EARLIER in the year, the Inspector General assured Nigerians that 2010 would mark a new beginning in the way officers under his command would be executing their jobs. National Daily can authoritatively report that he and his subordinates are living up to that promise indeed. What with the introduction of Vehicle Recovery Portal (VRP) which was recently launched by the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, to help in stemming the issue of car theft in the country.

The web portal www.policevrp.com is designed to provide a platform for members of the public to report cases of car theft online, search for the status of vehicle before buying and also get information about recovered stolen vehicles.

This initiative was developed by the ICT unit of the Nigeria Police Force and financed by UBA.

The O/C ICT, CSP Ayotunde Omodeinde during the launch explained that this was just the first phase of an all embracing vehicle tracking and monitoring system the Nigeria Police is developing, the platform will also create a database for all registered vehicles in Nigeria.

A cross-section of Nigerians are lauding the initiative already. A UK based lawyer, Mike Awala told National Daily that it showed that the police in Nigeria was indeed ready to embrace the new tools of policing, which are already working in other developed nations. 'We are always commending the police abroad, and I am happy that Nigeria Police is beginning to embrace this modern tool of policing. It is a welcome development, which will help the force to discharge their duties'.