QUETTA, Dec 6: The National Bureau of Police is introducing two new systems to improve the performance of police department and develop it on modern lines. Director-General of the bureau, Dr Shoaib Suddle, stated this while speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday.

The two systems being introduced by the bureau include Police Records and Office Management Information System (PROMIS) and Auto Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

He said that the ECNEC had approved both the projects which would cost Rs2,512 million.

He said that the PROMIS was a project being executed by the National Police Bureau, which was seeking to better manage the voluminous and highly disorganized police record maintained manually in the country through complete automation.

He said that the outmoded management of police date makes it almost impossible to search and retrieve information accurately and promptly and further complicates the already challenging job of law enforcement.

Dr Suddle said that the PROMIS aims at computerization of entire police records of the country and introduction of several e-management systems related to human resources development budget and finance, crime reporting, citizen’s complaints, driving license, insurance for stolen and recovered vehicles and several other similar applications.

The PROMIS integrated with the AFIS network would link all 1,400 police stations in the country to the district level, regional and provincial headquarters of the respective police forces and finally to the National Police Bureau, he said.

He said that the PROMIS system would cost Rs1,405 million while another amount of Rs1,107 million, including foreign component of Rs720 million, was approved for AFIS. He said that the pilot project of PROMIS, e-Ennoblement, was introduced in the Islamabad police and with its success it would be replicated throughout the country over the next two years.

He said that the introducing of AFIS aims at improving the quality of criminal investigations, thereby making the delivery of justice more efficient and evidence-based.

The director general of National Police Bureau said that the development of a central site at the FIA headquarters had already been completed while work on multi-function work stations at the four provincial headquarters was in progress and would be completed by December 31.

He said that work on two remote terminal sites at Karachi and Lahore was in progress and after their completion the seven sites would be tested as a mini AFIS system by June 2006 and it would be fully functional in 52 districts of Pakistan, while it would be extended in the remaining districts during 2006-7.

He said that the two-week hands-on training of police personnel on “how to use AFIS equipment” was already started last month.

Replying to a question, he said that during his visit to Quetta he discussed the plan of merger of levies into police force and establishing of Balochistan Constabulary in the province for which the federal government was providing Rs10 billion.

He said that during the meeting with the officials concerned the requirement of arms and ammunition, vehicles and other needs were also discussed. He said that 6,000 local people would be inducted in the new force and no one would be recruited from outside the province.

He said that police reforms were continuing in all four provinces and through public safety commissions the gulf between police and people would be removed.

Director General Balochistan Constabulary Shariq Habib Khan and DIG Mohammad Riaz were also present on the occasion.