Lahore: Lahore is working to be the safest city in Pakistan through its pioneering Security Safe City Project.
An ambitious programme to tackle crime and terrorism, using state-of-the-art technology, has been rolled out by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA), officials say, as part of a broader strategy to spur social and economic development.
“It is more than a security project,” said Akbar Nasir Khan, chief operations officer at the PSCA, during a recent meeting with a visiting media delegation from the UAE.
“It is also about economic development,” he added.
The project, the first phase of which was launched in January 2018, includes installing 8,000 cameras at nearly 1,700 important points in Lahore, the second most populous city in Pakistan and one of the country’s wealthiest.
Installation points include main streets, markets, and some roads, where there are no police officers stationed.
The footage captured by the cameras is relayed to a huge video wall comprising nearly 200 screens at the head office for monitoring.
Hundreds of experts work at the centre around the clock, monitoring vast areas of the city.
Their average age is 25, and their passion for technology is among the key requirements for the job.
Before they were hired from different parts of Punjab, they received training.
“This is a business model,” Aamir said, adding that the project already achieved results.
For instance, he said, the average time required to respond to incidents between the months of January and September 2018 was reduced from 25 minutes to between 10-15 minutes.
The number of received calls increased from 7,000 to between 12,000 and 15,000 calls a day.
Some needs help, and some were targeted.
“Policing is not done in isolation of other issues,” Aamir said. “You have to know what your country is facing,” he said.
Most of the crimes committed or spotted before happening are related to the economic situation. “Pakistan is not a violent country,” Aamir said. “Between 60 and 70 per cent of the crimes committed are related to poverty.”
And through the PSCA, hundreds of pieces of evidence have been presented to police, who now “speak with more confidence” after the launching of the safe city project.
Information used in investigations and legal processes, recordings and videos are kept for a certain period before disposing them.
The next city to have the project in Punjab province is Rawalpindi, the official said.
