14 February 2024, Quetta – The inauguration of the Criminal Record Office (CRO) by the Balochistan Police is a cutting edge initiative funded by the European Union as part of its ‘Deliver Justice Project’ and implemented with the technical support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The Criminal Record Office is designed as a central hub for keeping track of criminal records and identifying suspects by their biometrics, physical features, and past criminal activity. It works through automation using a digitalized Criminal Record Management System that builds a database of digitally captured fingerprints of offenders and uses automation to find their latent and other fingerprints.
A high profile inauguration ceremony of the CRO was held on February 14, 2024 in Quetta, presided over by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Abdul Khalique Shaikh, who applauded the European Union for the provision of funds and the collaborative effort of UNODC and Balochistan Police towards embracing innovation. This transformative step not only enhances the efficiency of law enforcement but also ensures a more secure and responsive judicial system.
The Criminal Record Office is set to transform justice delivery, making it more efficient and transparent through the Criminal Record Management System, which is designed to replace archaic and tedious manual processes to retrieve records of criminals. The manual system was often vulnerable to human errors, resulting in faulty results and delays. The CRMS, on the other hand, provides a seamless interface that is designed to maintain a comprehensive database of a criminal’s personal details, criminal history, fingerprints, and photos, which can be instantly accessed using their CNIC or biometric information as needed. The process is simple and fetches the required data through the web, a smartphone, or even SMS.
This collaborative effort between the European Union, Balochistan Police, and UNODC will go a long way as Balochistan takes a huge stride into a digital future, fostering a safer and more secure society for all.
