‘Prosecution-police coordination a must to improve investigation system’

The Karachi police chief has said the prevention of crime would be through the detection of crime, which is possible only with a good investigation.

Additional IGP Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon made this observation as he and Sindh Prosecutor General Dr Fayyaz Hussain Shah held a joint meeting on Saturday.

The meeting was attended by the assistant IG of forensic Sindh, the IT director of the Central Police Office, the DIG CIA, the DIG administration Karachi, all zonal DIGs, the SSP Special Investigation Unit Karachi, the SSP AVLC, the SSP AVCC, all district SSPs, all SSPs investigations, and all divisional SPs investigations.

The meeting operation was attended by all the sub-divisional officers and other officers. Since the prosecution has a central role in the investigation, it was decided to hold a meeting of the district public prosecutor and investigation officers on a monthly basis to rectify the shortcomings and mistakes in investigations and bring the culprits to justice.

The meeting also decided to train the police investigation officers and the prosecution officers on modern lines to ensure justice for the people. The investigation system on modern lines must be established, it was observed.

Additional IGP Memon said the lack of security arrangements and resources was the main reason for the lack of direction in the investigation. Ensuring coordination, cooperation and consultation between the prosecution and the police was also essential to improve the investigation system, he said, adding that weaknesses must also be addressed so that the accused succeeded in obtaining bail or acquittal. The meeting said that revolutionary changes would have to be made in the investigative system to reduce the conviction rate and restore the growing mistrust in the criminal justice system.

The involvement of competent officers in the prosecution of the police through the Public Service Commission would soon yields better results, the meeting was told. The Sindh Judicial Academy has started training the investigating officers to work on modern technology in various types of cases to ensure convictions of those accused of various crimes and provide justice to the plaintiff.

The department of investigation will be able to adapt to modern equipment and technology, and efforts were being made within limited resources to provide the people with relief.

In the current situation, in the context of COVID-19, the criminal justice system is facing problems and challenges. The importance of the establishment an Investigation of Crime Scene Unit in Karachi was also highlighted in the meeting, which agreed to form a committee consisting of prosecution and investigating officers in high-profile cases.

It was decided that an annual function would be held where the best performing investigation officers would be awarded prizes and certificates. The Karachi police chief also thanked Sindh Prosecutor General Dr Fayyaz Hussain Shah and his team on the occasion.