Guidelines issued for posting SHOs

The Sindh police chief has issued policy guidelines for the posting of station house officers (SHOs) and directed his subordinates to follow the procedure before posting officers.

“An SHO holds a position of significant importance in police and criminal justice administration,” reads the policy. “The success or failure of the police service delivery at grassroots level, prevention and detection of crime, and maintenance of law and order largely depends on the selection of suitable officers to be posted as SHOs.

“The selection of suitable officers as SHOs has become all the more critical due to the current precarious law and order and security situation in the country. In order to ensure merit-based selection of the most suitable officer for this position in a transparent mechanism, the following guidelines are hereby issued. All regional and zonal DIGs and DSPs are directed to follow these guidelines in letter and spirit.”

According to the policy, each district shall have a pool of eligible officers to be posted as SHOs, and each district superintendent of police – in the case of Karachi Range, the city police chief – shall create a pool of suitable officers not below the rank of a sub-inspector eligible for appointment as SHOs.

Only those officers who are once placed in the pool of eligible officers shall be posted as SHOs as and when required, and any officer of the SI or inspector rank can apply to be placed in the pool of eligible officers. Any gazetted officer of the district concerned can recommend an officer to be considered for inclusion in the pool, and the list of officers in the pool will be regularly updated.

Selection board

Each range DIG – in the case of Karachi Range, the city police chief – shall constitute a selection board for the purpose. The selection board shall select suitable officers to be placed in the pool.

The selection board shall be headed by the range DIG as its chairman and at least two SPs of the range. In Karachi’s case, the selection board shall be headed by the city police chief and comprise three zonal DIGs as members.

The officer being considered for the SHO pool must possess the following essential qualifications. He must be upper course-qualified, less than 55 years of age and have a minimum of seven years of service.

He must not be facing trial in any criminal court, has not been previously transferred on charges of corruption or misconduct, unless exonerated after due departmental proceedings, and does not have any adverse evaluation record in the last two years.

In rural areas an officer shall not be posted as SHO in the police station of his home district, and an officer shall be posted as SHO from the pool to a police station where he can be more effective in view of his processional capabilities.

Tenure of SHOs

The term of office of an SHO shall be for a minimum period of one year. An SHO could only be transferred prematurely based on unsatisfactory performance as assessed by the Range Assessment Board or for compelling reasons, such as physical or mental incapacitation, found guilty in a police investigation, framing of criminal charges by a court of law, awarded major punishment for charges of misuse of official authority, inefficiency or corruption.

Removal from pool

On the recommendation of the district SP, the range DIG – in the case of Karachi Range, the city police chief – shall remove from the pool any officer who fails to maintain the required standards of performance or integrity.

An officer removed from the pool on the grounds of corruption shall not be placed in the pool again, whereas an officer removed on other grounds – such as unsatisfactory performance, inefficiency, etc – shall not be considered for placement in the pool for a minimum period of one year. Moreover, removal of an officer from the pool on any ground whatsoever shall be deemed as reasonable ground for departmental proceedings against him.