National Police chief Neth Savoeun issued a directive allowing the formal use of the data management system called E-Crime 2020 from May 1 to ensure sustainability and data security of criminal offences in an archive utilising information technology.

According to a directive dated May 4, the system is described as helping police officials look up data concerning criminal offences from a database. The data will be formally used for analysis and evaluation of offences in designated geographical locations.

“Data regarding offences must be digitised within 48 hours after the offences have occurred and we have to enter all court orders from 2000 until now into the database as well as update its data regularly,” it said.

Savoeun advised municipal and provincial police chiefs to ensure sustainability of resources for officials and install technical tools and materials including internet connections for staff or officials in charge of the work.

He also advised the planning and criminal police departments to strengthen cooperation to monitor data of criminal offences that specialists had recorded.

“The municipal and provincial police chiefs have to cooperate in providing documents, information and photos regarding offences with agreement for the basis of digitising the data in a timely manner.

“In case police chiefs have no photos of suspects or victims, please request cooperation from the criminal police departments for a solution.”

After the data is recorded in the database, specialists have 48 hours to correct it in the system. But after 48 hours the system does not allow the specialists to change it unless a municipal or provincial police chief makes a formal request to the head of the planning department for review to allow the technical working group to correct it.

National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun told The Post on May 6 that the system is for recording data regarding criminal offences and that the National Police had been using a system like this for over 10 years, but had just now updated it.

“This will help the National Police record information on the backgrounds and nationalities of offenders and victims, figures and data about offences and data on crackdown results including some arrest warrants,” he said