Islamabad August 13 (Online Int’l): Lack of public trust in the police force to perform their duties, and limited financial and human resources are destroying the police department’s public image which is necessary in establishing it as an authoritative body.
These views were expressed by participants at the “Consultative Meeting with Parliamentarians on Police Reforms” held here Wednesday and organised by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO). The session started with an overview on conceptual, policy and service delivery issues of police, with detailed outline on women in policing, community policing, and digitalisation in policing through effective tools.
The participating police officers were of the view that the police department is in the process of digitisation but still far from “digitalisation”. They said police reforms could only be made a reality through the police officers’ individual will to reform which is well within their power, as not every improvement requires changes at a policy level. As perks, their health expenses should be taken care of, they suggested.
They said community policing would improve with mutual respect shown towards citizens. Police is limited to crime control only and is treated as a department and not a body that represents the State, they said, adding they have no representation in policy making through a secretary and even have to implore for resources. They said the issue of unity of command at district and provincial levels should be resolved, alongside the addition of investigation and prosecution services with independent structures.
The parliamentarians at the meeting said police officers at all levels must be paid a tribute for their services, especially in case of death, to boost their morale. They attributed the underperformance of police to the department being under-equipped and under-resourced. They said the education level of most human resource in police is low, with no psychological training, and called for better and smart planning with resource optimization by experience sharing among provinces and even districts.
The parliamentarians presented actionable suggestions for implementation at all tiers. The policymakers were of the view that the lifestyle of police officers at lower ranks is not conducive that opens the door to not only corruption but job stress. They said women do not join the police force due to insecure environments at thanas.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed accepted the reality of police not having a voice of their own in policy making concerning them. “We, as policymakers in the parliament’s upper and lower houses, should be the representatives of police and should own up to their professional service.” He committed to following-up on all the issues faced by police that were discussed during the meeting.
Chairperson of Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Riaz Fatyana said that it is part of SDG 16 that the government has to take steps to reform the police. He said there is a lot to reform in the police and the policing. He encouraged the police officers and participants to develop some concrete recommendations and present to the Parliamentary Task Force on SDGs.
Syed Kausar Abbas, Executive Director SSDO, emphasized the parliamentarians need to engage in policy making for police reforms, specially making use of these meetings’ forum where all stakeholders are brought together to discuss this crucial and longstanding issue.
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