PNP chief wants e-blotter implemented nationwide

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome ordered the expanded implementation of the electronic blotter (e-blotter) nationwide.

At present, all the 38 police stations, the five police districts in Metro Manila and the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) headquarters have dedicated computer units for e-blotter.

The e-blotter system facilitates fast, easy and paperless recording of crime information using the computer machine. Through the Internet, other police stations and higher headquarters could access such information for proper coordination and police action.

Bartolome said aside from Metro Manila the e-blotter system is fully implemented in Southern Tagalog (Region 4A) and in the police provincial offices of Tarlac, Cebu and Butuan.

“By 2012 all PNP units will be interconnected with e-blotter system with the help of Directorate for Information Communication and Technology Management,” Bartolome added.

The PNP chief’s directive to expand the e-blotter implementation was part of his administration’s priority thrust in accordance with his own 10-point fundamental action plan and command priorities.

Bartolome said the PNP, through the Directorate for Information Communication Technology Management (DICTM) has been working on e-warrant and e-rouge (photo of suspects/wanted persons) systems which are expected to be fully operational in 2012.

“The PNP has intensified its law enforcement operations, anti-criminality campaign and public safety services to address various peace and order problems and to keep the streets safe,” said Bartolome.

Bartolome’s predecessor, retired PNP chief Raul Bacalzo had launched the electronic blotter in 2011 to allow the PNP leadership to monitor the performance of every police station in crime prevention and solution.

The information or citizen’s complaint will be encoded directly to the computer, so regional headquarters will automatically get a copy of the report.

Deputy Director General Arturo Cacdac Jr., PNP deputy chief for administration (DCA), said the e-blotter will provide real time crime data to field commanders to guide them in their crime prevention effort.

“It will help ensure integrity of crime data, as it will be transmitted directly by the frontline units of the PNP,” Cacdac noted.

He added that the system would be the source of data for the Police Clearance System that will be implemented by the PNP in the future.

Cacdac pointed out that the software was developed by the DICTM and PNP’s DIDM, Information Technology Management System (ITMS).