Editoral-Poor police performance

IT is generally assumed that the less than satisfactory performance of the police in protecting the lives and property of citizens is caused by the scarcity of human and financial resources. However, the budget books tell an entirely different story so far as the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police is concerned.

According to 2009 estimates, the total population of Islamabad was 1.21 million. In 2009-10, the total strength of the Islamabad Capital Territory Police was 10,700. This included 238 officers and 10,462 staff. The ratio of one policeman per 113 persons is far better than the one-policeman-per-600 citizens ratio that law-enforcement experts recommend.

Similarly, the dearth of resources does not seem to be a plausible argument if we take into account the exponential raise witnessed in the budget allocated for ICT police. For example, the total budget allocated for the Islamabad police was Rs3.65bn in 2009-10, as compared to Rs0.6bn in 2003-04. This means that, over these years, the budget allocation for the Islamabad police went up by 508 per cent!

For the financial year 2010-11, a hefty amount of Rs4.13bn has been allocated for the ICT police. The question is: whether this increase has really resulted in improved public safety conditions for the residents of Islamabad. This question is not restricted to the ICT police as the police budget has also been raised in the other provinces.

As a nation, we wait for push to come to shove and then start the process of rectifying the wrongs. Such a push came for the inspector-general of police, ICT, last year when he counted his men in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks in the capital and found to his displeasure that over 150 orderlies assigned to the inspectors were tilling the fertile plains of Punjab or driving taxis on the roads of Islamabad. The privilege was withdrawn and the men were called back to active duty — a commendable act for which the IGP should be congratulated.

However, one would respect him more if the disproportionately high number of policemen deployed for the protection of the elite that is unwilling to pay its taxes is recalled to protect the common people. The logic for such action lies in the fact that it is the common man that fills the government coffers through direct taxes. It is because of the common people and not the elite of this country that from 2003-04 to 2009-10, the total increase in staff-related allocations for the Islamabad police was 542 per cent, which amounts to 90 per cent per year on average.

Furthermore, the disproportionate deployment of junior police staff is playing havoc with both the quality of life enjoyed by the policemen as well as the level of protection enjoyed by the citizens. After being robbed in F-10 Markaz last July, when I went to the police station to lodge an FIR, I felt sorry for the inspector on duty despite being the victim myself. I knew there and then that I had a lost case. How could you expect your case to be solved by a man on duty for the last 12 hours and dozing on his makeshift bed?

It is about time that the police bigwigs start treating their junior staff as human beings, give them eight-hourly shifts and get the best out of them by giving them breathing space. As a starting point, the IGP needs to know how official letters from one police station to the other are delivered. He would come to know that for this very basic and important operation, the assigned constables either take lifts from the public or drive their own taxis as travel expenses are not reimbursed.

We have brave men working for our protection and their services can be better utilised by reforming the system. The recent salary increase is implemented through an increase in allowance which might not benefit police employees in terms of annual increments or post-retirement benefits. Their pay structure needs to be improved. As things stand, the top-down approach is adopted while making the budget for the police. As a result, there are either no allocations for basic functions like communication and travel for junior police staff or else the process is so cumbersome that they find it easier to get things done by extorting money from the citizens.

That is why it is important that the police budget be prepared in a way that has benefits for the lowest levels, while ensuring the input of all ranks. This process will ensure that senior officers in the concerned ministries at least know what the staff at the lowest level needs and demands, and the extent of the gap between needs and the availability of funds. Furthermore, in each police station, there should be appointment of accounts staff to manage accounts locally. After all, if the accounts can be managed at the school level, why can they not be managed at the police station level?

Therefore, Station Head Officers (SHOs) should be given drawing and disbursing powers in the interest of the delegation of authority and efficiency. Only then would junior police staff be given equal access to resources allocated for travel and communications. Lastly, effective protection of life and property of citizens is only possible if the police stay one step ahead of criminal elements. This is only possible if adequate funds are allocated to computerise the police department and organise it on modern lines, so that it could use modern techniques to protect the people and investigate crimes.

The writer works for the Centre for peace and Development Initiatives

zahid@cpdi-pakistan.org

Posted in: