LAHORE: Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Faisal Shahkar has formally launched two new IT-based services -- Punjab Police WhatsApp Services and Online Complaint Management System -- to facilitate filing of complaints from home.

Addressing the digital inauguration of the two services at the Central Police Office (CPO) here on Tuesday, the IGP said it would prove to be a milestone in IT-based policing, that “is the future of police”.

He said the new services were launched for immediate redressal of public complaints and provision of information related to police services.Now people could obtain their driving licences and lodge complaints with just a click, he added.

Sharing the official WhatsApp number 0331-7871787, Shahkar said the citizens, especially overseas Pakistanis, would benefit from theses services the most as they won’t need to travel to Pakistan for obtaining any document or for police action.

He said police dept was consolidating all its IT-based projects into one application on the lines of multinational companies so that citizens could access all policing-related facilities.

For the convenience of people, the complaint management system of Punjab Police had also been made online, he added.

He said the citizens could not only get their complaints registered online, but also get E-tag number by using these services. The IGP said the complaints received by the citizens would be monitored at the CPO, as well as the district level, and action would also be taken on any delayed response to the public complaints.

On the occasion, DIG IT Ahsan Younis briefed the media representatives about the use and features of the new services, saying that Punjab Police was making its IT projects more convenient for the citizens.

“Nowadays, every citizen is using WhatsApp and on leaving a simple message (Hello or Slam) on the given number, options of 15 services would be displayed [on mobile phone screen],” Mr Ahsan said.

These services are titled -- Crime Report, IG Punjab Complaint Cell, Police Service Centre Facilities, Helpline Numbers, Gender Harassment Report, Police Offices, Facilities for Overseas Pakistanis, Social Media, Punjab Police Website, Zainab Alert, Most Wanted Criminals, Citizen Portal, -- besides details of domestic workers criminal record verification, feedback and suggestions etc.

Later, the IGP directed the officers concerned to dispatch police teams to schools to deliver lectures to create awareness about these services among the students, who would pass on the information to their parents.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2022