Uganda police in a show of their efforts to embrace technology in fighting escalating crime cases in the country, they have launched a new application that will be used by citizens in interacting with the law enforcement agency.
The auspicious project was announced by Asan Kasingye, the chief commissar of police on Monday, and it will be implemented by the Directorate of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Dubbed the Lost and Found Property App (UPF MOBI APP), the application — when rolled out for operation, it will be used in reporting to police a number of crime cases.
The launch took place at the Police Headquarters in Naguru, Kampala.
According to Assistant Inspector General of Police or AIGP Kasingye, the idea was birthed after the law enforcement agency observed that among other things “many police stations are littered with many unclaimed properties or the owners cannot adduce enough evidence to prove that the property belongs to them.”
With this software in place, they believe, it would be easy for people to contact police when they lose their property to help in tracing it.
Previously, police would hand the property whose owners couldn’t be trace to courts for public auctioning, and in cases where it is returned to the owner, it would already be tampered with.
Expected to also help in curbing increased cases of kidnap through increased citizen-police interface, the App launch is in line with the force’s Strategic Policing Plan 2015 /16 -19/20.
A Monday statement posted on the police Facebook page indicates that police has kicked off its plan of implementing the information management system that is expected to consist of six databases.
These among others include motor vehicle registration, drivers license, license to carry fire arms, criminal database, crime statics, traffic accident, lost and found property, missing persons and arrest warrant database.
The app will as well have information about police stations near them, with respective contacts of officers and the police leadership structure, says the post.
According to police, the App will among others improve rights of people, reduce incidence of property crime, quick and timely reunification of property and their owners, improve access to information.
A link to the police website that was provided shows the application is still under development. Sauti Tech will provide a detailed review when it is fully rolled out.
