ABU DHABI // The police department may introduce a thumbprint login system for its computer network after an officer in the force was accused of using colleagues' passwords to fraudulently transfer the ownership of cars. The announcement by senior officers comes a day after a sergeant with the Driver and Vehicles Licensing Department, identified as CX, 33, was charged with transferring the ownership certificates of a number of 2008 model BMW cars without the consent of owners.
The vehicles, which all belonged to car-hire firms, had been leased to a company owned by a former employee of the department, identified as OG, 40. Both men are facing charges of corruption, fraud and theft. As a further step to prevent such frauds, Abu Dhabi Police are also working with the national identity card issuing authority to explore the possibility of making it mandatory for car owners to come into the Driver and Vehicles Licensing Department to swipe their national identity cards as part of the ownership transfer process.
Lt Col Mohammed Mayouf al Kitbi, of the Driver and Vehicles Licensing Department, said this would act as confirmation that the owner gave permission for the transfer. Those who had given their login details to CX had violated security procedures and would be reprimanded, said Lt Col Kitbi. "The incident that occurred is one of a kind and represents the person accused of this transgression and does not represent the Driving and Vehicles Licensing Department as a whole," he said. "I commend the Criminal Investigations Department for uncovering this plot."
@Email:eaghalib@thenational.ae A story in The National yesterday, under the headline "Traffic police staff arrested for fraud", incorrectly named the agency involved as the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Licensing Department. The correct name of the agency is the Driver and Vehicles Licensing Department.