Police reforms - an elusive concept in Pakistan

Police reforms – an elusive concept in Pakistan – Eagle Eye

Police reforms are elusive without putting significant and consolidated efforts to give relief to the personnel of police in the first hand. The present set up is conducive for the rich and power wielder and exploitative persons. Empathy is missing that is very much necessary and plays a pivotal role in correcting the behaviour of the police.

Provincial police officer Inam Ghani is doing great and following the path that leads towards true reforms as he is bent upon emending the aberrations through overdue promotions and granting weekly off to the officials/officers. This is the commendable step that warrants continuity.

The fact remains that policies change with the transfer of Inspector General of police. The efforts for reforms should not be sporadic and whimsical. It should be perennial factor.

There are certain areas that need to be implemented in letter and spirit. Police station is first administrative unit, where citizens visit to register their complaints.

Though the establishment of front desks, sitting of Admin Officers and intervention of technology has introduced a considerable change in the Thana culture but lot more need to be done. The concept of community policing, reconciliation committees and neighbourhood watch is soft approaches to get the confidence of public.

The crime meeting is all about evaluating the performance of police officers in the domain of prevention and detection of crime. But there is a dire need to get the confidence of citizens by solving their problem, giving them relief, speaking well to complainants, solution of problems of community and above all giving them a sense of security and safety that is missing phenomenon when we talk about police public relationship.

Due to my interaction with police officers, I have come to know about the working performance of certain officers.

For Notable Series Click Here

Station house Officer (SHO) matters a lot. The behaviour and professional approach of SHO matters massively when we talk about solution of grievances put forward by public. I personally know one police officer Muhammad Rizwan Bhatti who has performed on different administrative seats such Station house officer (SHO), Master trainer, CRO and have foreign mission and training as well.

He put emphasis on the measures that help abridging the communication between public and police. He gave address in Mosques, Bazaars and makes himself available for public round the clock. Now as Incharge mobile Education unit Punjab highway patrol, he is doing unprecedented, sensitizing the citizens about road safety, pandemic Corona virus and drug abuse.

Well educated Community policing officers in every beat area of police stations should be deployed to listen the grievances and project the soft image of police. It is congenial to keep abreast the complainants about the progress of their case telephonically and personal appearance.

Political interference is still suffocating the police reform efforts. The stranglehold of politics is still deterring the police officers to do justice with public. The frequent transfer/ postings bear testimony of this alarming fact.

The street crime is rampant. There is strong need to put surveillance upon the jail released persons and repeat offenders.

They are mostly involved in crime against property. Child abuse and molestation of young girls is making society unsafe and vulnerable for kids.

It is essential to make child and woman protection cell to strategies their safety. The fruits of Police reforms will be visible when every citizen feel comfortable to approach police for the redressal of grievances. – PUNA