched by the Punjab police. He said that the crime rate increases with population explosion and drop-in economic activities. He said that maximum FIRs were registered but out of 78,000 FIRs registered during 2023 included 19,000 FIRs of the previous year.
About cybercrime, the RPO said that earlier FIA was handling these cases but it lacks capacity to investigate a large number of cases hence it has been decided to involve police in such cases and a separate cybercrime wing would be created very soon in Punjab police. He said that digitization is a continuous process. The police of today are quite different from the force of 20 years ago. “However, it is a continuous process as there is always room for improvement”, he remarked. He also informed that a police van service has been launched to visit industrial and commercial units to issue character certificates of their employees in addition to providing the facility of learner’s and permanent driving permits.
(The Nation)
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