Zubair Qureshi
Capital police have introduced the street watchers system in Islamabad to ensure protection of the lives and property of citizens and this will be done through police-public cooperation. This was stated by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Islamabad Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar while talking to media on Saturday.
The IGP said the street watcher system had been launched by Islamabad police to control street crime, ensure effective action against anti-social elements and take prompt action on help calls or messages of citizens.
Islamabad police chief expressed his satisfaction while noting that police had a very encouraging feedback of the new initiative which is not only restoring confidence of people on police but also assisting to control crime.
He said that the capital police introduced the system one month before to make Islamabad ‘the safest city’ as per the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and great success has been achieved through it in a short time.
The system is being supervised by DIG (Operations) Waqar Uddin Syed while police patrolling units are functioning in sub-sectors and streets. Moreover, he said that the neighborhood watch system has been introduced and citizens are registering themselves in these new systems to proactively help police in curbing crime.
During the last one month, he said that 345 house servants, 28 guest houses, 122 staffers of guest houses, 22 contractors, 219 laborers, 23 hostels and 70 members of hostel staff, 449 persons residing in hostels and 783 security guards got themselves voluntarily registered at various police stations in the limits of City, Industrial area and Saddar Zones.
The IGP said that 180 cameras were also installed in various locations by merchants of Sabzi Mandi while security guards were employed in several houses and streets. Cameras have been installed by the numerous citizens at their houses and streets, he said adding that all these steps are evident of public trust in police.
Such response from people is very much encouraging for police which is committed to ensure protection to the lives and property of the citizens. As per survey conducted to gauge the effectiveness of the system, he said that only one snatching incident, one car theft incident were reported inn City Zone and Saddar Zone respectively. Three robberies and as many car theft incidents were also reported in the Industrial Area Zone as per reports received through these systems launched at community level, he maintained.
The IGP said that this system would be further extended to the Rural Zone following which deployment of guards in each street of residential areas would be ensured and ‘Vigilance System (Thekri-Phara System) to be introduced.
Under the new system, street watchers were deputed at streets and sub-sectors for assistance to police in its efforts to curb crime. They are informing police in case of any suspicious activity in their respective area and keeping a vigilant eye on security guards and domestic servants. What’s app group has been created to ensure effective coordination between policemen and community members
The citizens have also appreciated this effort and step of Islamabad police and ensured their full cooperation with police to combat crime and anti-social elements.
