Information Technology (IT) is shaping every aspect of life. In Pakistan, digital identities as a form of data-related intervention dates back to the establishment of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) was established in 2000 under the NADRA Ordinance 2000. Since then, IT has been an essential part of the law. In the field of IT-led policing, the Punjab Police was the first police organisation to digitalise many of its internal processes and to initiate external processes that provided solutions related to service delivery to the public at large. The internal processes within the police department include the Police Station Record Management System (PSRMS), the digital Crime Record Office (e-CRO), and the Human Resource Management System (HRMS). Likewise, administrative actions, such as inventory maintenance, were digitalised. The Punjab Police also introduced many applications aimed at organising data of stolen/snatched property (e-Gadget) and helping fight gender-based violence.
Along with these, certain external processes were also digitalised and linked to public service delivery. These include the establishment of the Khidmat Markaz, a service centre with all the requisite police services under one roof such as police reporting, issuing driving licenses, and reporting lost and found items. A robust complaint management system was set up in the form of two telephonic helplines: helpline 1787, which is for police accountability, and helpline 15, which is police response driven. Both these initiatives were backed by data analytics to punctuate police response and to set performance indicators for police officers. These initiatives draw their legality from the primary police law, i.e., the Police Order, 2002, which is applicable to Punjab. Under section 10(3) of the Police Order, most of the legality of these initiatives is based on the delegated legislation framed under the power of the Inspector General of the Police to issue statutory Standing Orders.
In parallel, the Safe City project was established by the Government of Punjab for crime prevention, surveillance and security backed by data-driven mechanisms focusing on all aspects of governance, from law and order to the environment. The Safe City project was established by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority Act, 2016 (PSCA Act), which provided the governance and administrative structure for all the safe cities in the province. The law also legalised the collection, collation and visualisation of data streams through visual cameras and through social media tools.
With the increasing use of IT-based policing, the legal challenges to integrating technological solutions into the criminal justice processes have also increased. In response, recent legislation like the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021 has already started catering to these legal challenges by including specific safeguards balancing the rights of citizens to criminal justice considerations. Notwithstanding all efforts of the police leadership to resort to IT-based policing, one central area is the digitalisation of criminal justice processes. The latest amendments to the legal framework will be explored in this essay.
The Digitalisation of Criminal Justice Processes
In many cases, the digitalisation of criminal justice processes came up before the Pakistani courts. These processes include search, seizure, arrest procedures; the chain of custody of evidence; processing of evidence for forensics; and the preservation of evidence. These processes affect the relevance, admissibility and weightage ascribed to evidence in a criminal trial. The impetus for digitalising criminal justice processes is the police leadership’s aspiration to use IT for policing, which has in part been encouraged by the judiciary to make the determination of criminal trials easier.
The following are some instances of the digitalisation of criminal justice processes:
Collection of Digital Evidence
In Zahid Gill v the State (PLJ 2024 SC (Cr.C.) 8), the Supreme Court ordered all police and investigation agencies (like the Anti-Narcotics Force) to collect evidence through video recordings and by taking photographs of an accused to establish his/her presence at the crime scene. The Court also instructed agencies to document the seizure of narcotics substances through video/photo recording of mobile phone cameras. The digitalisation of evidence at the time of search, seizure and arrest, according to this latest judgement, has been established within the framework of Article 164 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984. The Supreme Court, however, did not take into account its earlier judgement in Ishtiaq Ahmed Mirza v the State (PLD 2019 SC 675) on the subject wherein it enumerated multiple requirements that may be fulfilled before an audiovisual digital piece of evidence is relied upon in a criminal trial.
Digital Daily Diary of a Police Station
All administrative and professional acts of the police officers are logged in a document called the daily diary register of a police station (otherwise known as Register Number 2 of a police station). Detailed rules about the maintenance and entries to be made in a daily diary register are contained in the Police Rules,1934. They can also be found under section 167 of the Police Order, 2002 and Chapter XXII of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934. The daily diary register is one of the most important documents in criminal proceedings. Entries on the daily diary register carry a presumption of truth attached to them under the law of evidence and are central to determining the legality of police actions; establishing timelines of events; search, seizure, and arrest procedures; and the movements of police officers for their tasks. The daily diaries are often summoned by the courts to verify the statements made by police officers.
The digitalisation of the daily diary was a long-standing issue as it was being maintained manually. In 2017, through amendments in the Punjab Police Rules, efforts were made to digitalise the daily diary register by allowing the maintenance of the daily diary register both digitally and manually. However, this did not synchronise with the criminal justice system as there were often discrepancies between the two forms. This became a moot point in many judgements, such as Muhammad Tariq vs. SHO Police Station Saddar Jampur (PLJ 2019 Cr.C. 131), Khatoon Bibi vs. the State (2021 P.Cr.L.J 593 Lah), and Mst. Asmat Parveen v the State (PLD 2021 Lahore 105). Lately, in January 2024, Justice Ali Zia Bajwa of the Lahore High Court examined the issue in Jamila Bibi v the SHO (Writ Petition No. 49470-H/23) and held that the preference would be given to the manual record in case of any discrepancy between the two forms. To address this issue, the Punjab Police Rules were amended as follows:
Rule 22(3) of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 was amended to include and enable the ‘assistant clerks’, ‘senior station assistants’ and other IT literate staff to assist the station clerk/ muharar;
Rule 22(48) of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 was amended to provide only digital maintenance of the daily diary. The purpose of the amendment is to end the practice of maintaining a manual form of the daily diary.
With these latest amendments, the digital daily diary has been made the basis of working for the police stations. The digitalisation of this important document will surely pave the way for integrating digital criminal justice processes with the criminal justice system.
Digitalisation Of First Information Reports (FIRs)
The amendments to the Rules have also catered to digital First Investigation Reports (FIRs) under Rule 24(5). The Rules now authorise police officers to use a digital copy of an FIR with a QR code. They also mandate that five digital copies will be issued including a copy for the District Public Prosecutor. These amendments have given legal cover to the digital FIRs and have also catered for coordination between the police and prosecution.
Digitalisation of Witness Statements and Case Diaries In Criminal Cases
Another important aspect is the use of digitally recorded witness statements under section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 (CrPC). This issue was further compounded by the fact that the law did not cover the digital format of these statements and required handwritten statements. In addition, turning the case diaries that record every step taken by an investigation officer in the investigation to a digital format was also not covered under the CrPC. In relation to these two issues, Rules 25.18, 25.53, and 25.54 of the amended Rules have provided legal cover to digitally recorded witness statements and digital case diaries.
Future Course of Action
The latest amendments in the Punjab Police Rules are a point of departure for future police work in establishing a modern legal framework ready to embrace further changes considering technological developments such as artificial intelligence and the Metaverse. Policing in Pakistan is strongly linked to the rule of law in the country. In the contemporary digital age, there is a need to strengthen further the legal framework to enable the integration of technology into the criminal justice system. Future areas that must be examined are international cooperation in the exchange of digital evidence, the digitalisation of border management systems, cybersecurity of digital infrastructure, and safety of women and children online as their vulnerabilities are increasing in the cyberspace. In its endeavour to protect its citizens, the State must pursue the digitalisation of criminal justice processes as a useful governance tool as well.
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