Lack of resources harming police image

Islamabad : Lack of public trust in Police force to perform their duties, and limited financial and human resources are destroying the Police department’s public image 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, organised by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO), under a pilot project of the ‘Police Awam Saath Saath (PASS),’ in collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).

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 digitalization in policing through effective tools. The participating police officers were of the view that the police department is in the process of digitization but still far from “digitalisation”.

The parliamentarians at the meeting said the police officers at all levels must be paid 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, the chief guest of the event, accepted the reality of police not having a voice of their own in policy making concerning them.