Punjab Police Toolkit App, which was introduced as a smart solution to facilitate the reporting of crime from the location of occurrence. This was to help the Police get real-time reports in order to respond to emergencies in an efficient manner. Sadly, however, the app could not escape the gloom of crime and got misused.
The investigating mobile app that enables the authorities fetch and verify data in real-time, has proven that the right technology in the wrong hands can cause havoc.
The Express Tribune had rooted that the Punjab Police is misusing the Toolkit App alongside sharing the information of the citizens in exchange for money. And so, the app is being used as a tool for harassment, courtship, eve-teasing & stalking women for friendship.
The real objective as well as the right objective of Punjab Police Toolkit App was to give the authorities access to information related to ownership of SIMs, driving license, criminal records, vehicle ownership and NADRA verification system, but the users exceed their right of using the app and get into the line of criminals.
The Express Tribune has also reported that Police is also misusing the call data records, an information that should not be provided even to the police without a warrant in the first place.
The technology which had been taken as pioneer of getting the investigation department into technology and was thought to provide more tools to tackle crime, became a source of data breach.
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It is being reported that some officers are selling the information for as low as Rs. 5000
Punjab Police was on the way to ensure the public that the department us for the welfare of public, but due to some wrong characters the department has lost its trust as provision of citizen’s information got used as a weapon of destruction in the hands of the Punjab Police.
Abu Bakar Khuda Baksh, Police Toolkit, Add IG has written a letter to different departments of the Punjab Police telling them about the misuse of the app by the field formation for more than 14000 times.
He also informed that the access of all personnel to the Punjab Police Toolkit App has been suspended.
The surprise aspect is that this had not happened the first time, as this matter has been addressed by a senior Police officer as lastly a letter was also issued in July 2017.
