BCMR’ll Reduce Terrorism, Track Car Theft – Police

The Nigeria Police Force has urged motorists to embrace the new Police Biometric Central Motor Registry, saying the scheme will help the force in tackling terrorism and car theft among other crimes.

Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said in Lagos on Friday that research had proved that most successful terrorist attacks were implemented with vehicles.

He argued that with the new BCMR, police would be able to carry out investigations easily as personal details of drivers including next of kin would be readily accessible.

He said, “Our study has revealed that 97 per cent of suicide bombings that have taken place were carried out by the suicide bombers using automobiles.

“And unfortunately, once they carry out such attacks, there was no way to identify them and bring them to book. The attacks on THISDAY’s Abuja office, the United Nations building, Police Headquarters, all in Abuja, were all carried out with cars.”

Mba argued that the BCMR would aid investigation because once the details of any particular car were in the platform, a check would reveal the details of the owner of the vehicle as well as his next of kin.

He said, “So if we have all the details of all cars registered using BCMR, even if the vehicle was burnt in the aftermath of the bombing, all we have to do is go through the debris and etch out the chassis number and run it on our system.

“The BCMR is a veritable tool that will aid the police in fighting crime such as terrorism, car theft, kidnapping, smuggling and armed robbery, as well as ensure effective manning of our borders.

“It will also go a long way to curb the rate at which cars are stolen and ensure that the police are always on top of their game in safeguarding lives and properties of the citizenry.”

Reacting to public criticism that the police were merely duplicating what the Federal Road Safety Corps and states vehicle inspection offices were doing as regards the functions of the BCMR, Mba said the two schemes were different as the police’s mandate was different from that of other agencies

Describing the features of the BCMR handheld device, the police spokesman said the device was not dependent on network, adding that the battery was durable.

He said, “I am aware that the FRSC is doing something similar, but the system that every organisation designs or operates depends on the mandate of that organisation. The Nigeria Police Force has a very wide mandate ranging from road safety to policing of borders, kidnapping, armed robbery, murder and crime prevention.

“Consequently, we require a database and a digital operational platform that is wide enough to accommodate our method. The whole world is going digital. You cannot expect the Nigeria Police to continue to use the obsolete analogue system.”