In its effort to use technology to checkmate crime and criminality, the Abia State Government under the Abia State Security Fund has developed and handed over to Abia State Homeland Security Watch an application known Abia Safety Alert System (AB-SAS).
The training of Officers and men of the Abia State Homeland Security Watch is equally ongoing and would be rounded up on Thursday at the office complex of the Abia State Security Fund at Government House, Umuahia.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Homeland Security, Mr. Chigozie Onyeukwu Ubani told ABIA ONLINE that the App, which can be used to track vehicles, track sale of property, report incidences of crime and criminal activities, was designed to basically deal with emergency situations.
According to him: “Wherever crime is being discussed or committed, it directs us to capture both images, motions and still pictures of the environment. The beautiful part of it is that all our officers within 25 kilometers radius will be notified and we in the control and management center will know who and who that has information to the perpetrators of such crime or incidents and from here, we can trigger action to police, fire service and other emergency managers depending on what it is, then we know the agency to deal with.
“We have access to immigration, fire service, the police and to the intelligence community. So whatever we think it is or whomever we think should manage that situation, we can trigger from here and we know who is within 25 kilometers radius of that incident. It’s a wonderful feature.”
On who should use the App, Mr. Ubani, who is also Managing the Homeland Security end of AB-SAS said: “The app is for the general public. What we are doing here is to train the trainers, people who will go out and inform and train others on how to use it. We’re going to the political class, the traditional institutions, youth based organizations, faith based organizations, everybody should have this application.
These things work abroad. The difference is that it is not just the environment but the humans. So once we get the humans ready to use this App, I think we would have come a very long way in reducing crime. Let us not forget, no society is absolutely crime free but we have to work harder towards reducing crime to the bearest minimum.”
The SSA on Homeland Security also spoke on how the App works, thus: “It is an App. Just like you log on to every other app on google play store, that is why we’re training people who will take this to the grassroot. So once our field officers go out to every local government, every environment, we will teach them: When you login to AB-SAS on google play store, you will find us and then you take it one step after the other until you have everything you need.”
Addressing the Officers and men of Abia State Homeland Security Watch, Mr. Ubani, who noted that the App was designed to arm you with how to do your job seamlessly, enjoined them to take the training very seriously.
He said: “People have had sleepless nights developing this and handed over to you to use it. We want to see you internalize this and practicalize it. We want to see your reports periodically, how many incidents you have reported using this app. The developers want to know to enable them have an upgrade of it.”
He added: “The more information we gather about criminal activities and criminal minded persons and entrepreneurs of crime and violence, the easier it becomes for us to stop them from committing the crime. It is cheaper.”
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