Over the years, the Philippine government is developing ways of enhancing the crime reporting system in the country for effective law enforcement, improved public safety and effective administration of justice which require comprehensive, adequate and timely information on crimes, criminals and the operations of the Criminal Justice System.

With the advances in computerized and related communications technology which now make it both practical and feasible to obtain, store, manage and disseminate such data more completely, relevantly, and effectively. Thus, former President Corazon C Aquino signed EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 386 dated December 19, 1989, ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION SYSTEM (NCIS), PROVIDING THE MECHANISMS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES, maintained by the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management to help in the identification and apprehension of criminals, improve the efficiency of criminal justice agencies, and ultimately help reduce crimes through better planning and use of manpower, equipment and government resources.

However, given the magnitude and voluminous reports received on a day to day basis for each crime incident coming to the attention of our police on the ground, hence, the purpose of the crime incident-based data through the NCIS was not realized. The information is also organized in complex ways, reflecting the many different aspects of a crime incident. It becomes more conventional and tedious process in traditional blotters, and even more complex for both our decision makers vis-a-vis our field investigators to analyze a particular crime situation in real time more efficiently and effectively.

This scenario poses challenges for our investigators at the police stations. The old system was not widely adopted in all police stations nationwide due to some gaps identified in crime reporting vis-à-vis the advancement of technology.

Hence, the DIDM together with the PNP Information Technology Management Service developed a more efficient electronic blotter system for recording crime incidents across the country with the National Capital Region as the pilot study.

Dubbed as the e-BLOTTER, it does not only facilitate crime documentation and modernize data storage but also presents quick, fast and reliable transmission of crime information from police station to the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City as an effective management tool for our decision makers and security strategists to have an easy and intelligent way of mapping out peace and order and anti-criminality strategy.

The main goal of the project is to have a daily update on what is really happening on the ground, particularly in every police station which is vital in mapping out strategies for quick response and crime prevention.

The e-Blotter is designed as a stand-alone system which will be installed in all police stations as a means of reporting and monitoring all crime incidents that transpired within their respective areas as well as the results and records of the investigation.

While the traditional blotter has been recognizable symbol of police authority, the e-BLOTTER on the other hand, presents accuracy in crime data documentation, reliability in storage for quick reference and hassle-free transmission of data to the end recipient of all police reports at the Philippine National Police.

This new system is a cost-free project since the software is being developed locally by the programmers of the PNP ITMS and shall be installed into the desktop of every police stations and units.

More importantly, this new management tool will not only simplify the gathering and organization of crime information but also provide instant and accurate crime statistics that is tamper free.

Trainings of Users of e-Blotter were conducted jointly by the DIDM and ITMS Training Team to NCRPO; PRO4-A; Tarlac PPO, PRO3 and Butuan City Police Office of PRO13 as they have available new computers for the system.

This project is part and parcel of our mandate to render better police service through an improved and enhanced crime incident reporting system with the use of modern technology. With this initial step, the program would be replicated in all police stations nationwide.

At present, this Directorate conducted nationwide five (5) Users Training on E-Blotter. Launching of which were already conducted in PRO 3, 4A, 7, 13 and ARMM. A total of 231 PNP personnel were already trained, of which, 20 personnel are from PRO 3, 148 personnel from PRO 4A, 12 personnel from PRO 7, 6 personnel from PRO 13 and 44 personnel from NCRPO. Further, only one (1) IT Officer of PRO 8 was trained by the training team at the DIDM Conference Room.

The RDs are enjoined to encourage the Local LGUs in their AOR for the success of the initiative of this Directorate and expect support for the conduct of launching on the other remaining PROs.