Police record to go online but critical hardware missing

Finally, Punjab Police officials took the first step to computerize Lahore’s Police Stations under Police Record and Office Manager System (PROMIS) and selected 152 officers of Lahore Police in order to train them for handling affairs at Police Station Level, Pakistan Today learnt on Wednesday. Out of aforesaid 152 police officers as many as 42 Jawans from 21 police stations of City Division have completed training on Wednesday at Punjab Police’s Headquarter for handling computers at 21 police stations of City Division of Lahore Police.
As per details the first phase of PROMIS has been completed and as many as 42 Jawans of City Division of Lahore Police were trained. The training program was about online FIRs and the entry of other information in the relevant registers. It is also learnt that as many as two Jawans from each of the 76 police station of Lahore would participate in the training and all aforesaid 152 cops would complete their training by June 27 of the ongoing year. This project was initiated by the Punjab Police under the supervision of Addl. Director Computers Shaheen Khalid.
The project which was started from five police stations of the three cities Multan, Rawalpindi and Lahore shall be extended to 27 police stations in Sargodha, Faisalabad, Okara, Gujranwala and Jhelum. The project was initiated by the Federal Government to computerized records at police station level. In this regard Federal Government provided hardware which includes two commuters, a fax machine and a networking machine for each police station.
The idea was to link Lahore’s Police Station with each other and with the offices of Inspector General of Police Punjab, Capital City Police Officer, Deputy Inspector General of Lahore Police’s Operation Wing and with the office Deputy Inspector General of Lahore Police’s Investigations Wing with the help of Local Area Network (LAN). Similarly the idea was to inter link all the police stations of Punjab with each other with the help of Wide Area Network (WAN).
However Punjab Police failed to start the project with senior Punjab Police officials claiming a shortage of funds. Well placed sources told Pakistan Today that the hardware provided by the Federal Government was turned it into waste since it was never used. Lahore Police sources told Pakistan Today many of computers, batteries, fax machines and networking machines became out of order.
Speaking on anonymity, a police superintendent said that initially the Punjab police had contracted a company to install the system.
He said that the company had started its work and provided them with the required hardware, however, delayed payments forced the company to stop work. “The software, however, was from another company and failed to perform the tasks it was required for, which further delayed the installation,” he said. Another well placed source in the Lahore police said the initial delay also took place due the lack of computer skills amongst police officials.
He said that though assistant sub inspectors were deputed as moharrars after the decision was made to develop computerized system as it was obvious that no one can make any changes in the FIR or in the investigation reports, once entered in the computer. When contacted Addl Director Computers Shaheen Khalid told Pakistan Today that she had been ordered by the Addl. IG welfare & Finance Aftab Sultan to make a list of missing hardware and he will try to provide or make missing hardware available for making the system operational till June 27. She said that she had prepared and forwarded the list to the Addl. IG.