E-policing project on track

The Namibian Police are well on track with a computerisation project which should be completed in a few years’ time. Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, Nampol’s spokesperson, Chief Inspector Kauna Shikwambi, said the electronic policing (e-policing) process is a long one but it is hoped that everything will soon be done electronically, making their work easier and faster. Some of the functions are already being done on computer, such as registering of crime dockets and vehicle registrations. “If you go the police station to register a vehicle it will be done electronically. As you know everything has always been done manually and this has been frustrating as it takes very long and people spend hours in queues just to get their vehicles registered,” said Shikwambi. She said their human resources department also keeps its data on a computer database. The e-policing initiative started last year and Nampol is aiming to be doing all its work electronically by 2030. Due to a lack of access to real-time information about the changing status of criminal investigations, and no capacity for data analysis, service quality is often compromised, Shikwambi said. The project includes the creation of eleven national databases covering case docket management, crime statistics and movement control, crime intelligence geo-policing, internal investigations, motor vehicle clearance certificates, organised crime, criminal records management, human resources, asset management and firearms management. E-policing opens new ways of doing business for the police, not only by making available new tools but also by creating an interactive flow of information between the police and the public. E-policing creates two-way communication and provides better access for both the public and the police. It also enables initial public contacts to be handled electronically and this delivers information to the police on time and eases the inconvenience of waiting on the telephone or in queues at the police station to report an incident. According to Shikwambi, the whole world is moving forward technologically and e-policing shows that police are in synch with current technology. WINDHOEK NAMENE HELMICH