Rawalpindi police claim 50pc drop in crime across Safe City covered areas

RAWALPINDI – Safe City coverage through CCTV cameras in the garrison city has led to a 50 percent reduction in crime rates throughout monitored zones, according to Kashif Riaz Khan, DSP Operations Safe City.

Key points

• Safe City camera coverage is due to further expand to Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, and Gujar Khan by December 31.
• Chief Minister Punjab officially inaugurated Rawalpindi Safe City on August 14 this year.
• Two officers were nominated for the Sitara-e-Imtiaz for success­fully reuniting missing children with their families using the 'Mera Pyara' mobile application, the DSP shared.
• Further, the 15 helpline now fea­tures round-the-clock backing in five languages, alongside free le­gal consultation assistance.
• Automated traffic citations are active for 19 distinct violations, and system integration with mo­torway cameras now tracks stolen vehicles.

Speaking during a media brief­ing at the Punjab Police Integrated Command Control Centre (PPIC3) Rawalpindi on Thursday, Khan at­tributed the drop primarily to the Crime Investigation Department (CCD), followed by the Rawalpin­di Police and the Safe City project itself.

Chief Minister Punjab officially inaugurated Rawalpindi Safe City on August 14 this year. The net­work at present operates 3, 180 cameras throughout 576 sites. While 1, 700 cameras cover other parts of the city, this in­cludes 292 cameras dedicated to VVIP and Red Zone security. Seven sites are tempo­rarily dismantled due to ongoing construction and will be reinstat­ed once work concluded, the DSP briefed the media persons. Makhad Sharif residents welcome ban on boat movement.

According to Khan, noted crimes fell from 842 incidents in January to 362 in July this year, despite a brief uptick in March when the po­lice resources were heavily redi­rected toward cricket match secu­rity, the officer noted.

For context, the briefing highlighted sever­al key operational improvements and expanding features. While staff training for handling crime reports rose from 30% to 88% over the past year, emer­gency response times dropped from 35 minutes down to 13 minutes. The ratio of tracing sus­pects even before the registra­tion of the FIR has additionally climbed upto 88 percent. Accident on IJP Road leaves motorcyclist dead.

Further, the 15 helpline now fea­tures round-the-clock backing in five languages, alongside free le­gal consultation assistance. The response time after 15 emer­gency call has additionally reduced to 13 minutes from 35 minutes.

Automated traffic citations are active for 19 distinct violations, and system integration with mo­torway cameras now tracks stolen vehicles. Emergency panic buttons are planned citywide, with 31 al­ready installed.

Safe City maintains a network of 12, 000 registered blood do­nors – comprising police person­nel and civilians – and is finalizing an MOU with an online ride-hail­ing service for free donor trans­port. Two officers were nominated for the Sitara-e-Imtiaz for success­fully reuniting missing children with their families using the 'Mera Pyara' mobile application, the DSP shared.

Taken together, the developments around rawalpindi police claim 50pc drop in crime across Safe City covered areas point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.