LAHORE: The use of technology for crime prevention and modern policing has been further expanded in the provincial capital.
On the directions of the DIG Operations, 20 special permanent points have been established at various sensitive locations in the city, where Dolphin Squad teams have been deployed.
Acting on calls and alerts received from Safe City cameras, the Dolphin Squad recovered eight vehicles wanted in various crimes. According to a police spokesperson, the recovered vehicles include four bearing fake number plates, one stolen vehicle, one tampered vehicle and one vehicle wanted in a case.
According to the Dolphin spokesperson, more than 20 teams have been deployed at various sensitive locations in Lahore for immediate response to Safe City camera calls and alerts. These teams are conducting checks of suspicious vehicles and taking action against criminal elements.
During the operation, one vehicle was released on the spot after completion of the necessary verification and legal formalities, while the other recovered vehicles were handed over to Police Station Mozang, Muslim Town, Faisal Town, Iqbal Town and other relevant police stations for further legal proceedings.
The operating model described here links two systems that were designed to function together. The Punjab Safe Cities Authority, established in 2016, operates the integrated command, control and communications centre in Lahore, which receives feeds from cameras deployed across the city and is equipped with automatic number plate recognition capability. When a plate matches an entry on a watch list — a vehicle reported stolen, one wanted in a registered case, or one flagged for irregularities — the system generates an alert.
The Dolphin Squad, launched in the same period, is the motorcycle-mounted rapid response force created specifically to reduce the interval between an alert and a police presence at the location. Two-wheeled patrols can traverse congested arterial roads and narrow streets considerably faster than patrol vehicles, which is the operational rationale for the unit.
Establishing fixed points rather than relying solely on roving patrols reflects a deliberate deployment choice. Permanent positions at high-traffic junctions increase the probability that a flagged vehicle passes a location where a team is already stationed, compressing response time further.
The categories of recovery listed are distinct in legal terms. Fake number plates indicate deliberate concealment of a vehicle’s registered identity, an offence commonly associated with vehicles used in the commission of other crimes. A tampered vehicle typically refers to alteration of chassis or engine numbers, which is a standard method of laundering stolen vehicles into the legitimate market. A vehicle wanted in a case may be one recorded as having been used in an offence rather than one that was itself stolen.
The release of one vehicle on the spot after verification is procedurally routine and illustrates a necessary safeguard: an automated alert establishes grounds for a check, not a conclusion, and documentation is verified before a vehicle is retained.
The recovered vehicles now enter the formal process at the police stations to which they have been transferred.
-Reported By Faran Yameen
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