Safety and security of citizens is the paramount responsibility of Police. The advancement of technology has ushered the world into the domain of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML). The establishment of Punjab Safe city Authority is testimony of the fact that technology intervention for the purpose of prevention and detection of crime has become an indispensable phenomenon. The concept of Safe City deals with crucial aspect of security, crime in urban areas, traffic management and health hazards. Simply put, it is a place where technology and nature work together to improve safety. It helps reduce crime and threats, ensures a healthy environment for people, makes healthcare easier to access, and enables quick response to emergencies.
It was really an encouraging factor that incumbent Chief Minister Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, visited the Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) Headquarters and directed to upgrade the “Women Safety Apps”, building of Hostel for Police Communication officers and launching of Smart District Safe Cities across the province.
Crime related emergency calls were decreased by 13% in the year 2023. Moreover, robbery reports were reduced by 14% and vehicle theft fell by nearly 19%
The significance of Punjab Safe City Authority, Lahore in terms of reducing crime and emergency response has been quite tangible as per PSCA’s recent reports; as crime related emergency calls were decreased by 13% in the year 2023. Moreover, robbery reports were reduced by 14% and vehicle theft fell by nearly 19%. The analysis of crime data of Lahore reflects that a 39% reduction in heinous crimes was witnessed between October 2023 and September 2024. The figures are quite satisfactory and reflect that the establishment of Punjab Safe Cities and smart cities are going to transform the crime combating strategies from traditional surveillance mechanism to digital monitoring system coupled with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques.
Urban resilience is a strategic approach to safeguarding cities against emergencies, crime, and public safety risks
However, the salient feature of Safe city is the enabling potential of Urban Resilience. Urban resilience is a strategic approach to safeguarding cities against emergencies, crime, and public safety risks by ensuring the continuity of essential services and infrastructure through proactive planning and rapid recovery. The fact remains that the advent of technology has outshined the traditional policies to combat crime. According to research, the recommended police strength is that one Police Constable is essential for every 450 inhabitants in the urban areas. Now, there is an exponential rise in population but the corresponding police strength has not increased to balance the ratio according to population.
PSCA is a huge deterrent against crime through its comprehensive network of CCTV and AI powered Traffic management system
Safe city is an ideal concept in a community to employ information technology, digital and telecommunication strategies to help reduce the possibility of crime and provide the citizens an environment of safety and security. Undoubtedly, the establishment of Safe City and smart city network is helping in curbing the deep seated causes of crime in Punjab. PSCA is a huge deterrent against crime through its comprehensive network of CCTV and AI powered Traffic management system.
The establishment of Safe Cities and smart cities has revolutionized the crime combating strategies through harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Moreover, Predictive Policing is the hallmark of Safe City. However, the execution of real-time monitoring, predictive policing, and citizen engagement has led to a considerable drop in crime rates across Punjab.
The Punjab Safe City and Smart Cities are backstopping the traditional policing to fight against crime and criminals
The integrated Command, Control and communication(IC3) centers are equipped with sophisticated network of High definition CCTV cameras, strategically placed to monitor entry-exit points, busy public spaces, traffic intersections, crime infested areas, commercial hubs and other sensitive installations. Moreover, these cameras are integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems capable of facial recognition, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), and behavioral analytics. The Punjab Safe City and Smart Cities are backstopping the traditional policing to fight against crime and criminals through advanced telecommunication systems, inclusive and bias free algorithms.
Punjab Safe city Authorities provides a multitude of services for the purpose of Public safety and security including emergency response, legal advice , helping vulnerable segments of society, helping citizens and tackling of crime rate in Punjab through different Applications.
These invaluable services are accessible through dedicated Whats App line and PSCA website. Undoubtedly, Punjab Safe & Smart Cities are silver linings to combat the crime and to make society safe and secure. The technological intervention in the form of Characteristic Based Object Retrieval (CBOR) system, Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms and Computer vision technology to identify number plates and facial characteristics are the hallmark of Safe city.
It has outshined the traditional surveillance system. There is lot of effort ahead to make the safe city system failsafe and more AI equipped to issue alerts for public mobs, street fights, enhanced virtual surveillance, and leveraging data analytics to further improve crime prediction, resource allocation and overall policing effectiveness.
The surveillance efforts are mostly urban-centric and ignore the needs of security infrastructure in the rural areas
After the resounding success of PSCA Lahore in the reduction of crime and introduction of predictive policing, the Punjab safe city project has been replicated in the City Districts of Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi which are about to accomplish. Moreover, Punjab Safe City Authority has already been operationalized Smart Safe City in 18 districts. However, keeping the success of these Smart Safe Cities, as many as 19 Smart Safe cities are being established in the remaining districts of Punjab. However, the surveillance efforts are mostly urban-centric and ignore the needs of security infrastructure in the rural areas.
The PSCA is undoubtedly a symbol of smart governance, where technology helps transparency, accountability and proactive civic engagement. It’s a transformation from reactive policing to a predictive and preventive approach. However, privacy of citizens and protection of data should be considered through effective legislation and flawless transparency. The proliferation of PSCA and Smart Safe Cities is going to be a game changer through the optimized usage of AI and ML. However, the fact remains that colossal benefit has been reaped through back tracking the incidents reported through 15 calls by using High definition CCTV Cameras. Police Investigative Officers should rely on Punjab Safe and Smart Cities to track back the camera routes to trace out the occurrences of crime and apprehension of criminals.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.
