IG inaugurates Automated Complaints Redressal System

PESHAWAR: Keeping the government vision of achieving “Digital Pakistan”, Inspector General of Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Thursday inaugurated the fully automated Complaints Redressal System here in Peshawar.

Speaking on the occasion IGP Dr Sanaullah Abbasi said, “Automation of Complaint Redressal System is a step in the right direction for KP police. Our objective is to provide speedy access to justice to all citizens of KP including merged districts.”

After lengthy internal deliberations, we initiated this project to reach out to vulnerable groups, especially women, girls, youth, and minorities.

Now they can reach out to us through the comfort of their homes, he continued.

Addressing the participants, Dr Adnan Rafiq (Country Director USIP) said “there is an imminent need to bridge the trust deficit that exists between the public and the police and digitization of the PCRS is a step in right direction to improve the overall situation of trust deficit, provision of swift justice to the vulnerable population and molding policing approach as more citizen centric”.

As a first of its kind in Pakistan, PCRS will make it accessible for the public to reach police through the following innovative features: Social media integration (WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter), Mobile App for Public to register and track complaints, single SMS short code for Public (8855), a toll free helpline for public (0800-004000), automated email integration, monitoring app for IG, RPO and DPO offices, ensuring process transparency with live SMS updates the complainant, digitized and paperless system, centralized system for complaint registration and redressal, integrated voice over IP based call center in CPO and an integrated chat system for the officials.

Through this digitization of Police Complaints Redressal System (PCRS) the provision of justice will become a swift process for the public, and the police will have a less strenuous routine while handling these cases with the ease of moving things online. The benefits of this service will also ensure a transparent policing system which includes a live and centralized reporting for higher management to assess the efficiency of the officials on the field and reporting hints at the insight of the target area for effective policing.

A complaint process will be available to the public and feedback will be taken at every stage of handling the complaint for ensuring public satisfaction, it is through inclusion of such checks and balances that the accountability on part of the police will be ensured. The inauguration ceremony was attended by all Regional Police officers from across KP, via video link.