Following the footprints of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, the initiative of setting up Front Desks at Punjab Police Stations is getting a positive response from the citizens with respect to timely registration of complaints and cases.
According to senior officials of the Punjab Police, the provincial department has set up 202 front desks in different police stations in 13 districts of the Punjab province to facilitate visitors and complainants. Trained civilian staff, both male and female with degrees in information technology (IT) and computer science are performing duties at these front desks, they said.
Sources however released that senior station assistants (SSAs) and police station assistants (PSAs) deputed at a number of front desks are facing delays in the payment of their salaries especially in Rawalpindi district which may badly negatively affect the entire system.
Officials said that SSAs and PSAs deputed at the front desks immediately report complaints through a centralised online system and provide electronic receipts to the complainants following registration of their complaints. In addition senior officers monitor the entire system from different systems and locations. Police officials further said that the SSAs and PSAs are bound to register every complaint as well as to send a copy of the FIR to the complainants through email. The SSAs and PSAs are independent and are not answerable to Station House Officer (SHOs) of the concerned police station, sources further said.
The main objective of setting up the front desks is to improve the working atmosphere, maintain official records and ensure timely registration of cases. A total of 422 male and 156 female civilian staff is working as SSAs and PASs at these front desks. Front desks have been set up at Lahore, Sheikhupura, Sahiwal, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Multan, DG Khan, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan.
Some citizens while talking to Business Recorder about the newly established system at police stations said that the staff members deputed at front desks are polite but urged senior officials to further strengthen this new system and eliminate the old Thana culture in the province. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had introduced online FIR registration system in 2014, which has proved very successful in mitigating the suffering of the people.
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