Biometric attendance made mandatory across Punjab

LAHORE: Biometric attendance has been made mandatory for staff posted in prisons across the province of Punjab according to a statement by Punjab’s Home Department on Wednesday.

The latest statement from the Home Department said it is the responsibility of the senior officers to ensure biometric attendance of all staff in the relative jails. Officers and personnel whose biometric attendance is not recorded will be considered absent.

There are different forms of identification, with the most common being fingerprints. Other forms include facial recognition, voice-prints, and retinal scanning. Such technology is employed to improve the efficiencies of prisons.

Previously in 2019, the biometric attendance system (BAS) was introduced across Punjab in 40 prisons in order to make identification easier. The system includes data of staff and prisoners, and will help to identify each individual who enters or leaves a prison, including the shifting of prisoners.

This system was a departure from manual recording of prisoner details, with data now being computerised.

In October of 2021, the systems were installed in 14 prisons across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Similarly, In November of 2023, biometric systems were installed in 14 prisons across Sindh.

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