Time for reforms at police stations to better serve public

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police need to take solid measures to reform police stations so that people can get genuine help from the force.

A police station is the basic unit of the force that maintains law and order and can provide instant relief. Otherwise, it can add to the sufferings of those coming to seek help from the cops.

Though justice can be ensured only through an improved criminal justice system, a common man normally pin high hopes on cops who are more visible in the society for being in uniform and representing the state.

There are complaints of commoners being bothered during search operations, raids and at check-posts of police and other forces. Besides, the common man is ignored and he turns up at any police station in case of any issue.

There are reports that normally wrong crime figures are shown to the bosses at times. Most of the Station House Officers who fail to go after the street criminals and other gangs in respective areas avoid registration of cases, a practice called burking.

Sources believe hardly a few per cent cases of theft, snatching, lifting and other such crimes are lodged across the province while First Information Reports (FIRs) in majority cases are either avoided or in some cases only lodged ‘roznamcha’ are launched to dodge the complainant.

The cases lodged as ‘roznamcha’ or in any other register are not included in the crime figures and bosses hardly know about it.To reform the police station and to provide relief to those turning up there to lodge FIRs or seek help, a number of experiments were made in KP in the past.This included the appointment of assistant superintendents of police (ASPs) as SHOs in a few police stations. Besides, the investigation was separated from the operational police by appointing its own head or in-charge investigation.

Both the experiments did not work well for long. Most of the issues at the police station exist because the senior officials there are not competent enough to run the affairs of their stations smoothly. Till recent years, the majority of them were not graduates while a few even never had been to a college.

Under the reforms, posting of competent and honest officers, providing them with all the required facilities and manpower to run its affairs are a must to ensure the basic unit of the force delivers across the KP.

There are a number of police stations that are short of manpower for operations and investigations, patrolling vehicles and bikes, electricity, residences for SHOs, moharrirs and other basic requirements. The police stations received financial autonomy only recently.

Senior officers at the police stations need to be better trained in dealing with the public decently at the police station, office, check-post or during search operations. Going after the corrupt and rude elements at senior and junior level can improve the performance of the force.

Many experts believe the SHOs must be educated officials who are posted purely on merit while keeping in view their previous record. The moharrir, who is literally the next to the SHO at any police station, must be a graduate of the rank of sub-inspector so that he can better perform the duty as acting SHO in the absence of his boss.

As moharrir is to perform the duty round-the-clock, there should be educated and senior officers at least of the rank of sub-inspectors (SIs) appointed to the posts so that they can better take decisions and assist the SHO or act as head of the police station in his absence.

There used to be many SIs and ASIs who would perform general duty in any police station. If senior SIs are appointed as moharrir (also the deputy), head of the investigation and legal matters, head of patrolling, and head of operational matters and disputes, the SHO can be spared to do the overall supervision.

Currently, the SHOs are overburdened with looking after all the affairs of the police station as well as help settle various disputes, including blood feuds and carry out special drives against drugs and display of arms.

The SHOs and moharrirs can be appointed through a proper test after seeking applications from all those interested cops to ensure merit as well as the opportunity to those who believe they were being ignored. The language of the FIR is another issue that can be fixed by putting in a little effort. The old typical style of writing FIR is no more required at any level.

In Punjab, not only the FIR is written in simple language but it is also properly composed on the computer so that everyone can easily read and understand it and get its copy. The practice can be replicated in KP. The system of lodging the FIR needs improvement so that the lives of people are not ruined by lodging false cases against them by the rivals. In suspicious cases, a proper inquiry can be conducted before lodging the FIR. This, however, should not be used to avoid FIRs in kidnapping, robberies, thefts, lifting and other street crimes.

The CCTVs at the police stations should be properly used to keep a check on the treatment of the visitors by the staff as well as to ensure no inhuman torture that happens at the lock-up.

Women desks set up at many police stations are normally of no or little use. Instead of keeping the policewomen in the women police station that didn’t register a single FIR in over two decades, the officers and constables should be assigned to each police station by setting up proper Women Desks, at least during the daytime.

A number of reforms have been introduced in the KP Police since 2013 that helped improve its performance. For a couple of years, the dealing with the public also improved while the level of corrupt practices and misuse of power went down to the lowest when a large number of cops were sacked and others punished.

But things started deteriorating again a couple of years ago. Some criticised the reforms as cosmetic that is why things deteriorated again while others believed a decrease in actions against senior and junior cops involved in corrupt practices in recent years was the reason for increased complaints.

All this started happening when incompetent officials were posted to head police stations, subdivisions and senior units. This was the failure of the bosses when they could not post SHOs and SDPOs on merit. These bosses claimed the credit for anything good but hold the SHOs responsible when things are not in favour.

Similarly, it was the failure at the top-level after regional and district police officers were not posted on merit to keep a check on police stations and police posts.For the coming days, the bosses must be more careful in postings at the regional, district and police station level and post competent officers with a clean service record to maintain law and order and at the same time deal with the public with respect.