Daily Times

In Pakistan, the words ‘police’ and ‘reforms’ seldom feature in the same sentence. In fact most Pakistanis would say that they are antithesis of each other: one tied inexorably to a known but dark past, the other, by definition, points towards a time filled with uncertainty but not without a tinge of hope. Here lies the rub: as Pakistan slowly stumbles towards social and economic reformation, the very state institutions which ought to be in the vanguard of change are, instead, holding it back by their inability to adapt quickly enough to the realities of the twenty-first century.

One of the defining characteristics of the modern era is the dizzying pace of change with which countries and societies have transformed themselves. In most modern countries, social and state institutions have evolved to adapt themselves to the changing scenario, and thus have maintained their relevance. In Pakistan too, changes in social and political realm are palpable. However, for a number of reasons, our state institutions remain stuck in the past. This is perhaps as much true for police in Pakistan as it is for any other organisation or institution in the country.

It is indeed not only possible but also absolutely necessary for vital state institutions such as the police to shed their colonial legacy, and metamorphose into something a modern inclusive nation can live with and be proud of. If this nation can create a modern responsive organization such as ‘the Motorway Police’, why can we not, with sufficient commitment and will, bring about a transformation in the mainstream police?

Policing refers to a function of governance responsible for the prevention, detection and investigation of crime; protection of persons and property, and the maintenance of public order and safety. Due to its geo-strategic location, the issues of policing in Pakistan are very complex and have developed a linkage with the country’s internal and external environments.

Policing being a provincial subject, each of the federating units has its own police force. Be that as may, all of the police forces which currently exist in the country, save the ‘National Highways and Motorway Police’, have been conceived and raised under the erstwhile federally promulgated Police Act of 1861. Thus, small differences notwithstanding, the various forces exhibit a commonality of structure and function that allows us, for academic purposes, to speak of them as one force – the ‘Pakistan police’.

The challenges Pakistan police faces today are numerous, multidimensional and complex, bordering on intractable.

Firstly, it suffers poor community relations. Despite the formal change of the legal framework with the promulgation of the Police Order 2002, which imposes on it the duty to function in line with democratic traditions, law, Constitutional provisions and hopes and aspirations of the people, the police remain set in their old ways. From the viewpoint of the citizens, the police are steeped in, what’s derogatorily referred to as, the infamous “Thana Culture” – with a clear disconnect between the organisation and the community which it purports to protect and serve.

Moreover, poor delivery service is linked closely to the so-called Thana Culture, because the police lacks the ethos required of an agency mandated to assist the public at times of great stress.

The public believes that police does not easily register a criminal case when a citizen falls victim to a crime, especially in property cases such as robbery or loss of vehicle etc.

Secondly, policing by coercion rather than by consent is also a challenge faced by our police.  The historic baggage of many decades of policing by coercion rather than policing by consent shapes the mind-set and conduct of the current men and officers of the police as well as the public. In any volatile situation police acts as the ‘enforcer of the writ of the state’ and therefore has to bear the brunt of the people’s ire towards the controlling authority. Police’s role becomes very difficult given that the idea of a peaceful protest is alien to Pakistani political culture.

Furthermore, the lack of professionalism of the police department is very obvious is in relation to the administrative systems deployed by the police. This includes poor management of records and inadequate capacity in planning and implementing budgetary, procurement and logistics cycles. This failure has implications for police’s ability towards effective planning and implementation, sustainability and accountability.

Police should be insulated from political interference and postings, transfers, and recruitments should solely be based on merit. Consider empowering either the public safety commissions or establishing new mechanisms or institutions to ensure non-interference in police

Also, Police Operations cover critical aspects of a police organization including policies, institutional arrangements, business processes and resources for the performance of police officers’ main functions. The SOPs on administering arrest, performing search and seizure operations, managing public order situations, establishing checkpoints, carrying out investigations, conducting internal security operations and performing other policing duties have neither been professionally developed nor implemented in their true spirit. Consequently, there has come to exist a huge gap between what is written in criminal law and what is being practiced on ground. The police officers are not sufficiently trained to carry out lawful searches, or to preserve and process the crime scene or even record appropriate witness statements.

There are serious issues regarding recruitment, training, placement and promotions. Absence of a transparent and accountable system of placement especially of provincial police officers has seriously affected the efficiency, effectiveness and morale of police officers. Moreover, training is not geared to produce individuals who can perform complex policing jobs as per requirements contemporary policing. Disregard of merit results in disillusionment, heart-burning, and poisoned work environment, with very often clear groupings amongst the police colleagues emerging along fault lines such as PSP versus provincial officers, the “well-connected” (field officers) versus the “disgruntled” (desk officers) etc.

In my opinion, the following recommendations are offered which can be implemented in the short and medium term.

Necessary institutions aimed at ensuring community participation in police functions like Public Safety Commissions, and bodies meant for conducting accountability of police, i.e., Police Complaints authorities should be established at appropriate levels. Furthermore, necessary amendments are required in CrPC, PPC and Qanun-e-Shahadat Order to resolve issues of FIR registration, and acceptance of modern forensic evidence as primary evidence during trial. Likewise, the plethora of laws which exist in an unsystematic and untraceable manner, should be unified, purged of potential mutual contradictions and codified for easy, uniform and effective application.

The counter-terrorism laws should be improved by incorporating specific provisions for the protection of witnesses and victims, admissibility of evidence and introduction of new methods of conducting trials with due regard to security and human rights considerations.

Furthermore, the police should be insulated from political interference and postings, transfers and recruitments should solely be based on merit. Consider empowering either the public safety commissions or establishing new mechanisms or institutions to ensure non-interference in police human resources management areas.

Moreover, the government should decentralize police governance and devolve decision making to middle and lower levels to improve service delivery and to ensure effective and efficient decision making at the local levels. An ‘Operational Procedures Manual’ should be developed to guide police in performance of their critical operational functions.

Lastly, revamp the Human Resources Management System by developing merit-based, transparent and affordable recruitment and promotion criteria and procedures; posting of officers on different positions based on relevant competencies, skills and experience ensuring the security of tenure of key police officers.

Saud Bin Ahsen has done MPA from Institute of Administrative Sciences (IAS) Lahore and can be reached at saudzafar5@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, October 6^th 2018.